helped by this god of mercy (1,001 images multiplied by the 33 possible incarnations equals 33,033).
The gods of wind (Fujin) and thunder (Raijin) stand at either end and in front of the rows of 1,000 Kannon. The image of Fujin, the god of wind, stands 3.8 feet (1.1 m) tall and holds a large bag of wind over his shoulders. Raijin, the god of thunder, is 3.5 feet (1 m) tall and is surrounded from behind by a circlet of drums which he beats with his drum sticks, thereby causing thunder to roll. Both deities are of a ferocious mien, and both were actively feared and placated by the people in earlier times. Behind the 1,000 Kannon are the statues of the 28 followers (Nijuhachi bushu) of Kannon, Buddhist deities with human or animal heads who protect mankind. The Nijuhachi bushu were made during the Kamakura period (1185–1333) or later, and are approximately 5 feet (1.5 m) in height. The 28 images are the spirits of deified wisdom, beauty, prosperity, relief for the poor, etc., and are lined up in a row along the rear corridor of the temple. Additional images of the Nio, Fudo, Jizo and other Buddhist deities are also located in the rear of the building.
On leaving the Sanjusangen-do building, observe the platform under the eaves of the rear of the structure, for here takes place the annual ancient Hikizome Matsuri (First Shooting of the Year). The Hikizome (or Toshiya) Ceremony is held on the 15th of each January and represents the initial archery contest of the New Year. Since the arrows launched seemed to fly through the air one after another, the ceremony is also called Toshiya (“Passing Arrows”). These bow and arrow contests first began in 1606 on the west veranda of the temple, and they remained most popular among the samurai (warrior class) right through the Edo period (1603– 1868). The archers had to shoot their arrows from a squatting position, aiming from the south end of the veranda to the target, 3 feet (1 m) in diameter, at the north end, 197 feet (59.1 m) away. (As a result, the pillars have had to be protected by metal coverings against stray arrows.) In former times, the contests began at 6:00 p.m. and continued for 24 hours. At age 22, the 1686 champion, Wasa Daihachiro, sent a record 8,233 arrows to the target at the north end of the veranda out of 13,053 that he had shot. Today, the contest on January 15th begins at 9:00 a.m., but it is only a modest repetition of the Toshiya of former times. In truth, it is no longer a real contest, but remains as a tradition worth retaining. As part of the tradition of this ceremony, a collection of bows and arrows is displayed on the south end of the interior of the hall.
2 KYOTO NATIONAL MUSEUM
Across Shichijo-dori from Sanjusangen-do is the Kyoto National Museum, and it is worth a visit since it presents an excellent picture of the arts of Kyoto’s past. It perhaps is best saved for a rainy day (as with other museums) when one does not wish to be traipsing between outdoor temples and shrines.
The Kyoto National Museum was founded in 1875 as an Imperial museum, and in 1897 its original building was erected in the then current European style that can best be described as Victorian Neo-Renaissance. The museum was given to the city of Kyoto in 1924 and then was nationalized in 1952. In 1966, a modern addition (designed by Keiichi Morita) was opened. Originally planned as a museum for important items of artistic or historic merit from temples and shrines that the Meiji government took over, it has developed a substantial collection of its own—as well as borrowing from private collections and religious institutions when mounting special exhibitions. As one of the major holdings of artifacts and historical art of early Japan, the exhibits cover the period from pre-history through the Edo period (to 1868). In as much as the collections are extensive, many of the objects in the museum’s holdings are rotated; thus it is not possible to indicate those items currently on view. The collections include art, religious objects, and items of archeological and historical interest. These include sculpture, paintings, ceramics and pottery, metal work, lacquer, toys, dolls of Japan, calligraphy, sutra scrolls, paintings, Buddhist images and costumes. Chinese works of art are represented as well since they had a major influence on Japanese art and tastes in the past. Special exhibitions are mounted in the spring and autumn in the original Meiji era building. Labels are in Japanese and in English, and a guidebook to the collections (in English) is available in the museum shop. The museum also contains research and photographic laboratories.
RECALLING TOYOTOMI HIDEYOSHI
When one leaves the Kyoto National Museum and exits on to Shichijo-dori, walk to the right (west) to the corner of Yamato-oji-dori (the next cross street) and turn to the right. On Yamato-oji-dori you are then about to encounter the end of Japan’s medieval period and to become acquainted with the intriguing figure of Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536–98), the military general and civil ruler of the late 1500s (he ruled from 1585 to 1598). Hideyoshi, who brought peace and prosperity back to a devastated Kyoto, was one of the major personalities in the history of Japan. He was honored by the citizens of Kyoto in particular, for Kyoto was a city that had suffered the depredations of war and fire and the privations of starvation and disease, all caused by the country’s internecine wars of the previous 100 years. Hideyoshi’s day in the sun was a comparatively brief but glorious one. By 1585 those who opposed him had been conquered and he ruled a pacified nation; by 1598 he was dead, leaving a memorable legacy that the thankful people of Kyoto could not forgot. These 14 years were important ones in Japan’s history, and they are especially remembered as the glorious Momoyama period when art flourished, business and commercial enterprises revived and Japan was at peace.
Statue of a seated Hideyoshi at Hokoku Shrine.
Hideyoshi is recalled in many places in Kyoto, but in the portion of the city covered in this walk you will encounter some of the most memorable reminders of his life: Mimi-zuka, the mound which commemorates his brutal wars in Korea; the Hoko-ji, the site of the image of the Buddha that was meant, in a vainglorious moment, to outshine that of the Daibutsu (the Great Buddha image) of Nara and whose memorial bell, which was to herald an era of peace, led instead to the downfall of his son and the eradication of his line; and the Hokoku Shrine, the restored Shinto shrine to his spirit. It is best to begin with what remains of the Hoko-ji Temple.
3 HOKO-JI TEMPLE
The Hoko-ji Temple is on the east side of Yamato-oji-dori, one and a half streets from Shichijo-dori, just beyond the Hokoku Jinja (Hokoku Shrine) whose main entrance faces Shomen-dori, a street heading downhill to the west. The entrance to the Hokoku Jinja should be bypassed, for the Hoko-ji grounds begin at the end of the shrine property. Hokoji is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. There is no entry fee.
The only historic remnant in the Hoko-ji, the one-time site of the Great Buddha of Kyoto, is its infamous temple bell. There is no charge to see it, but if you wish to strike the bell with its beam, the attendant may collect a small fee for this privilege. Although the history of the temple is fascinating, other than seeing the bell it is not worth entering the remaining buildings, which date from the 1970s after the latest fire to plague the temple. The Hoko-ji Temple was erected by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in part out of his own vanity and in part as a ploy to disarm all but the new warrior class (samurai), which officially came into being as a result of the codification of rank and status that Hideyoshi began and which the Tokugawa shoguns would formulate definitively after 1600. This “pious” act of creating the Hoko-ji Temple was hardly based on religious zeal. Determined to build a huge image of the Buddha that would outclass the Daibutsu (Great Buddha) of Nara, Hideyoshi boasted that his Great Buddha would be created in five years rather than the 20 years it had taken to build the Daibutsu of the Emperor Shomu in the 7th century. The temple grounds that held Hide-yoshi’s gigantic image and its hall covered an area 780 feet (237 m) from east to west by 822 feet (250 m) north to south. Hideyoshi’s vassals (the daimyo or lords dependent upon him) were required to furnish the funds and the thousands of workers needed to bring this 160 foot tall (48.7 m) Buddha into being. Originally intended to be cast in bronze, difficulties with the casting led instead to the creation of the image in wood. This was then lacquered, 10,000 bags of oyster shells being ordered as part of the raw materials for this process. The Hondo (Main Hall), built in 1587 to house this gigantic image, stood 222 feet (67.6 m) by 330 feet (100.5 m) by 200 feet (61 m) high.
The creation of the Buddha image gave rise to a way of disarming the general populace. Many citizens had maintained their own weapons for defensive purposes or for use when pressed into military battles in the previous century of the Sengoku