{Inter} Cultural Japan

The Philosopher’s Path (Tetsugaku no Michi) in Kyoto is one of my favorite walks, but I had been there only in summer, autumn (good for momiji leaves) and winter, as I discovered yesterday, because I never realized that it is also the prime sakura spot in Kyoto!

The philosopher’s Path is a 2 kilometer trail along a small canal (a branch of the Biwako Sosui, the canal that brings drinking water to Kyoto from Lake Biwa), through a quiet residential neighhborhood with occasional temples, shrines, small museums, galleries and even an imperial tomb. It starts in the north near Ginkakuji, the all-too-famous Silver Pavilion, and officially ends at Nyakuoji Jinja, a small shrine founded in 1160 by Emperor Goshirakawa as a branch of the great Kumano shrines in southern Wakayama. But usually one’s walk does not end there, as it is only a short walk south from Nyakuoji Jinja to the important temples Nanzenji and Eikando, and the Nomura and Senoku Hakkokan museums.

The area is officially called Shishigatani, originally countryside northeast of the city, now firmly part of it. Forty years ago, as Gouverneur Mosher writes in Kyoto, A Contemplative Guide, one could still spot the occasional farmhouse among the rising stucco homes, now these are all gone. The product remains, however, cultivated elsewhere I presume: Shishigatani kabocha, a variety of pumpkin is famous for its shape, which is like a gourd and therefore “lucky.”

The name Shishigatani means “Deer Valley” and there is a legend behind it. When the priest Enchin from Enryakuji had lost his way here at the foot of Daimonjiyama, a deer appeared that showed him the way out of what then must been a small wildernis.

Shishigatani is historically famous for a plot against the despotic Taira no Kiyomori, in the 12th century, but even more interesting is the fact that in the Kamakura period it became a place of devotion of Honen and his disciples, who set up an Amida statue on the mountain slope. This is the origin of two secluded little temples, Honenin and Anrakuji, which form the backline of Shishigatani, where the slope gets steep. There is also a small nunnery here, Reikanji, closed most of the year and only open the first week of April and the first week of October.

The nickname “Philosopher’s Path” is of more recent origin. As it is close to Kyoto University, the path along the narrow canal was a favorite haunt of Nishida Kitaro (1870-1945), the most important philosopher of modern Japan and a professor at Kyoto Daigaku. Nishida studied Western philosophy (Hegel, James, Bergson) and tried to fuse that with Eastern thought, especially Buddhism - Nishida practiced Zen and was a friend of Suzuki Daisetz.

Why is the Philosopher’s Path so good for sakura viewing? Because the cherry trees line the canal and are reflected in the water, and at the same time make a beautiful contrast with the dak green of the wooded slopes. Yesterday it was busy, but not too congested - people keep walking, only pausing now and then for a photo - and it is an open area, you can get in or out via the side streets, or seek refuge in one of the small temples that in this season usually are open (and these are remarkably quiet even now). And there are no food stalls, no fried squid or other things that assail the nostrils, there is also no space for picknicking which means there are no drunken parties as in Maruyama Park (or Tokyo’s Ueno). It is a most refined way of seeing cherryblossoms, something that optimally fits the elegant culture of Kyoto.

The best approach is from Keage St on the Tozai subway line and then a hike north via Nanzenji - this is less crowded than the buses, although Ginkakujimichi stop (bus 5) is closer to the Philosopher’s Path.