A Walk in the Clouds
“As cuckoo birds sing in the purple azaleas during the fifth month, it seems I’ve fallen in love with no pattern to follow.”
— Anonymous Heian period poet, 9th c.
Heian Jingu holds the highest rank of Shinto shrines in Japan and is very well known as a tourist spot and religious and historical center. With that being said, other than for spring cherry blossom viewing, very few visitors enter its majestic garden.
Created at the end of the 19th c., the shrine was built as a way to uplift the spirits of Kyoto’s inhabitants after the capitol was moved to Tokyo. The Imperial Palace of the Heian period (794-1185) was recreated on a smaller scale and the surrounding gardens, although built in the Meiji era, show glimpes into what life was like for the aristocrats in the Heian period.
Spectacular in all seasons, weeping cherry trees can be viewed in April, azaleas in May, long-stemmed irises in June, and water lillies in July. The emperor and his clan were referred to as the ‘cloud dwellers’ and as you take a stroll through this garden you will certainly understand why.
