Three kinds of stone pavement at Katsura

Gyo Pavement

There are three kinds of stone pavements at Katsura, Shin, Gyo, and So. You first encounter Gyo pavement, followed by So, then Shin.

So Pavement

This is in front of Show-i-ken, a cottage for tea ceremony.

Shin Pavement

This leads to Ko-sho-in house, the oldest of the houses standing in echelon. The large rectangle stone slab on top of the stairs is called Mutsu-no-kutsu-nugi, meaning six shoes can be placed in a row.

Deceiving Katsura

This article is transferred from my previous blog site.

German architect Bruno Taut was shown Katsura Imperial Villa on the next day of his arrival in Japan. The day of visit happened to be his birthday. UENO Isaburo took him there. He was a member of the International Architectural Association of Japan which invited Taut to Japan. Taut appreciated Katsura and commented that its beauty pleased the eyes. He was not a devoted modernist, rather an expressionist. He didn’t praise Katsura because it reminded him of practical beauty of modernism architecture but because various views wait ahead to be revealed. But his Japanese friends emphasized on his modernist side.

When Taut arrived in Japan in 1933, Japanese modernists as an emerging force in architecture were struggling to make themselves recognized. They insisted Katsura, as a supreme example of Japanese simple and rational beauty, had something in common with modernism. It seems they attempted to spread their influence and increase their say in Japanese architecture by cleverly using Katsura.

However, architects who belonged to the same modernist discipline later stopped saying Katsura shared something with modernism. Katsura is now understood more from a manierisme point of view.

How things are evaluated could depend on intention of those who try to justify themselves. It might be uninteresting if you are trapped by stereotypes or myths commonly known.

The buildings look simple and plain at first glance but turn out to be tricky and exquisite at another glance.

The garden is also quite manipulated to look natural yet refined. Artificial straight shorelines, however, reminds you that this garden is full of plots. It seems every item at the villa is mysteriously alive but does not concern your presence.

Pine tree screen blocks your view

Katsura Rikyu or Katsura Imperial Villa should be one of the destinations you would like to consider while visiting Kyoto. As an international visitor, you have a privilege of easier admission to the garden of the villa than the ordinary Japanese. For details go to the official web site where details are described.

The garden is not yet in sight, blocked intentionally by a perfectly shaped and trimmed pine tree.

Legend has it that there once stood a large pine tree called Sumiyoshi where the present tree stands. That large tree is said to have had a pair named Takasago standing on the shore across the pond.

These paired trees are referred to in the preface of the Anthology of Kokin Waka poems compiled at the beginning of the 10th century. The anthology represented the sense of aesthetic the ruling class of the society in those days was supposed to appreciate. They would have been admired if they had exhibited the high level of knowledge and comprehension about these Waka poems.

Prince Toshihito and his son Toshitada had profound knowledge and capacity to fully appreciate the cultural traditions of the Heian Court and reflected their aesthetic ideals in Katsura Imperial Villa. The villa was completed taking about 50 years. It is culturally very important and also interesting to think about the time that the villa was built. Not an easy period for the imperial members whose clout was completely overtaken by the Tokugawa shogunate.

There’s too much to appreciate and it’s almost impossible to feel completely satisfied with one visit only. However, if even a single unforgettable image should stay with you after the visit, what else would you have to ask?

Welcome to Katsura. It will reveal itself slowly. Meanwhile enjoy the video from the official web page and photos Katsura visitors in the past took in the URLs listed below.

http://sankan.kunaicho.go.jp/english/guide/katsura.html
In the above URL, the video of Katsura is available.

http://www.ac.auone-net.jp/~komori/A12_1.htm
Katsura in summer

http://www.k2.dion.ne.jp/~komori/A24_1.htm
Katsura in winter

Here's the other side of Sumiyoshi pine tree.

This article is transferred from my previous blog site and slightly revised.