The Winds of Arashiyama and Ogurayama
"If only I could give lodging even to the light of the dew—on Mount Ogura, what could I possibly detain?"
The heat in Arashiyama was unbearable, and since these temples all charged admission, I only peeked in from the gates.
I saw Ogurayama, the place where the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu was compiled and one of the settings of The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter.
I stopped by to pay my respects at Premier Zhou Enlai’s poem monument, but I had forgotten to bring flowers.
The Golden Pavilion at Kinkaku-ji wasn’t all that awe-inspiring. But seeing the plaque that read “Used to receive the Emperor and envoys of the Ming Dynasty,” I found myself wondering who had once stayed here.
In the evening, I went to a bar run by a Chinese proprietor, where the bartender was French.
