There is an intense serenity in all of the ancient sites we’ve visited in
Kyoto – especially at Nijo Castle. Everything is made and decorated simply and
naturally. The color tones and images are taken directly from nature. It all
seems to fit and be at peace. There is not jumble of color or decoration
confronting visitors at the door as in Baoan Temple. Everything just seems to
flow together. The rooms flow from one to the next, the wood and stone seems to
match each other, the gardens are delicate and peaceful. Even the fusion of
Buddhism and Shinto seemed meant-to-be. There was no amalgamation, just a clean
seam where each religion filled a place in which the other was lacking.
This even flow was more apparent when looking out to the horizon of Japan.
We climbed to the top of a structure in Nijo Castle and looked out to the
mountains. In the past, the mountains would have been all one saw. Today, there
is a layer of forest, a layer of city, and then the mountains in the distance.
But the city doesn’t look out of place. It just seems to blend in to the
landscape as if it had always been there. Seeing this made it clear how easily
and willingly Japan had developed. There was no rush to become a successful
metropolis or modernize. There was no force to modernize from outside
countries. It seemed to have simply happened as it was to happen in Japan.
Perhaps this was another representation of the continuous pride in being
Japanese?
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