So today I went to
Shugakuin, one of the Japanese Emperor's imperial villas. It was far bigger than any of the individual temples I have been to so far, and thus was difficult to maintain. Still, some of the buildings on the site are the originals and have never burned down. One familiar thing you hear about all these shrines and temples in Japan, is that at some point in the last 500 years, they burned down or were destroyed in WWII, and then rebuilt. So the fact that these were the originals was astounding in its own right. Also, there are many "rice paddies" on the grounds that they are not currently growing rice on. They hope to, wish to, and plan to in the future. I admit, it does seem a tad more fitting than the Chinese broccoli they are growing now.
3/20/2009
