I just love the angles of painted vermillion wood and the angles of the lantern's top... oh, and the colors of it all... it took my breath away 20 years ago and does so again now in 2012.
Briefly, Emperor Kammu ascended to the the Throne of Japan in 781 AD as the 50th Emperor of the country.
In 796 AD, one year after moving Japan's capital to the Heian area, he held an official welcoming party at Daigokuden palace to welcome in the new year. This was the beginning of the city of Kyoto.
Over the 25-year reign of Emperor Kammu, he was known as a pretty good guy, amending laws, helping out the poor, encouraged learning, innovated domestic administration - and... opened up the doors to foreign trade. Japan prospered under his leadership.
In 1895, the 1,100th anniversary of the founding of Kyoto, the citizens sought to pay their respects and deified him as the ancestral god of Kyoto at the Heian Jingu .
Now... in 1831, Emperor Komei was born and ascended to the Throne in 1846 as the 121st ruler of Japan. His reign of 21 years saw him through the the end of the Shogun and the beginnings of modern Japan as it opened up its doors to foreigners, foreign thoughts and ideas. He laid the foundation for the Meiji Restoration and died early in 1867. In 1938, the citizens of Kyoto thought it prudent that Emperor Komei be deified at the Heian Shrine, too.
Just these two.
Now, since Komei was deified, Kyoto undertook the challenge of rebuilding and fixing up the entire complex of Heian Shrine.. and that's what you see in these two photographs I took.
The photo above shows on the left the look-out roofs of Byakko-ro, and to the far right the Great Outer Halls of Daigokuden - the rebuilt palace of the Emperor from which they ruled Japan from a shogunate took over in 1185 AD and moved the seat of power elsewhere.
Cheers
Andrew Joseph
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