Kōetsu-ji (光悦寺)

The land around this temple was given to Honami Koetsu in 1615 by the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu. Koetsu-san lived here with his family, and created an "artistic village" for various type of craftsmen. Hence the whole area ended up bearing his name, and is still known as the Takagamine Koetsu-cho. Koetsu also built a temple for the Honami family, and the temple was aptly named Koetsu-ji after his death. The grave of Koetsu-san is located on the temple grounds ($1 game: look for it!)

The Koetsu family was -and apparently is still- know for sword-making. The family business being very traditional, Koetsu was immersed in this atmosphere as a child and developed a very artistic mind. Koetsu is, for example, know as one of the important calligraphers of his era. He died in 1637 at the age of 80, more than respectable for the time!

The garden of Koetsu-ji is not a zen garden, but is a pleasant place to stroll. It features a large number of tea houses, which is unusual (I counted 5). This is explained by the passion that Koetsu-san had for tea. So much in fact that he didn't think one school of tea ceremony was enough; he simply picked ideas and teachings from the different schools and applied them as he wished. One of the tea houses is surrounded by a criss-crossed bamboo fence of unusual length, and the style of this fence is now called Koetsu-gaki. It is there that Koetsu lived the last days of his life. The tea house was destroyed after his death but was rebuilt in 1915. Interestingly, the most famous part of this temple is the narrow maple-covered alley that leads to it, and is quite beautiful in autumn. Best of all, the alley is before the gates so it's free!

Close by are a few other temples and shrines worth visiting while you're in the north of Kyoto: Genko-an (源光庵), Shoden-ji (正伝寺), Myoken-gu (妙見宮) and Josho-ji (常照寺).