Walking through the precincts of Daitoku-ji Temple is like going back in time

I trudged northward through the city of Kyoto until I reached a temple called Daitoku-ji Temple. It is one of the largest Buddhist temples in Kyoto with more than 20 temples in the temple and is the head temple of the Daitokuji sect of the Rinzai sect. In Kyoto, where there are many famous Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples, it is a minor temple and not very familiar. However, you may feel a little familiar with the temple when you hear that Ikkyu, who is famous as the model of a myth, was a monk of the Daitokuji sect of the Rinzai sect and was appointed as the abbot of Daitoku-ji Temple by the Emperor Go-Tsuchimikado.

Stepping into the precincts of Daitoku-ji Temple, which has a huge site, I did not feel like I was visiting a Buddhist temple. Usually, when you pass through the main entrance, the main hall is waiting for you at the end of the path, but here, there is no such scenery. There is a gate, a Buddhist hall, and other architecture. But rather than walking through a temple, I felt as if I were visiting a town that existed a long time ago.

Of course, there were no cars on the stone-paved road leading to the temple grounds. There were pine trees planted on both sides of the road, and a series of mud walls. As I walked along the empty road, I felt as if I had slipped back in time to the modern era.