| JAPANESE | |
| F. Daigo-ji | |
| The Gojunoto which is the oldest building in Kyoto, and the garden of the Momoyama Period | |
| Establishment: The late 9th century | |
| Daigo-ji is devided into two separate precincts: the upper precinct and
the lower precinct at the western base of the mountain. It is thought that
the construction of the former begun in 874 and the latter in 904. The Yakushido (Yakushi Buddha hall) in the upper precinct is an 1124 reconstruction which followed the scale and style of Buddha halls of the Heian Period without oratories. The hall of worship known as the Chinju-sha Kiyotaki-gu Haiden, a kake-zukuri reconstruction dating from 1434, is designed in the esidental style. The Gojunoto (five-storied pagoda) in the lower precinct, built in 951, is Kyoto's oldest reliably dated extant building. Majestic and unshakable in appearance, this pagoda reveals its origins as an estoeric Buddhist structure with the paintings of the mandalas inside on the ground floor. The Kondo (main hall), trandferred to Daigo-ji from Mangan-ji in 1600, is built in the style of early Heian Period Buddhist halls. The Sanpoin Omote-shoin (reception hall), which for the purpose of holding a party. The magnificent garden lying next to it, also put in at the direct command of Hideyoshi, is an amalgam of the chisen-kaiyu (stroll garden with a pond) and karesansui (dry landscape) style. |
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| Photo by Kanzaki Junichi | |
Map of "Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto" |
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