Kyoto is on three sides enclosed by mountains that all look quite different. Those in the west include the somewhat forbidding Arashiyama (“Mt Storm”) and are known for their bamboo forests. The northern mountains with their straight cypress trees retreat in layer upon layer to the far horizon. The eastern mountains are gentlest, more like a chain of modest hills, a green and protective barrier that embraces the city. The only exception is Mt Hiei, which rises up like a stern sentinel in the far northeastern corner.
The Eastern Hills (Higashiyama) figure in Sei Shonagon’s 10th c. Pillow Book, where the dawn moon rises over their rim, but for the rest they were surprisingly unpopular as early literature is concerned. They were the preserve of the gods and their shrines, and of the many temples that were built at their base. Literary fame had to wait until the Edo Period. Haiku poet Hattori Ransetsu (1654-1707) gave the first salvo with the following famous verse:
The head of the sleeper, rolled up in the soft folds of a padded blanket, of course is Mt Hiei, the hips are Mt Daimonji and the legs stretch south to Inariyama, the hill on which the Fushimi Inari Shrine stands with its thousands of vermilion Shinto gates.
Also in the Edo Period the phrase “Thirty-six Peaks of the Eastern Hills” (Higashiyama Sanjuroppo) saw the light of day. Not that the peaks were really numbered, “thirty-six” was just used as a poetic term for “a great many”. After all, there were also 36 Poetry Immortals. And a precedent existed in China: Mt Song in Henan province, one of the Five Sacred Mountains, known for its Shaolin Monastery, was also said to possess 36 peaks.
But when you have numbers, people want to attach them to something, especially in our prosaic modern times. A local Kyoto newspaper was the first to publish a complete list of all 36 peaks, somewhere in the fifties of the last century. After that several serious tomes on this weighty subject came out in print and today posts are proliferating on the web, even giving GPS coordinates for the peaks. All authors agree that the Thirty-six Peaks range from Mt Hiei in the north to Inariyama in Fushimi in the south and a sort of consensus has emerged as to what other hills to include in between.
But these Thirty-six Peaks are a strange lot. For one, we are not talking about a geologically connected range of 36 peaks. The “Thirty-six” have been selected because they are visible from central Kyoto. So the Hira mountains north of Mt Hiei (and connected to it) are not included, neither is anything south of the Fushimi Inari Shrine. The small Yoshida hill, next to Kyoto University, is counted, although it is a separate entity lying in front of the Eastern Hills without being in any way part of it. And Mt Maruyama now is a park without a single peak, due to all too enthusiastic landscaping activities in the past.
The term “peaks” is anyway a bold overstatement, as the average height of the Eastern Hills is only 210 meters and several “peaks” are so little prominent that they are difficult to identify visually.
[Mt Hiei and in front, Daimonjiyama]
The Eastern Hills (Higashiyama) figure in Sei Shonagon’s 10th c. Pillow Book, where the dawn moon rises over their rim, but for the rest they were surprisingly unpopular as early literature is concerned. They were the preserve of the gods and their shrines, and of the many temples that were built at their base. Literary fame had to wait until the Edo Period. Haiku poet Hattori Ransetsu (1654-1707) gave the first salvo with the following famous verse:
someone sleeping
in a futon –
the Eastern Hills
The head of the sleeper, rolled up in the soft folds of a padded blanket, of course is Mt Hiei, the hips are Mt Daimonji and the legs stretch south to Inariyama, the hill on which the Fushimi Inari Shrine stands with its thousands of vermilion Shinto gates.
Also in the Edo Period the phrase “Thirty-six Peaks of the Eastern Hills” (Higashiyama Sanjuroppo) saw the light of day. Not that the peaks were really numbered, “thirty-six” was just used as a poetic term for “a great many”. After all, there were also 36 Poetry Immortals. And a precedent existed in China: Mt Song in Henan province, one of the Five Sacred Mountains, known for its Shaolin Monastery, was also said to possess 36 peaks.
But when you have numbers, people want to attach them to something, especially in our prosaic modern times. A local Kyoto newspaper was the first to publish a complete list of all 36 peaks, somewhere in the fifties of the last century. After that several serious tomes on this weighty subject came out in print and today posts are proliferating on the web, even giving GPS coordinates for the peaks. All authors agree that the Thirty-six Peaks range from Mt Hiei in the north to Inariyama in Fushimi in the south and a sort of consensus has emerged as to what other hills to include in between.
But these Thirty-six Peaks are a strange lot. For one, we are not talking about a geologically connected range of 36 peaks. The “Thirty-six” have been selected because they are visible from central Kyoto. So the Hira mountains north of Mt Hiei (and connected to it) are not included, neither is anything south of the Fushimi Inari Shrine. The small Yoshida hill, next to Kyoto University, is counted, although it is a separate entity lying in front of the Eastern Hills without being in any way part of it. And Mt Maruyama now is a park without a single peak, due to all too enthusiastic landscaping activities in the past.
The term “peaks” is anyway a bold overstatement, as the average height of the Eastern Hills is only 210 meters and several “peaks” are so little prominent that they are difficult to identify visually.
[Himukai Shrine]
Nevertheless, the Eastern Hills are one of the richest places in Kyoto for density of historical monuments. Every hill is at least connected with one temple or shrine, often a whole handful. Enumerating them would mean ticking off the major places to visit in Kyoto, such as the Kiyomizu Temple and the Yasaka Shrine. But there are also many unknown places, small temples hidden away from the tourist hordes. One of these is for example the tiny Himukai Daijingu Shrine on Shinmeiyama (Peak no. 19). Only a short walk from Keage Station, this is a pristine shrine built in the style of Ise, but on a much reduced scale, as a doll-house for the Sun Goddess. When for a change you would like to visit a quiet, but beautiful shrine at New Year, you can’t go wrong here.
And a magical small temple standing just south of busy Kiyomizu is Seikanji (on Seikanjiyama, no. 30), perched on a hill above a pass, affording an excellent view of Kyoto. The temple is associated with the tragic love of the young Emperor Takakura (12th c.) for a palace lady. Forced to take religious vows by the politics of the day, the lady took up residence in this temple. And when his unrequited love brought the emperor to an untimely grave, he was fittingly laid to rest here, at the side of Seikanji.
Yes, the Eastern Hills are also a place of death. In the Heian-period, Toribeno, one of the public cemeteries of the ancient capital lay at its feet, at the level of Toribeyama (no. 28). Toribeyama now accommodates the cemetery of Nishi Honganji, one of the two New Pure Land sect head temples north of Kyoto Station. The other one, Higashi Honganji, has an equally large cemetery at Higashi Otaniyama (no. 25), just below Maruyama Park. These gigantic burial places are worth a visit, even if you are not into meditating on the transience of life: during the Buddhist Obon Festival in mid-August all graves are decorated with lanterns and that truly is a magic sight.
One of the most famous historical personages of Japan rests on one of the peaks of the Eastern Hills: the grave of Hideyoshi (1536-98), the Toyokuni-byo, stands on Amidagamine (no 31), at the top of an immensely long staircase. Hideyoshi had himself deified after his death so a great shrine also once stood here, but that was not to the taste of the rival Tokugawa clan who took the reins of government after him and tried hard to wipe his memory off the map. Part of that memory was restored in the Meiji Period by establishing the Toyokuni Srhine at Shomendori (next to the Kyoto National Museum) as Kyoto’s citizens still felt grateful towards Hideyoshi who was responsible for rebuilding Kyoto after the ravages of two centuries of wars.
Another famous grave has no inhabitant: Shogunzuka (“The Gravemound of the Generalissimo”) sits at the top of Kachozan (no. 21), right above Chionin and Shorenin temples. Legend tells that the clay statue of a fearsome warrior was interred here, already at the time the capital was founded in 794. The statue served as a supernatural protector of the city and when there were disturbances in the human world, the mound above it would shake. It is not certain whether the truth of the legend has ever been tested by archaeological survey, but the present Shogunzuka looks suspiciously new. It stands in a nice garden with a temple hall and sporting two platforms from which you have a great view over the range of the Eastern Hills north of Kachozan and the city below.
Hiking is another activity to undertake in the Eastern Hills, as they are crisscrossed by numerous paths – so numerous that it is often difficult to find the “official” path. You can, for example, walk down to Kiyomizu Temple from Shogunzuka. Go on a weekend so that there are plenty of other hikers you can ask for directions.
[On Daimonji-yama]
The most famous climb to one of the Thirty-six Peaks is the one up Daimonjiyama (no. 11). The path starts at the back of Ginkakuji and a bit of effort brings you to the center of the “Dai,” where the huge bonfires are lighted on August 16. There is a great view over the city from here.
[Imperial grave near Seikanji]
And a magical small temple standing just south of busy Kiyomizu is Seikanji (on Seikanjiyama, no. 30), perched on a hill above a pass, affording an excellent view of Kyoto. The temple is associated with the tragic love of the young Emperor Takakura (12th c.) for a palace lady. Forced to take religious vows by the politics of the day, the lady took up residence in this temple. And when his unrequited love brought the emperor to an untimely grave, he was fittingly laid to rest here, at the side of Seikanji.
Yes, the Eastern Hills are also a place of death. In the Heian-period, Toribeno, one of the public cemeteries of the ancient capital lay at its feet, at the level of Toribeyama (no. 28). Toribeyama now accommodates the cemetery of Nishi Honganji, one of the two New Pure Land sect head temples north of Kyoto Station. The other one, Higashi Honganji, has an equally large cemetery at Higashi Otaniyama (no. 25), just below Maruyama Park. These gigantic burial places are worth a visit, even if you are not into meditating on the transience of life: during the Buddhist Obon Festival in mid-August all graves are decorated with lanterns and that truly is a magic sight.
[Staircase leading to Hideyoshi's grave]
One of the most famous historical personages of Japan rests on one of the peaks of the Eastern Hills: the grave of Hideyoshi (1536-98), the Toyokuni-byo, stands on Amidagamine (no 31), at the top of an immensely long staircase. Hideyoshi had himself deified after his death so a great shrine also once stood here, but that was not to the taste of the rival Tokugawa clan who took the reins of government after him and tried hard to wipe his memory off the map. Part of that memory was restored in the Meiji Period by establishing the Toyokuni Srhine at Shomendori (next to the Kyoto National Museum) as Kyoto’s citizens still felt grateful towards Hideyoshi who was responsible for rebuilding Kyoto after the ravages of two centuries of wars.
[Shogunzuka]
Another famous grave has no inhabitant: Shogunzuka (“The Gravemound of the Generalissimo”) sits at the top of Kachozan (no. 21), right above Chionin and Shorenin temples. Legend tells that the clay statue of a fearsome warrior was interred here, already at the time the capital was founded in 794. The statue served as a supernatural protector of the city and when there were disturbances in the human world, the mound above it would shake. It is not certain whether the truth of the legend has ever been tested by archaeological survey, but the present Shogunzuka looks suspiciously new. It stands in a nice garden with a temple hall and sporting two platforms from which you have a great view over the range of the Eastern Hills north of Kachozan and the city below.
Hiking is another activity to undertake in the Eastern Hills, as they are crisscrossed by numerous paths – so numerous that it is often difficult to find the “official” path. You can, for example, walk down to Kiyomizu Temple from Shogunzuka. Go on a weekend so that there are plenty of other hikers you can ask for directions.
[On Daimonji-yama]
The most famous climb to one of the Thirty-six Peaks is the one up Daimonjiyama (no. 11). The path starts at the back of Ginkakuji and a bit of effort brings you to the center of the “Dai,” where the huge bonfires are lighted on August 16. There is a great view over the city from here.
Another interesting route is the much longer hike up Mt Hiei, for example via the Kirarazaka path starting immediately next to the southern fence of Shugakuin. This is one of the oldest routes to the mountain, and one is reminded of the warrior monks of Enryakuji storming down the mountain with portable shrines to intimidate the court. All along the Eastern Hills, history is alive.
Himukai Daijingu (075-761-6639): 15 min from Keage Station on the Tozai subway line (walk on the left side of the road in the direction of Yamashina; go uphill when you see a torii on your left). Free.
Seikanji: 10 min from Kiyomizu Temple (inside Kiyomizu, proceed to Oku-no-in (Amidado); instead of going downhill as other visitors, keep walking south, past the Koyasu Pagoda, and out through the fence; follow the path until you come out of the woods and see Seikanji perched on the opposite hill). Voluntary donation. To reach Kiyomizudera, take bus 202, 206 or 207 to Kiyomizu-michi and walk 10 min uphill.
Toyokuni-byo: 10 min east from Higashiyama Nanajo bus stop, via the road between Chishakuin and Myohoin Temples. Hrs 9:00-16:30. 50 yen.
Shogunzuka: 30 min from Keage subway station over the Higashiyama Driveway; walk in the direction of Yamashina and keep left, eventually turning into a road that swings to the right into the hills, passing over the road you were first on; Shogunzuka is the first turn right after about 20 min. You arrive in a picnic area with a parking lot beyond which stands Dainichido Temple. Shogunzuka sits in the garden of this temple. Hrs. 9:00-17:00, 500 yen. (http://www.shorenin.com/english/shogunzuka/).
Mt Daimonji: Bus 5 to Ginkakuji-michi, then 10 min walk to Ginkakuji. Turn left in front of the temple, take the first right towards the hills (in front of a torii), and then the first right again into a dirt road behind Ginkakuji. From here, it is about 30-40 min to the center of the Dai where you will find a small altar dedicated to Kobo Daishi.
Mt Hiei: To reach the entrance of Kirarazaka, take bus 5 to Shugakuinrikyu-michi and walk 15 min east to Shugakuin Rikyu. Turn right at the gate and walk to the south until the fence ends. Turn left into the dirt road leading east along a small stream. This is Kirarazaka. It takes about 1.5 to 2 hours to Enryakuji Temple.
All photos by Ad Blankestijn