KYOTO NOW:SOEI Patent & Law Firm

The company residence for short-term representatives of Kyoto Office, Soei Patent and Law Firm is in Gojozaka, Higashiyama. It’s near the bus stop closest to Kiyomizu Temple and about 10 minutes walk away from the temple.
Three weeks have passed since I arrived here but I still hadn’t visited the super famous tourist spot which is so close to where I’m staying. I’d kind of saved it for later thinking I could go any time.
Last Sunday turned out to be a perfect day for a walk, so I decided to pay a visit.

 For a while, I strolled among the tourists in Kiyomizuzaka, then, when I came to Niomon gate I noticed this sign.

It says that May 31 is the last day of exhibiting the principal image of the main hall (the building with the stage of Kiyomizu) and that the next time it will be opened to the public is 24 years from now! I couldn’t help feeling (even though very slightly) the strange fate that I happened to be there by chance on the last day. I hadn’t planned on paying and entering the temple grounds but just couldn’t resist the rarity announced by this sign.
 It is only during these expositions that you can visit the area in the main hall called “nainaijin (innermost sanctuary)” which is usually off-limits and observe up close the principal image, Senju Kannon (Thousand-armed Kannon). There were about thirty Buddha statues surrounding the principal image and it was a pretty amazing sight.
Anyone who is interested, please wait for another 24 years until 2033!

I really enjoyed the visit to Kiyomizu Temple and will probably return there soon. One memory that I have of this temple is that our club advisor teacher took us there for an early morning run during our school trip. I remember quite clearly running through the empty temple grounds. I can’t seem to remember any of the other sights that we went to see during that trip, though.