Tohaku and Sotatsu - Masterpieces outside of the museum

Kiyomizu-dera is perhaps the most touristy spot in Kyoto. Escape the area to the south for 20 minutes and there is the Kyoto National Museum. The building of this museum itself is worth a visit, and collections inside must be superb.

But within 5 minutes' walking distance of the Kyoto National Museum there exists two temples that house the masterpieces of the great Japanese painters.

Chichaku-in is the temple of Shingon Esoteric school of Buddhism. Somehow this temple houses the wall paintings of Hasegawa Tohaku and artists of his school. It is said that those paintings were housed in main buildings, but decay was becoming visible so that those are now housed in treasure hall equipped with temperature and humidity control. Also lighting is rather dim inside. Treasure house's four wall are fully occupied by wall painting, including painting of maples and painting of cherry trees. Those were made more than 400 years ago, when warring period of Japan was finally ending. The military leader Toyotomi Hideyoshi at the end of warring period was associated with this temple, who lost his son and mourned him at this temple. Taking photograph inside treasure house is prohibited. This temple is also well known for its garden, but luckily or unluckily there is some maintenance ongoing so no water in the garden, where water plays significant role in this garden. This kind of maintenance takes only once in decade(s). It is unlucky that I can not appreciate the garden, but it is lucky that I can see the garden devoid of water.

Red plum flower on Chishaku-in ground, 21-Feb-2015

Sliding door picture(not in treasure house), 21-Feb-2015

Sliding door picture(not in treasure house), 21-Feb-2015

Garden, which usually has water as key element, devoid of water, 21-Feb-2015

Just a short walk from Chishaku-in and opposite to the more famous Sanjusangen-do temple sits Yogen-in temple. Rather ironic thing is that this temple is closely associated with Tokugawa clan, which succeeded Toyotomi Hideyoshi and opened shogunate in modern day Tokyo. And four masterpieces by Tawaraya Sotatsu are on display. I don't remember but it is said that the Sotatsu's paintings housed in this temple are often used in art curriculum of elementary school and junior high school. These paintings are also about 400 year old, yet funny. Yes, funny, comical, cute, even strange may be the word that I feel for Sotatsu's painting of creatures real and imaginary. Paintings of white elephant is quite well known, which was depicted when there was no zoo with elephant in Kyoto. Painting of imaginary creature Ki-Rin is funny. Kirin is used by one of the biggest beer brewery in Japan as its company name. Kirin is well known in Japan as imaginary creature. But I first learned that actually Ki is male and Rin is female, and two body of Ki and Rin is depicted on flatly prepared cedar tree. Painting of imaginary creature Shishi lion is another feature. Those 3 sliding paintings of elephants, kirin, and lions are aligned on one spatial line, so that when one slide is opened then the painting in the distance becomes visible. This is the way to welcome the guest of Tokugawa clans. Again, taking photograph is prohibited.

Entrance of Yogen-in, with no human in sight. But inside 10 to 20 visitors. 21-Feb-2015