Time Travel Shinkyogoku (5)

Chapter 4: A Stroll Through Shinkyogoku Tracing the "Seven Wonders of Shinkyogoku"

There are various things considered "seven wonders" throughout the country and the world, and in Kyoto, too, many shrines and temples have long passed down their own "seven wonders."
In Shinkyogoku, there has been a tradition of "seven wonders" since the Meiji era, though the circumstances of their origin are unknown. They can be seen in "Seven Wonders of Kyo" written by Yoritoshi Inoue in 1944 and the Ryoku-ko Series "Seven Wonders of Kyoto (Part 1)" published by Ryoku-ko Tanaka in 1959.
The "Seven Wonders of Shinkyogoku" were likely created during the Meiji and Taisho eras as a form of sightseeing guide. However, as the temple and shrine grounds have decreased and the landscape of Shinkyogoku has changed significantly, even these wonders, spoken of only a little over a hundred years ago, are gradually being forgotten.
Therefore, while tracing the fading memories of the people and reflecting on the changing appearance of the Shinkyogoku-dori area, which has undergone transitions since the Meiji era, I would like to attempt a walk through Shinkyogoku, visiting the "Seven Wonders of Shinkyogoku" from north to south.

(1) Taratara Slope

The gentle downward slope with a height difference of about 1 meter, heading south from Sanjo, the northern starting point of Shinkyogoku-dori, has been called Taratara-zaka or "Taratara-ori" (the slow descent).
The passage that leads from the Doutor Coffee terrace seats to Shinkyogoku, just to the east of Shinkyogoku-Sanjo and beside the Juji-ya Music store, requires descending 10 steps. One realizes this is the same as Taratara-zaka, but since one does not feel such a downward slope on Teramachi-dori just to the west, it likely came to be called one of the seven wonders.
During the Toyotomi Hideyoshi era, Sanjo-dori was built at a high elevation like an embankment to connect to the Sanjo Ohashi Bridge over the Kamo River, and Teramachi-dori was also at the same height at that time. On the other hand, Shinkyogoku-dori, which was opened on the site of temples and shrines that were originally on lower land (about 1 meter lower) on the east side near the current Shinkyogoku-dori as the Kamo River floodplain, remained at that lower position. The height difference with the surroundings is the true nature of Taratara-zaka.
A micro-topography map showing that a cliff-like height difference of about 1 meter exists just to the east of Shinkyogoku was also posted in Chapter 1 (1) of "Time Travel (2)," but I will repost it here for reference.

Incidentally, it seems the black gate (north gate) of Segan-ji Temple remained at Sanjo in Shinkyogoku until 1897, but unfortunately, I have never seen a photo or image of it, so if anyone knows of one, I would love for you to tell me.
By the way, the Segan-ji cemetery originally extended to around the current Shinkyogoku-dori. A gravekeeper's family kept goldfish in a small pond in the vacant lot of the cemetery as a side job. According to a powerful episode in "Ryoku-ko Series: Konjaku Monogatari Part 2" (Ryoku-ko Tanaka, published 1962), after the Great Fire of Genji, they would carry the remains of unidentified soldiers left in the town to this place, take anything of value, and bury the bodies in the pond. This goldfish shop, Kingyo-tei, also ran a shop selling shiruko, zenzai, and shaved ice with syrup, and later became a grand building called the Kingyo-tei Cafeteria, but in the early Showa era, the shop changed into a Morinaga Candy Store. Later, the first floor became Morinaga Hamburger Love and the second floor became a coffee shop called Chatelaine. Currently, the first floor is a Doutor Coffee shop, and the second floor, after being an omelet rice shop called Pomme no Ki, is now a cat cafe.

(2) Segan-ji Temple's Lost Child Signpost

On the north side of the front of the Segan-ji Temple gate (to the left when facing the gate), there stands a stone pillar engraved with the famous words "Maigo Michishirube" (Lost Child Signpost).
This stone pillar is not depicted in Edo-period illustrations and was made in the Meiji era. The back is engraved with the fact that it was erected by local volunteers in 1882. The left side, which is currently adjacent to a wall, is engraved with "For those searching," and the right side with "For those informing," and they served as message boards where notices of lost children or lost property were posted.
Such stone pillars are called Gekka-hyojin-seki (matchmaker stones), and it is said that several still exist in Tokyo, Nagasaki, and elsewhere. In Kyoto, besides Segan-ji, they remain at Yasaka Shrine (the "Shinto" lamp to the left of the South Romon Gate) and Kitano Tenmangu Shrine (the "Kien-hyojin-seki" in the garden of the Sho-ko-ken tea house), but those are relics from the Edo period.

(3) Segan-ji Temple's Amida Nyorai Statue

The Amida Nyorai statue donated by Toyo Yamawaki, a representative doctor of the Edo period who was also a parishioner of Segan-ji, was the principal image of Segan-ji that had internal organs (the five viscera and six entrails) inside its body. However, it was lost along with the main hall in the Great Fire of Genji and no longer exists. Toyo Yamawaki witnessed the dissection of a criminal's body at the Rokkaku Prison in 1754 and published "Zoshi" five years later as a record of it; it is said he donated the statue to appease the spirit.
Incidentally, the publication of "Zoshi" was an achievement 15 years before Genpaku Sugita and others translated and published "Kaitai Shinsho" (New Book of Anatomy).
At the east end of the first small path going down from Sanjo in Shinkyogoku (the north end of Uradera), there is a stone monument for the "Graveyard of Toyo Yamawaki's Dissection Monument," and the Segan-ji cemetery spreads out behind it.
In this cemetery, besides Toyo Yamawaki and the Yamawaki family, the graves of many famous people rest, including Anrakuan Sakuden, famous as the founder of Rakugo, and Ohan and Choeimon.
Incidentally, this winding path leading to Chosen-in is the remains of the passage that separated the Segan-ji abbot's quarters from the sub-temples that stood surrounding it.
The main hall that was lost was replaced by the main hall of Daitsu-ji Temple (Minami Ward), which was put up for sale after the Meiji Restoration due to the Haibutsu Kishaku (anti-Buddhist) movement, and the principal image was similarly brought from Hachiman Hachimangu Shrine. However, that main hall also burned down in 1932, and the current main hall was rebuilt in 1964 using reinforced concrete.

(4) Chosen-in Temple's Mikaiko-no-Ume (Unopened Red Plum)

Chosen-in, which faces the road called Uradera just behind Segan-ji, is a sub-temple of Segan-ji.
There was originally a plum tree in front of the Kasuga Shrine (Myojin-san) that was inside Segan-ji. It was called "Mikaiko-no-Ume" (Unopened Red Plum) because it was red when in bud but bloomed with white flowers. The small plum tree that can be seen from outside the gate of Chosen-in today also seems to be of the same lineage and bears white, lovely flowers every spring.
Chosen-in is not open to the public, but it is said that visits are possible by appointment.

(5) Izumi Shikibu Pagoda

Going further south from Chosen-in Temple and passing through a narrow, winding alley that turns to the right, you emerge once again in front of Seigan-ji Temple; this area is known as Rokkaku Square. Heading south from here along Shinkyogoku Street, you will soon find Seishin-in Temple.
It is a temple of the Sennyu-ji school of the Shingon sect, officially named Kagokuzan Tohoku-ji Seishin-in, but it was also commonly known as the Izumi Shikibu Temple. The original reading is 'Joshin-in,' but after the war, it began to be pronounced 'Seishin-in' to distinguish it from Joshin-ji Temple. In some Edo-period maps, this temple is labeled simply as 'Izumi Shikibu.'
The 'Izumi Shikibu Pagoda' refers to a Hokyointo (a type of pagoda) that once stood beside the main hall next to the 'Nokiba no Ume' (plum tree by the eaves). However, following a fire in 2000 that destroyed the neighboring rented house site where the okonomiyaki restaurant 'Koharu' stood, the 'Izumi Shikibu Pagoda' was relocated to that adjacent vacant lot. It can currently be viewed from the Uradera side across the parking lot.
Also, next to the Izumi Shikibu poem monument that still stands beside the main hall, a small 'Nokiba no Ume' is planted, though it is unclear how many generations removed it is from the original.
Izumi Shikibu, the founder of Seishin-in, is said in some legends to have taken Buddhist vows at Seigan-ji Temple. Furthermore, given that Seishin-in was moved to this location during the Tensho era alongside the adjacent Seigan-ji Temple from their original site at Ichijo-Ogawa, Seigan-ji and Seishin-in share a deep connection through Izumi Shikibu.

(6) The Amida Nyorai Statue with the Inverted Lotus Pedestal

Heading south from Seishin-in and passing the gate of Takoyakushi, you reach the wide Takoyakushi Street. On its southeast corner stands a building-style temple called Anyo-ji, also known as 'Saka-renge' (Inverted Lotus), with a stone pillar inscribed with 'Women's Rebirth: Inverted Lotus Amida Nyorai.'
It belongs to the Seizan Zenrin-ji school of the Jodo sect, and its mountain name is Hachiyo-zan. The principal image, the 'Amida Nyorai Statue with the Inverted Lotus Pedestal,' is enshrined in the main hall on the second floor, reached by stairs immediately to the right after entering the gate. It is said that the lotus pedestal was turned upside down to save women who could not otherwise attain rebirth in the Pure Land, an episode that speaks to how oppressed women were at the time.
Although the temple is inside a building, there is a dark, narrow passage on the first floor that leads through to Shinkyogoku, and a Kitamuki Jizo (North-facing Jizo) is enshrined at the back.
When you go up to the main hall on the second floor, you can worship the principal image from outside through the glass door, but you cannot see the inverted lotus pedestal.

(7) The Jizo Bosatsu of Somedono

The final stop on this walk is Somedono-in, known for prayers for safe childbirth. Originally, it was a sub-temple of Konren-ji, known as Jujushin-in. The stone marker at the entrance inscribed with 'Site of the Nenbutsu Fusan by Ippen Shonin, Founder of the Ji Sect' is a remnant from when this place was Konren-ji.
The 'Jizo Bosatsu of Somedono' is a naked Jizo statue standing over 2 meters tall. The information board states that it is a hidden Buddha revealed once every 50 years, though the timing is currently undecided.
During the Edo period, the entire area north of Shijo Street was the vast precinct of Konren-ji, also called the Shijo Dojo, but it relocated to Takagamine in the Kita Ward in 1928. However, Somedono-in remained in Shinkyogoku, and the head priest of Konren-ji serves concurrently as its head priest.
The path beyond the dimly lit Somedono-in, leading through the stone-paved alley to the storefront of the Hayashi Manshodo chestnut shop, opens into the bustle of Shijo Street. This short approach, which serves as the finale to the walk down from Sanjo, feels like the exit of a time machine that has jumped over 150 years.
Incidentally, when you reach Shijo Street, a stone pillar inscribed with 'Safe Childbirth Protection: Somedono Jizo Bosatsu' and 'Left: Shortcut to Kyogoku' stands quietly on the boundary with the neighboring police box.

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