Houses and Gardens of Kyoto. Thomas Daniell

in China, but upon returning to Japan earlier than expected found himself unwelcome in Kyoto. In 809 he was ordered to remain sequestered in a temple on Mount Takao, northwest of Kyoto. That same year Emperor Saga ascended to the throne and became a friend and supporter of Kukai, eventually returning him to public prominence.

      Emperor Saga and his guests often went boating on Osawano-ike, the adjacent artificial lake. Its form was inspired by Lake Dongting in China’s Hunan province, said to be the origin of dragon boating, and indeed dragon boating still takes place here today during the October moon-viewing parties. Thanks to Emperor Saga’s cultural and aesthetic inclinations, Daikaku-ji has long been renowned as a site of cultural creativity as much as religious faith. He is said to have been the inventor of ikebana flower arrangement, and there is a prominent international ikebana school dedicated to his style, called Saga Goryu. Daikaku-ji was destroyed by fire in 1338 and rebuilt at a reduced size, then significantly altered in 1626 when Emperor Go-Mizunoo (1596–1680) relocated his own imperial hall of state to become the new main hall for the temple. Richly decorated, the temple still manifests the influence of shinden- style architecture and garden design.

       Named Murasameno-roka (Corridor of Passing Showers), this zigzag-shaped exterior corridor is intended to evoke the shape of a thunderbolt. All of the exterior veranda floors are constructed using a technique known as uguisubari, which causes them to sound like chirping birds when walked on.

       Looking across the veranda of the Miedo hall, built in 1925. In the background is the Shinden, a building donated to the temple by Emperor Go-Mizunoo in 1626.

       Looking across the central courtyard, with the Miedo on the left, the Godaido hall on the right, and the Goreiden hall in the middle.

       Located in the Shinden, this Momoyama Period painting, called “Kohakubai-zu” (Red and White Plum Blossoms), is by Kano Sanraku (1559–1635).

       Also located in the Shinden, this is a detail of “Nosagizu” (Hares) by Shiko Watanabe (1683–1755). The full work depicts nineteen hares across twelve panels.

       The interior of the Shoshinden looking through to the Jodan-no-ma, the room from which Retired Emperor Go-Uda exercised clandestine political power.

       The Botan-no-ma (Peony Room) of the Shinden, in which eighteen fusuma panels are covered with reproductions of paintings of peonies by Kano Sanraku (1559–1635).