Daigoji Temple

Points of View
(1)The cherry blossoms along the path
(2)The magnificent garden
(3)The five-story pagoda

The vast Daigoji complex is divided into lower and upper parts. The lower part sits at the foot of the mountain, while the upper part, consisting of a number of buildings, is located deep in the mountain forest and takes about an hour on foot from the lower part. The buildings are quite simple, unlike many famous sightseeing temples. Their simplicity and solemnity may bring to mind a location used for shugen-do, a kind of training for monks. In marked contrast to the sacred mountain of the upper part, the lower area is gorgeous, especially in the cherry blossom season. Seven hundred cherry trees flank either side of the main path, which crawls with a multitude of visitors when they are in full bloom. The biggest subtemple, Samboin, is noted for its magnificent garden, while the oldest pagoda in Kyoto centers on the lower part. The garden and cherry trees were arranged by a man called Hideyoshi Toyotomi, who became the military ruler of all Japan despite his humble origins. Now, let’s look at the lower part of the Daigoji complex.

From late March to early May, cherry blossoms gradually come into bloom all over Japan from the southern part to the north. Every year in early April, the main approach to the complex is covered with a spectacular canopy of light-pinkish flowers, which attracts many visitors. For most of the year the scenery on the path is quite plain, but for only a week or two of the year the blossoms draw a large number of people. Why do cherry blooms fascinate so many? The answer probably lies in their light-pinkish color in tender weather, the innumerable flowers on their branches and the fleeting brevity of their bloom.

The principal subtemple of the Daigoji complex, known as Sanboin, lies just inside the main entrance to the complex on the left, and is also famous for its ostentatious garden. The garden is larger, more powerful and more extravagant than any other garden in Kyoto. A big pond lies at the center, and different kinds of trees are planted around it. A number of factors make the garden as gorgeous as it is: the multitude of stones and their size and shape, the vastness of the garden, the slight slope of the site and the vegetation it contains. A reported eight hundred large stones are arranged along the shore of the pond, most of which are very angular like those seen in Japanese ink paintings. The ground slopes up slightly from the veranda to the outside, making it look larger than it actually is. Relatively large trees are planted at the edge of the garden, and they shroud the whole garden. The scenery from the veranda includes only elements from inside the garden rather than from the outside. These factors serve to increase the garden’s magnificence.

Behind the cherry canopy, one of the best-designed five-story pagodas in Japan stands magnificently against the deep green of the trees. Each level of the pagoda and its elements (such as columns, beams and brackets) are composed in delicate balance one after another, and become smaller as the structure rises.

The reported seven hundred cherry trees along the paths and eight hundred rocks in the garden are both more suitable for an aristocratic villa than for a solemn temple. In fact, when the temple was founded in the 800’s, these trees and stones were not present. They were introduced in the1500’s by warlord Hideyoshi Toyotomi, the military leader of all Japan at the time. Toyotomi is thought to have been one of the richest men in Japanese history. He planted the cherry blossoms for a party, and designed the garden, the placement of stones and the pond himself.