The bird on the top is a bronze phoenix (covered in gold). You might notice that the each floor of the pavilion is in a different architectural style, even ignoring the gold leaf. The ground floor is in the style of a Heian era palace (i.e. the last "classical" period in Japan. The next is the style of military-aristocratic house, with lots of sliding doors and lattice windows. You could imagine that without the gold, this floor would look quite simple - it's meant to give off the impression of fragility and impermanence. The top floor is the ornate style of a Chinese temple. The top two floors are clad in gold to symbolize the importance of the relic inside - in this case, ashes of the Buddha (I'm not actually sure if the relic is still there, the whole thing was burnt to the ground in 1950 and then reconstructed).
The Pavilion is also meant to provide special views across the lake, where the islands recreate various famous literary scenes.
(Actually, I never saw either the Golden Pavilion or the silver one when I was in Kyoto: the golden one was closed for restoration, and somehow... I just never made it to the silver one. But I think they're lovely)
The rock under the waterfall makes me think of monks, who meditated under waterfalls--and also of the thing that if you stare long enough at a waterfall in meditation, it will stop moving--and this is, in fact, physiologically apparently a true fact, in that your eyes-to-brain connection stops working correctly when you're very sleep deprived, and indeed, water can appear to cease to flow. (Or so I recall, but my memory these days is not what it might be, so any unsupported facts I spout probably bear corroboration...)
I didn't get to see the Silver Pavilion either, but I like the wabi-sabi notion of leaving the actual silver off, as opposed to the extravagance of Kinkakuji. Although even Kinkakuji is subtle in its own way (or at least as subtle as you can be when covered in gold leaf). I love the way all three floors are different and you basically have a luxurious floor, a simple floor and then a super ornate floor, and yet only the top two floors are covered in gold. It's a bit of a reminder that the gold itself is not an intrinsic part of the architecture of each floor, it's just something added on top because what's inside is so special. It also reminds me of a cup with the glaze only going two-thirds down.
The rock under the waterfall makes me think of monks, who meditated under waterfalls
Oh! I've just worked out what it is! It's a carp trying to jump the "dragon gate" and become a dragon! I was trying and trying to figure out how to read the first character on that sign. It was obviously some kind of fish, but I couldn't find any characters that matched. I thought it had 虫 in it on the bottom right, but then I tried 鯉 and got "carp", and once I had that I was away. (Sorry, if this is old news to you, kanji are still a bit of an adventure for me...)
Of course, I'm still banging my head that I didn't ask someone while I was there. What a conversation starter that would have been...
I didn't know that! What an excellent story! I guess the notion of a carp having the potential to become a dragon must be part of East Asian mythology generally: it featured in the story Where the Mountain Meets the Moon ... and then there's the fact that the Pokemon Magikarp evolves into Gyarados, which is pretty dragonish.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2012-06-09 04:57 am (UTC)I'd like to spend an hour, sitting and looking at the situation of the last picture!
Great photos; thank you.
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Date: 2012-06-09 05:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-06-10 05:50 am (UTC)We want commentary! (What's the thing on the roof, for example?)
no subject
Date: 2012-06-10 10:10 am (UTC)The Pavilion is also meant to provide special views across the lake, where the islands recreate various famous literary scenes.
no subject
Date: 2012-06-11 10:21 am (UTC)(Actually, I never saw either the Golden Pavilion or the silver one when I was in Kyoto: the golden one was closed for restoration, and somehow... I just never made it to the silver one. But I think they're lovely)
The rock under the waterfall makes me think of monks, who meditated under waterfalls--and also of the thing that if you stare long enough at a waterfall in meditation, it will stop moving--and this is, in fact, physiologically apparently a true fact, in that your eyes-to-brain connection stops working correctly when you're very sleep deprived, and indeed, water can appear to cease to flow. (Or so I recall, but my memory these days is not what it might be, so any unsupported facts I spout probably bear corroboration...)
no subject
Date: 2012-06-11 08:50 pm (UTC)I didn't get to see the Silver Pavilion either, but I like the wabi-sabi notion of leaving the actual silver off, as opposed to the extravagance of Kinkakuji. Although even Kinkakuji is subtle in its own way (or at least as subtle as you can be when covered in gold leaf). I love the way all three floors are different and you basically have a luxurious floor, a simple floor and then a super ornate floor, and yet only the top two floors are covered in gold. It's a bit of a reminder that the gold itself is not an intrinsic part of the architecture of each floor, it's just something added on top because what's inside is so special. It also reminds me of a cup with the glaze only going two-thirds down.
no subject
Date: 2012-06-12 09:02 am (UTC)Oh! I've just worked out what it is! It's a carp trying to jump the "dragon gate" and become a dragon! I was trying and trying to figure out how to read the first character on that sign. It was obviously some kind of fish, but I couldn't find any characters that matched. I thought it had 虫 in it on the bottom right, but then I tried 鯉 and got "carp", and once I had that I was away. (Sorry, if this is old news to you, kanji are still a bit of an adventure for me...)
Of course, I'm still banging my head that I didn't ask someone while I was there. What a conversation starter that would have been...
no subject
Date: 2012-06-13 02:40 am (UTC)