Daikakuji Temple is not called Saga Gosho, the villa of Emperor Saga, for nothing. It is spacious and the corridors connecting each building, which are one of the landmark features of the temple, are long and seem to never end.
Since I grew up in Kyoto, Daikakuji Temple and its Osawa-no-ike Pond are familiar to me. Period dramas I saw on TV as a child were often shot here. One impressive scene was when Ooka Echizen, a famous magistrate in the Edo Period, administers justice in Oshirasu, the area of white sand in the main garden. I regularly came here with friends and teachers to sketch during my elementary school. My hometown, Takao, is just beyond the mountains north of the temple. The gorgeous autumn foliage here made me recall my long-gone childhood days - days that I miss very much. (Photos were taken around Nov. 20th, 2013)
