Genko-an in Takagamine: the two Zen windows and Kyoto's blood-stained ceiling

On the hills of Takagamine, in the Kita-ku ward northwest of Kyoto, Genko-an (源光庵) is a temple you visit for two very precise reasons: two windows and a ceiling. Founded in 1346 by the monk Tetto Giko, it originally belonged to the Rinzai school linked to the great monastery Daitoku-ji; in 1694 it passed to the Soto Zen school, to which it still belongs today, and in those years the main hall you now see was rebuilt. Its full name is Yohozan Hojurin Genko-an.

The two windows

In the main hall there are two large openings side by side, and it is for these that the journey is worthwhile. The first is round and is called the Window of Enlightenment (satori no mado): the circle, in the Zen tradition, represents the totality and harmony of the universe. The second is square and is called the Window of Delusion (mayoi no mado): its four corners stand for the four sufferings of human existence, namely birth, old age, sickness and death. The two windows frame the same garden, but with two shapes and two opposite meanings, and the effect is that of watching two living paintings that change with the light over the course of the day. The garden, with its stone slabs, plants and lanterns, is considered one of the most beautiful views in the city.

The blood ceiling

Raising your eyes in the same hall, you grasp the second peculiarity, a much darker one. The ceiling is made from the floorboards of Fushimi Castle. In 1600, during the siege of Fushimi, the loyalist commander Torii Mototada held out for about twelve days against the forces of Ishida Mitsunari; when defeat became inevitable, Mototada and the hundreds of warriors who remained took their own lives by seppuku rather than surrender. That sacrifice bought time for Tokugawa Ieyasu, who shortly afterwards won the decisive battle of Sekigahara. The blood-soaked boards were later reused as ceilings in several Kyoto temples, both to honour those warriors and to appease their spirits with prayers. At Genko-an you can still make out handprints, footprints and the mark of a body, in the wood darkened by time. It is one of the so-called chitenjo, the "blood ceilings", together with Yogen-in, Hosen-in and Shoden-ji.

When to go

Genko-an is one of those places that stays quiet for most of the year, with one clear exception: in November, when the maples turn red and yellow, the two windows fill with people wanting to photograph the framed foliage. If you are after silence to really pause in front of the windows, it is best to avoid precisely that period. In spring, summer or early autumn the hall is often almost empty.

How to get there

To get there you travel by train and then by bus. From Kyoto station take the Karasuma subway line to Kita-oji, and from there the Kita 1 bus to the Takagamine Genkoan-mae stop: the temple is a minute away on foot. Alternatively, city bus number 6 from Nijo Station also gets you there. The address is 47 Takagamine Kitatakagamine-cho, Kita-ku. Opening hours are roughly 9:00-17:00; admission costs about 400 yen (around 500 during the foliage season). Note: in November access by private car is prohibited. Allow half a morning, including the bus ride from the more central parts of the city.

Related guides: Offbeat Japan: destinations and itineraries off the tourist trail.

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