Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Kyoto is the ancient capital of Japan but it is unlike other former capital cities. Not content to just sit back and enjoy its former glory protected by UNESCO. (Kyoto has seventeen UNESCO World Heritage sites, more than any other city in the world.) Rather, Kyoto is still a thriving, living, breathing center of arts and culture as much as it ever has been. A trip to Japan without visiting Kyoto is like missing the main highlights of the entire country.
Kyoto is without a doubt the headquarters for Japanese gardening, the place where it gradually became an art form and found its beginnings here with Zen monks designing and maintaining gardens as a form of meditation. Emperors and feudal lords commissioned gardens for their retreats and bragging rights. Luckily most of these gardens have been lovingly maintained over the centuries. Not only the renowned gardens are noteworthy such as Ryoanji and Tenryuji but little known gardens are often a particular treat such as those found within Daitokuji and Tofukuji temple complexes.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
