Kyoto Customized Half-Day Tour — Guide Kazu

Title: What Is a Private Kyoto Tour Like for First-Time Visitors? A Licensed Guide's Report on Sanjusangendo

The guests were visiting Japan and Kyoto for the first time, coming from Europe. Although I had emailed several times beforehand, there was never any reply, and no email response came through until the very end. However, when we actually met, they turned out to be delightful, full of interest in Japanese culture and history, and they asked so many questions that guiding them was truly rewarding. We decided on the destinations while chatting at the hotel, and this time we chose popular spots. What interested them most was Shinto and Buddhism, and they asked extensively about the actual practice of the syncretism of the two. They also asked about burial and cremation after death, and about current rules on how graves are maintained and managed. The conversation jumped from topic to topic and back again, and in turn they taught me a great deal about the religious culture of their own region. Many people from Europe (as well as North America) have varied roots, and, influenced by their families, they are quite naturally accustomed to speaking multiple languages. I am always amazed at how different this is from the way of a small island nation like Japan with its single ethnic makeup — today we talked about such things and even skipped lunch to keep going.

Sanjusangendo houses 1,002 Kannon statues. In the center is the principal image. To its left and right are 500 statues each. And behind the principal image there is one more, for a total of 1,002. Today, for the first time, I received the question: why is there deliberately one more Kannon placed behind the principal image, facing the opposite direction? Honestly, I did not know, and when I checked online on the spot, no clear answer came up. Just then a monk happened to pass by, so I asked him. The monk answered very politely. According to him, in the past Sanjusangendo was not a temple that anyone could casually visit as they can today, but a special temple closed off to the world. From the temple's perspective, this meant that it was difficult to receive donations on a daily basis as it can now, so later a 1,002nd Kannon statue was created, and the temple monks and parishioners traveled around Japan carrying this Kannon while collecting donations — it was a Buddha statue made for that purpose. He said that normally a temple's principal images are enshrined in indivisible numbers such as one, three, or five, and that the figure of 1,001 carries such a meaning. All 1,001 of these Kannon statues face east, toward the residence of the retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa, so that around the clock the 1,001 Kannon face east to protect the retired emperor. However, just one is a complete exception and faces west, being a tool of the trade for collecting donations — a truly fascinating idea. When I shared this story with the guests, they were very pleased. It really was a wonderful question.

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Tour Report by Kazu

Hello, this is Kazu Akiyama, your tour guide. Nice to meet you and welcome to Japan. Thank you for joining me on the tour. Now I am a retired salaried worker, living in Osaka. I have been very much interested in not only learning Japanese history, culture, religion myself, but also talking about them (sometimes going off topics) in English with tourists from all over the world as well. I am so excited being with you as your guide on coming day! I am very much looking forward to you enjoying with me visiting the must-see places and some of the hidden gems. See you soon. Thank you – Kazu Akiyama