A Whirlwind Tour of Kyoto Trivia Quiz

Answer: By bullet train to Kyoto Station

The shinkansen is the famous bullet train, traveling at up to 300 kilometers an hour! Renowned for its precision, efficiency and safety, it's a great way to travel.

Kyoto Station itself is large, impressive, and unapologetically modern. It was inaugurated in 1997, on the occasion of the city's 1200th birthday. Some criticized its decidedly untraditional architecture, with an intricate lacework of steel girders soaring above an wide, high, glass-enclosed atrium, and the fact that it opened the way for other modern buildings to be constructed in the neighborhood -- but it has its own kind of beauty.

In addition to housing Kyoto's main railway link, Kyoto Station contains a shopping mall, an eight-story department store, a theater, a hotel, and several restaurants, with a large array of bus stops outside.

Answer: No

Kyoto has had an Imperial Palace in this approximate location for more than eight hundred years, but the modern Kyoto Gosho was only used as an imperial residence for thirteen years. Rebuilt in 1855 in the Heian architectural style, the building lay mostly empty after 1867 -- when the Meiji Restoration returned government power to the Emperor, who moved his residence to Edo (which had long been the de facto capital). His 1868 move is what prompted the city to be renamed Tokyo, the eastern capital, and this is when all the various forms and functions of a capital were united in that city.

Although Kyoto Gosho is no longer an imperial residence, it is sometimes used for state functions -- including a few coronations. Its cypress wood buildings, often beautifully and intricately painted, are beautiful, and the gardens are spectacular -- especially in the spring, when the trees are blossoming. Be sure to head to the southern end of the gardens, where schools of koi are swimming. These ornamental carp, bred for spectacular colors, brighten many garden ponds here. Be sure to look for them throughout the day!

Answer: Torii

A torii marks the boundary between the sacred area of a shrine and the profane, secular nature of the rest of the world. Visitors to a temple purify themselves by passing underneath the torii; washing with water from a fountain inside the temple grounds provides further sanctification.

Made most commonly of wood or stone, a torii is almost always found guarding a Shinto shrine -- although Buddhist temples sometimes use them as well.

Answer: An obsessive monk burned it down.

Kinkaku-ji, the Temple of the Golden Pavilion, sits by a pond in the midst of a large and peaceful garden, sheltered from the bustle of northern Kyoto outside. The bustle was once much further; when it was built in 1397, it was the retirement villa of the Shogun Yoshmitsu. He left instructions that it be converted to a temple after his death, and his son obliged; it has been a temple ever since, with the formal name of Rokuon-ji (Deer Garden Temple). The carefully landscaped islands and stepping stones in the pond are laid out to evoke the Buddhist creation story; the contemplative gardens were meant to give a sense of paradise on earth. Yet this peacefulness belies the violence in the temple's history: the gilded wooden pavilion was burned twice in the Onin War of the late 1400s, and again in 1950 by a monk obsessed with its glory. Later diagnosed with schizophrenia, he died while in prison for the crime; his mother committed suicide after her first interview with the police.

The temple was rebuilt in 1955 in a thorough effort that even included some restoration of the original art. Today, this beautiful building and its surrounding grounds are one of the primary attractions of Kyoto, to worshippers and tourists alike.

Answer: Shogun

A shogun, or "commander of the armies," referred to a warlord (or daimyo) who was able to unify feudal Japan under his rule; additionally, he had to belong to the Minamoto Clan. (Successful non-Minamoto daimyos got the consolation title of "regent.") A shogunate, or rule by a shogun, meant that the shogun had practical control of Japan, while retaining the Emperor and his family as titular heads of state. The shoguns who lived at Nijô-jô were descended from Tokugawa Ieyasu, who unified Japan in 1600 and became shogun in 1603 (he had to create some paperwork "proving" he was Minamoto first).

The Tokugawa shoguns had their capital at Edo, now the city of Tokyo, but found it convenient to have a castle and palace when they visited the imperial capital at Kyoto. It was finished in 1626, and, despite disasters that included lightning strikes and fires, it survived to be the site of the last Tokugawa shogun's restoration of Imperial power. Now the property of Kyoto city, the castle is a popular tourist attraction. As you walk through the palace, be sure to notice the way the wooden floors sing as you step on them: these are nightingale floors, designed to alert the palace's occupants to any movement in the corridors.

Answer: Kannon

Sanjûsangendô, reportedly the longest wooden building in the world, was first built in 1164 with funding provided by the Emperor, Go Shirakawa, but had to be rebuilt in 1266 after a devastating fire. Since then, the outside wall has also been used as the target in an annual archery contest! The statues of Kannon (most of which were carved after the fire) stand in incredible splendor, showing row upon row of merciful, contemplative faces, every one unique. (In fact, a common game among visitors to the temple is to search these faces for the features of their loved ones.)

Of course, you can see that none of these statues actually has 1000 arms; instead, Kannon is depicted with 40 arms, each of which saves 25 worlds. Multiply those together, and you get the equivalent of a thousand arms! With that kind of dedication, it's easy to see why Kannon is so highly regarded. She is known to the Chinese as Guan Yin and to Tibetans as Chenrezig; in fact, many Tibetan Buddhists regard the Dalai Lama as an incarnation of this bodhisattva.

Answer: A waterfall whose streams are said to be blessed

"Kiyomizu" means "pure water"; "dera" refers to a Buddhist temple. The pure water of Kiyomizu-dera is from the Otowa waterfall, which has three streams; legend says that those who drink the water will be blessed. One stream bestows wisdom; another gives health; and the third gives long life - but, some say, it is bad luck to get greedy and drink from all three.

You are welcome to join the line of pilgrims waiting to drink from the waterfall; the ladles used to catch and serve the water are placed in ultraviolet-light ovens to sterilize them between uses. If the waterfall doesn't appeal to you, try the Jishu Shrine; if you can successfully walk the 18 meters (60 feet) between the two love stones - with your eyes closed! - it means that you're destined to find true love. (If someone helps you, you'll still find true love - but with assistance.) Or, if you're troubled, you can write your worries on a slip of paper, place the paper in a pail of water provided for the purpose, and watch your trouble wash away with the ink.

Answer: Stones and pebbles

Karesansui gardens, or dry-landscape gardens, are rock gardens. Often, these take the form of large stones or boulders set carefully in the garden, with smaller pebbles raked in pleasing patterns around them. Depending on the gardener or the viewer, these might represent islands rising above oceans, mountain peaks above clouds, or perhaps even the cosmos itself. Nanzen-ji is a Zen temple -- a headquarters of the Rinzai School, in fact -- and this gardening style has come to be associated with Zen Buddhism, although it does not always have special religious significance.

Take some time to wander around the public areas of Nanzen-ji and enjoy its other delights. The San-Mon, or entrance gate, is two stories high and offers an impressive view of Nanzen-ji, with the city beyond. In addition to the karesansui gardens, there are hiking trails, wooded paths, carp-filled pools and bamboo stands. Just be sure to be back to meet us at the San-Mon on time -- there's lots left to see and do!

Answer: Cherry trees

The sakura are cherry trees bred for the beauty and intensity of their flowers; in fact, these trees put so much energy into their blossoms that they no longer bear fruit. The trees bloom for only a short time - the flowers of the most popular variety last less than a week - and have become a renowned metaphor for the beauty and brevity of life. The arrival of the pink blossoms, carefully predicted by meteorologists, kicks off festivals, family parties, and widespread carousing - and even, in some areas, the first day of school! The trees are also a potent diplomatic tool; Washington, DC, the capital of the United States, sports its own National Cherry Blossom Festival after the Japanese government gave the city over 3,000 trees in 1912.

The Path of Philosophy (named, or so the story goes, because a philosophy professor at Kyoto University used to use it for meditative strolls) is pretty and peaceful most of the year - but in the early spring sakura season, it is a riot of pink blossoms.

Answer: Gion

Gion spreads out beneath Yasaka Shrine and backs onto narrow canals. Its teahouses grew out of the needs of pilgrims to the shrine, hundreds of years ago, and since that time it has become one of the most exclusive nightlife sites in Japan. Geiko and maiko (apprentice geiko) arrive every evening, gorgeously and extravagantly dressed and made up, to entertain businessmen at the teahouses (or ochaya); contrary to popular Western belief, this entertainment generally consists of music, conversation and dancing, rather than prostitution. Walking down the main street of Gion is like walking back in time, even if you don't quite meet the rather exclusive criteria for entertainment in the teahouses.