Heian Jingu is one of the symbolic shrines in Kyoto. It welcomes visitors with a gigantic size of Torii gate, and this gate leads prayers to get into a vivid orangish red-coloured main shrine. Although the current establishment is a replication of the ancient building, it neatly represents how much Chinese culture had inspired the Japanese buildings during the Heian period (794–1185)
Heian Jingu has a huge Japanese garden with beautiful cherry blossoms. Many visitors look forward to seeing these Sakura flowers blooming during spring. Of course, seeing these flowers was my main purpose of visiting the shrine this time. Unfortunately, however, it rained in the morning on the day and also it was slightly early to see the full blooms of Sakura flowers. It sounds unlucky, but I could enjoy my sensation in this environment while walking alone in this garden.
Without any doubt, Sakura flowers were amazingly beautiful. But more than that, there were a lot of elements to enjoy in this garden, such as plants, ponds, quiet climates, the sound of water, and the structure of the garden. Each element had a significant power to move my emotion, but I felt there was a special spice that composes harmony across these components on that day. I kept asking myself the reasons why I was attracted to this climate in front of me. Then I reached my conclusion. It should be the rain in the morning.
While having a short walk in this garden, I could find the Sakura flowers with raindrops on them. The small streams were sounding like music with having increased their levels of water. Their sounds were resonating in this calm environment with fewer visitors after the rain. I stopped by the stream and listened for a moment to enjoy this music. The winding stone road was even much more darker than usual with no sunshine pouring from the gaps of tree leaves standing along the road. The reflections of the small hills, trees, and buildings were showing on the surface of the ponds, which were silently adding the key essence to this beautiful scenery. All of these components in this garden were inevitable that were creating this unique atmosphere. So was the rain in the morning.
