The hue of autumn at Gango-ji Temple

September is going to end. Gradual cooling, cool and crisp air, sound of wind, blooms of autumn flowers, turning colors of grasses and leaves make me realize autumn is come.  At Gango-ji Temple in Nara City, The flower of Japanese bush clover is a sign of autumn together with the blooms of Chinese bellflowers and Japanese cluster-amaryllis.

Japanese bush clover, “萩, Hagi" meaning literally “grass on top of 秋, autumn", would be the first autumn flower because they start flowering when summer heat still lingers.  Tiny reddish purple or pink flowers and dainty leaves sway in breeze on arching stems. They were the most loved autumn flowers since the ancient times.  In the Manyoshu Anthology compiled in the 8th century, hagi flower is the most written flower, 142 out of 4500 poems.

There is also a white-flowered variety.

They play around some of the rocks with another autumn flowers, bluish purple bellflowers. 

This another stone was a foundation stone to the Lecture Hall.

 
In the precinct, there are about 2500 pagodas and statues made of stone or engraved on stone. They were donated by the people to wish for peaceful death to go to the Pure Land of Buddha in the medieval period.

Higanbana, or Japanese cluster amaryllis, starts blooming around the autumn equinox.





Asuka Temple built in Asuka in 596 is Japan's oldest Buddhist Temple. When the capital was transferred to Nara, the temple was moved to the current site (Nara City) and renamed Gango-ji in 718. Traits from the ancient times you can see from outside is the beautiful roof tiles and the design of roofing.

West roof of the Main Hall

Japan's oldest tile roofing called "Gyoki-buki" is constructed by partially overwrapping roof tiles of folding-fan shape.  "Gyoki-buki" is seen on the west roof of the Main Hall (Gokuraku-bo or Paradise Hall) and 16 rows of the roof of Zen Meditation Hall back to the Main Hall.  The roofing design is unique to Tempyo period (710-784).  Can you see color difference of the tiles on the roof of long rectangular building in the photo below? 

Main Hall and Zen Meditation Hall, both are national treasures.

Left side was roofed in Kamakura period (1192-1333); right side is "Gyoki-buki" in Nara period (710-794).

A few of the remaining tiles, which are brownish color, are from the Asuka period (593-670).  They were made by Korean craftsman and are the very first tiles produced in Japan.  In the ancient times, building materials were often collected from dismantled buildings, then carried to new sites and reused to make new buildings. 

Ancient tiles made in the 6th century have gone through more than 1400 times of seasonal change from summer to autumn at this temple. 

Seasonal flower is often arranged at the tsukubai basin at this temple.

Gango-ji Temple is registered as World Heritage Site as part of Historic Monuments of the Ancient Nara together with Todai-ji Temple, Kofuku-ji Temple, Kasuga Shrine, Yakushi-ji Temple, Toshoda-ji Temple, Kasuga Primitive Forest, and Heyjyo Palace Site.

This post is linked to Our World.