For my architecture class on Wednesday we had a field trip to Daitokuji Zen Buddhist temple. The purpose of this outing was to see some of the famous tea rooms in the complex, as we were studying the very specific elements of tea ceremony related architecture. This was all well and fine, but there was the slight problem of the weather, by which I mean that it was freezing cold with more than a negligible amount of snow falling. That morning I had had a bit of a misunderstanding with my alarm clock, and thus did not have much time to consider my wardrobe for the day (wake-up time: 10:20. Class time: 10:45. Average amount of time taken to get from my front door to school at a brisk walk: 15minutes). I would have been fine if we hadn’t had to actually enter the temple, where shoes are prohibited. Our first stop, the Zuihou-in sub-temple, was quite lovely, especially as we were served matcha green tea and semi-sweet snacks and then treated to a talk by one of the priests, who was very interesting. After this we walked around the temple for a bit, saw the two different rock gardens, and then were invited into the ‘main attraction’ as it were: the tea rooms. Both of the ones that we visited were extremely small, less than 6ft square, with very simple interiors made of natural materials. I hadn’t much thought about it before, but tea ceremony and Zen Buddhism really do suit each other. I was still pretty much fine when we left this temple, and I really enjoyed the priest’s explanations of the rooms and his thoughts on spirituality, as well as the unexpectedly adorable knitted cap that he put on about halfway through. I suppose that if I were bald I’d wear one too. The next place in Daitokuji that our professor had wanted us to see was unfortunately closed for repairs, so we decided to visit another subtemple called Koto-in which is famous for its bamboo. I was getting pretty cold by this point. The rooms in the place were very nice, with screens and the like but I was hardly in any state to enjoy it. I thought that I was going to die when everyone reached the veranda (which looked out on the accumulating snow and a forest of bamboo that swayed in the breeze) and then sat down. Outside. Watching the snow. I don’t know how long the group literally chilled out there, but it felt like an eternity and my feet were starting to hurt. Finally we got up to leave. It actually hurt to put my shoes back on. I wasn’t warm again until my bath that evening. I love the bath.
-Daitokuji never taught Christianity, but it was associated with it in the past. In Zuiho-in there is a rock garden that is in the shape of an asymmetrical cross and a special kind of stone lantern under which is apparently buried a statue of the Virgin Mary. These lanterns were used secretive ways to continue Christian worship after it was outlawed. A former patron of the temple converted to Christianity, so the garden and lantern are in honour of him.
-The Taian tea room was built originally by Sen no Rikyu, the founder of tea ceremony as we know it, and was used to host his most famous pupil, the warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The version that exists now was rebuilt a long time ago, but as it uses the same main pillar it is considered to be the same tea room.
-To enter a formal tea room, the guest is required to literally crawl through a small doorway about 75cm x 75cm. This served a double purpose, the first being that everyone is equally humbled in the tea room, samurai and commoner alike, the second being that it would be next to impossible to get through the door while still wearing one’s sword.
-I actually did receive a text message from my professor at about noon before our 1:15 class that everyone should dress warmly and wear thick socks, but I really don’t know how I was supposed to find thick socks after I was already at school. Apparently this is considered ample warning in my professor’s world, which is something worth noting for future reference.
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