The Temple of Literature, Hanoi

The Temple of Literature is basically what is left of the Imperial Academy created to educate Vietnam’s elite in medieval times. This is where they held Vietnam’s civil service examinations and I can’t help thinking that it mirrored Chinese imperial examination system. This educational institution was dedicated to Confucius and a couple of sages and scholars and functioned from 1076 till 1779. I would say it had a pretty good run.

When I started writing this post it was difficult for me to figure out which photos have been taken in which part of the temple, so I ended up drawing a plan shown below to make the post more visual and somewhat structured.

Images below show the main gate of the temple. I am not an expert on traditional Vietnamese architecture, but it felt like there is something distinctly Vietnamese about it.

Since the temple is surrounded by walls and its courtyards are separated from each-other by walls as well, there are quite a few gates. They are all different and well-integrated with the surrounding gardens. The image below left shows the Dai Tai gate. It is one of the side gates located in the first courtyard. The image below centre shows a bit of the first courtyard and the gate leading to the second courtyard. Another gate is shown in the image below right. It is called the Khue Van pavilion and it provides a passage from the Second to the Third Courtyard.

The temple gardens feature a number of ponds. Images below show two examples. The image on the left shows one of the ponds in the First Courtyard and the image on the right shows the Thien Quang well in the Third Courtyard.

Below are images of the Fourth Courtyard featuring trees growing in large concrete planters.

The focal point of the whole complex is the main hall of the temple located in the Fifth Courtyard. Below are images showing some of its features. The rightmost image shows the altar to Confucius.

Finally, let’s make this post relevant to the topic of bonsai. Below are some examples of potted trees photographed in various areas of the temple.

Images below show larger potted trees located in the Fourth Courtyard.

What can I say about the potted trees in the temple? They all display some degree of styling. None of them are terribly refined, but given the context, they probably don’t have to be. To me they provide historical context for bonsai by linking Oriental style potted plants with penjing.

Overall, the Temple of Literature was a great place to visit. It taught me that cultivation of styled potted plants was an important scholarly activity in Vietnam.

The Temple of the Jade Mountain, Hanoi

Last year, I visited the Temple of the Jade Mountain located on Jade Island near the northern shore of the Lake of the Returned Sword (Ho Hoan Kiem) in Hanoi. Image below shows the island with the temple lit up at night. The lake has this epic name that come from a legend. I am not going to repeat Wikipedia here, but it’s basically a Vietnamese version of the Excalibur story and the bottom line is “If you have been given a magic sword, one day you need to give it back”. Just like in real life good things don’t last and that is what makes them “magic”. In the legend, the sword is returned to the Golden Turtle God which is shown in the image below left. The belief in this deity was inspired by the presence of a large species of soft-shell turtle (Rafetus swinhoei) in the lake. It is believed to be locally extinct and the last known individual was found dead just four months before my visit.

The temple dates back to the 18th century and is dedicated to several historical figures. Among them a couple of scholars, but my favorite is general Tran Hung Dao who repelled three Mongol invasions during Kublai Khan’s rule in the 13th-century.

The temple has several architectural landmarks. The image below left shows the gate with a large ink-slab placed on top of it (Dai Nghien). The center image shows the Welcoming Morning Sunlight Bridge (Cau The Huc) connecting Jade Island with the mainland. The image below right shows the Moon Contemplation Pavilion (Dac Nguyet).

I understand that it’s a Taoist and Confucian temple. The main temple building shown in the images below was antique and quaint as opposed to freshly painted buildings in the images above. 

Some of the temple furniture was impressive. The door panels were beautifully carved (images below). Statues of the temple deities looked interesting too. There was also something different about the main incense burner, probably the handles featuring horned qilin heads and the feet featuring lion heads (centre image below).

My visit to Vietnam had nothing to do with my interest in bonsai, but bonsai was there for me to find it. Buildings, hedges and parapets in the temple grounds form many secluded areas decorated with many cay canh trees. Typically, they were large size, styled trees grown in decorated concrete containers.

Examples of such courtyards with cay canh trees are shown in the images above and below.

The temple’s three most impressive cay canh trees are shown in the images below.

They are located on a platform housing the Pavilion Against Waves (Dinh Tran Ba). This pavilion can be seen in the very first set of images of this post. Below are more images showing the platform with the trees arranged on it.

Other cay canh trees in the temple were not as refined and images below show some examples.

Finally, one cannot talk about the Temple of the Jade Mountain and the Lake of the Returned Sword without mentioning the Turtle Tower (Thap Rua) located in the middle of the lake. Images below show this scenic landmark.

I don’t have to recommend a visit to the Lake of the Returned Sword here, because almost any tourist visiting Hanoi would end up somewhere around it. The Temple of the Jade Mountain is charming and worth having a look if you are already there.

Byōdō-in temple, Uji

During my short residency at Fujukawa Kuoka-en in Osaka a couple of years ago, I was wandering what to do on my weekly day off. My bonsai instructor Maeoka-san pointed at the obverse of a ten-yen coin and said: “Go to Uji, it’s very peaceful there”.  I thought if this place is depicted on their money, it has to be amazing. I was aware that Uji is famous for its tea, but knew little about Byōdō-in temple depicted on the coin. A quick Internet search informed me that the temple began its existence in 1052 when a Fujiwara clan country house was converted into a temple. The construction of its most beautiful and famous building known today as the Phoenix Hall was completed in the following year (see images above and below). The coolest thing about the Phoenix Hall is that it’s a wooden structure which hasn’t been burned or destroyed for nearly a thousand years. What we see today is roughly how it looked during the heyday of Heian period. So, for me, visiting Byōdō-in was like time travel.

Byōdō-in museum was fascinating too, but photography was prohibited. All temple buildings except Phoenix Hall were burnt down during a war in the 14th century, so the other buildings reflect later architectural styles (see images below). To sum up, Byōdō-in is one of the most beautiful places I’ve seen in Japan.

Daitoku-ji temple complex: Kōrin-in

Kōrin-in is one of those temples that are closed to visitors most of the time. Fortunately, my visit to Daitoku-ji coincided with the time when its doors were open to public. The temple is impressive, but there is not a lot of information about it at ones fingertips. Luckily, Gregory Levine’s book titled “Daitokuji: The Visual Cultures of a Zen Monastery” shed some light on the temple’s history. Kōrin-in had begun its existence around 1520 as a family mortuary for the daimyo of Noto Prefecture.

Its founding abbot Shōkei Jōfu was one of Daitoku-ji’s most venerated monks. Following his death in 1536, Kōrin-in begun to function as his mausoleum. At the end of the 16th century the temple transitioned to a mortuary site for the Maeda clan and by the beginning of the 17th century became a regular urban temple. During the Meiji period (1868-1912) it even functioned as a hospital before being marketed as Ryōshō-ji. The original Ryōshō-ji site was destroyed, but Daitoku-ji leadership needed to maintain the Ryōshō-ji brand and Kōrin-in was a conveniently available surrogate for it. Once the new Ryōshō-ji was reconstructed in 1932, Kōrin-in was reverted to being Kōrin-in again.

It wasn’t the only swindle in Kōrin-in’s history. I should mention that the temple remained Shōkei Jōfu’s mausoleum throughout its existance. However, in 1998 it’s been discovered that one of Kōrin-in’s main relics, a statue venerated as the depiction of the temple’s founder Shōkei Jōfu was originally a portrait of Ten’yū Jōkō, the founding abbot of now extinct Baigan-an temple. This is especially baffling because Ten’yū was a prominent figure affiliated with Daitoku-ji’s Northern faction (Daisen-in temple), while Kōrin-in’s founder Jōfu belonged to the Southern faction (Ryōgen-in temple). Here goes my idea of Daitoku-ji as one big happy family. The displacement of this statue probably happened during the first years of Meiji period (following 1868) when things got out of control due to the movement to abolish Buddhism and make Shintō the state religion. Korin-in’s Abbot’s Quarters building or hōjō has been constructed between 1533 and 1552 making it one of oldest extant buildings of its kind. The building is executed in Muromachi style and goes well with Daitoku-ji’s overall character. Sliding door panels divide its interior into eight rooms floored with tatami (see images above). The building served various ritual, social and residential functions. The alter room (butsuma) with the adjacent chapel (shit-shū) situated at the core of the building weren't open for viewing. Apparently, the alter room is dominated by the portrait of Shōkei Jōfu and the “Jōfu/Ten’yū” statue mentioned above. By the way, the leftmost image above shows the oldest extant example of tokonoma alcove in Japan.  

Temple gardens are always my primary interest, but I haven't been able to find any substantial information about Kōrin-in’s gardens. Apparently, the dry garden along the southern side of hōjō (images above) represents the idea of paradise according to Chinese mythology with its rocks and azaleas symbolising mountains. One of the trees in this garden is said to represent the “Baidara” tree whose leaves were used for writing Buddhist scripture in ancient India. Those Indian manuscripts were actually made of palm leaves and the Japanese word “Baidara” may have originated from the Sanskrit word “patra” which means writing sheets made of palm leaf.

Hōjō’s eastern side overlooks a moss garden (images above). I found no information about its symbology. Its design features a wavy strip of bare ground. I would like to know what it represents. May be a river?

Northern side of hōjō faces Kankyo-tei teahouse surrounded by a tea garden (see images above). Apparently, Kankyo-tei’s name comes from a poem by tea master Furuta Oribe (1544-1615) and it roughly translates as “solitude tea hut”. Its design is a copy of famous Hassō-an teahouse designed by tea master Kobori Enshū (1579-1647).

Above is a composite image of Kankyo-tei’s interior. Hassō-an and Kankyo-tei follow a design called hassōnoseki or "eight-windowed [room]". This design is attributed to Furuta Oribe who was Enshū's teacher. The innovation of this design was more windows at varying heights (see the image above), especially around temae-za (the place of the host). This created a “spotlight” effect on the host performing the ceremony, which could be perceived as vane. On the other hand, it made the ceremony more fun to watch, which could be perceived as being attentive to guests. Tea master Sen Rikyū (1522-1591) liked it dark and austere in line with the aesthetic principles of Zen, while Oribe liked it to be less severe and more fun. I can see the merits in both views.

Images above show a little more of Kōrin-in. The leftmost image shows a small shrine at the North-east corner of hōjō. Center image shows a walkway leading from one of the temple’s buildings to hōjō. Rightmost image shows a courtyard garden with stepping stones. Images below show little things here and there that caught my eye.

I am really glad Kōrin-in was open on that summer day, last year.

Daitoku-ji temple complex: Ryōgen-in

My 2012 visit to Kyoto was packed with cultural experiences, but at the end of it, I had only one regret - I haven’t gone to Daitoku-ji. So, when I got my first day-off during my bonsai residency in Osaka last year, I knew where to go. When I finally got there, I discovered that Daitoku-ji is not a temple, but a complex of 23 temples. I also found that only a few of them are opened to public. The first temple I happened to walk into was Ryōgen-in.

Image above left is the temple’s main gate. The centre image above shows Ryōgen-in’s Hojo or abbot’s residence as you approach it from the entrance gate. Hojo has been built in 1502 and it still remains in its original form. It is believed to be the oldest building in Daitoku-ji precinct. Looking at the photos I took at Ryōgen-in made me confused. I couldn’t understand what is what and where the things were in relation to each-other, so I ended up making a map and unlike other existing maps mine is relatively complete and in English (image below). You can refer to this map as you read this post.

Now I could clearly see that Hojo is surrounded by four gardens on the south, east and north sides. The first I saw was Koda-tei (images below). It runs along the eaves of the study or Shoin on Hojo’s east side.

Koda-tei is narrow and long and it has been named after a river that runs near the temple in China where the founder of Rinzai sect came from. The river here is an allegory for the uninterrupted transmission of Rinzai sect’s ideas. This dry garden is also sometimes called A-un no Seki-tei. The meaning of this name is roughly “The garden of alpha and omega stones” because “A” and “Un” are first and last letters of Japanese alphabet. By the way, the two stones that represent “A” and “Un” were brought from Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s Jurakudai residence.

Further along the south side of Hojo building there is a sudden change of scenery (image above). It is Isshi-dan, a Hōrai-san style garden (image above and images below). In the image above, the tallest group of rocks in the middle represents mythical Mount Penglai or Hōrai-san in Japanese. This is where eight Taoist immortals meet for their elixir of immortality drinking parties. Needless to say, these events are by invitation only and the venue is secret. The group of rocks in the right corner represents ‘The Island of Cranes’ or Turushima, while the group of rocks surrounded by a halo of moss represents ‘The Turtle Island’ or Kameshima. The latter was created only in 1980 to replace a seven hundred year old camellia tree. 

All colours in the garden are natural and subdued (image above left), but the diversity of colours and textures doesn’t allow the viewer to get bored (image above right). Apparently, Isshi-dan’s name was inspired by a comment about the chambers of Ryōgen-in’s founder. His teacher called them “Ryozen isshi no ken”, which means ‘House of the single branch on Vulture Peak’. Was it a compliment? 

The west side of Hojo is has a small moss garden called Keizokusan. It is sort of indistinct and I missed it altogether. A tiny bit of it can be seen in the bottom left corner of the center image above. The main subject of this image is Kaisodō and I am not sure about the function of this building.

The north side of Hojo features Ryogin-tei, a Shumisen style garden, which is attributed to Sōami and believed to be the oldest in Daitoku-ji (images above). Apparently, it has been maintained in its original form for the past five centuries. The garden consists of several groups of rocks surrounded by a continuous sheet of moss. The tallest group in the center is supposed to represent mythical Mount Meru (aka Shumisen). It is a sacred mountain in Hindu and Buddhist cosmology, which is considered to be the center of all universes. Others interpret the center group of rocks as the Buddhist triad (san-zon-seki) representing three Buddhist deities whose identities vary according to different traditions. 

Totekiko (images above) is a courtyard garden jammed between Hojo and the kitchen section or Kuri. It is often named as the smallest rock garden in Japan, but I seriously doubt that. It was built only in 1960 by a well-known garden historian and designer Nabeshima Gakusho. It supposed to illustrate a Zen kōan: “The harder a stone is thrown in, the bigger the ripples”. Despite of its relatively young age Totekiko has become one of the most recognizable icons of Japan. To me, it seemed like a bird’s eye view of a landscape glimpsed through a portal in the floor. Almost magic!

So far, I was talking about the gardens of Ryōgen-in. Now, more about the Hojo building itself. Images above show some of its exterior features, while the image below is a schematic layout of it. Again, I had to make an English version of it myself.

The layout helped to figure out which room I was looking at in my photos.

The image above left shows Rei no ma. The name of this room has been translated as “The Courtesy Room” and I understood its function as a group activities room. This is where monks would hold tea and incense ceremonies (sarei and kōrei). The image above right shows Dan na ma. A Japanese friend explained to me that it functioned as a reception room for special guests, especially those who make large donations to the temple. See the Hojo layout for room locations.

The image above left shows the alcove or tokonoma of the study or Shoin (see the temple map above for its location). Apparently, at one point Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu played a game of chess in that very room and being there made me feel awestruck. The image above centre shows Shicchū. The name of this room has been translated as ‘The Zen Practice Room’ and it functioned as the assembly hall or a lecture theatre. The image above right shows Gekan. It is translated as ‘The Lower Room’. It is also called Shoin no ma which means ‘The Study’. One other name of this room is Kokutsu or ‘The Fox Den’. It was used for receiving important guests.

The remaining rooms of Hojo were not opened to public. However, they are shown on the Hojo layout above and here is how they were used by the temple. Shinzen, translated as ‘Front of the Truth’ functions as the Sanctum Sanctorum of the temple. This is where the most priced relics of the temple are enshrined. Menzō, translated as ‘The Sleeping Storehouse’ and functions as the prayer or meditation hall. Jōkan, translated as ‘The Living area’. It is also called Ehatsu no ma which is translated as ‘The Room of Robes and Bowls’. One other name of this room is Rikutsu and it means ‘The Racoons Den’. This room was used for the storage of monks’ robes and bowls.

I would like to finish this post with some images of calligraphy displayed around Hojo building (images below).

I was spellbound by Ryōgen-in’s elegance and the glamor of its history.