The wall stretched all the way to Kitakoji between Nishi Honganji and Koshoji

Wall of Kitakoji
Shot in Kitakoji, Kyoto
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As I walked along Horikawa-dori, I saw a gate. Thinking that I would be able to enter the precincts of Nishi Honganji Temple once I passed through the gate, I hurriedly walked through the gate and found a different scene than I had expected. What I stepped into was not the precincts of the Nishi Honganji, but a narrow alley called Kitakoji that stretched between Nishi Honganji temple and Koshoji temple. There was a wall on either side of the straight alley, and the entrance to Nishi Honganji was nowhere to be seen. The gate I had just passed was the Kitakoji-mon Gate, which marked the entrance to Kitakoji.

Kitakoji is an inconspicuous narrow alley. However, it has a long history. It is said to have existed since the time when Kyoto was called Heian-kyo, which means it has existed for more than a thousand years. Today, the alley is just an alley connecting Horikawa-dori and Omiya-dori, sandwiched between Buddhist temples, but it was originally a small alley connecting Higashi-ichi and Nishi-ichi, the official markets of Heian-kyo.

The alley was just a series of walls with no pedestrians. I stopped passing through this historic alley and went back to Horikawa-dori to go to Nishi Honganji Temple. At that time, I never dreamed that the Honganji Karamon gate, a national treasure, was sitting at the end of this alley. What a pity. However, now that I look at this photo carefully, I can see a cover at the end of the path that says "National Treasure Karamon Restoration". Even if I had continued on my way, I would not have been able to see it because it was under restoration.

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Apr 2021 IN THE CITY KYOTO

PHOTO DATA

No

11870

Shooting Date

Feb 2020

Posted On

April 8, 2021

Modified On

December 13, 2021

Place

Kyoto City, Kyoto

Genre

Street Photography

Camera

SONY ALPHA 7R II

Lens

ZEISS BATIS 2/40 CF

Where is Kitakoji-mon Gate?

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