Kyoto

Kyoto's Shugakuin Imperial Villa

Details in photos of a lovely Kyoto villa

Larry Knipfing Jul 17, 2014 - 1 min read

<p>Accurate painting in the waiting room of what the villa looks like from the heavens</p>

<p>If my memory serves me correctly, this calligraphy was done by the Emperor himself </p>

<p>Lovely lotus leaves painted directly onto a wood door in one of the villa's teahouses</p>

<p>Some more unique images found in the same teahouse</p>

<p>Looking down on the pond - it was a beautiful morning in early May</p>

<p>The cool shade of a pleasant little teahouse</p>

<p>A teahouse placed at the edge of a manmade pond</p>

Another one of a set of villas managed by the Imperial Household and requiring a special reservation, this too is a lovely place to visit, especially when I did in early May. About the size of Tokyo's Yoyogi Park, Shugakuin is full of green. In fact, photos that look down at it from above are amazing. It's easy to imagine why this location was chosen to be the playground of the Emperor and his family in Japan's early Edo period (1655). The villa also has some beautiful details that I have included in this photo story.

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Larry Knipfing @larry.knipfing

Born on Long Island, New York in 1958, I have spent the last 30 years of my life living in Japan, and enjoying every minute of it! I especially love photography, and Japan is definitely one of the most beautiful places in the world to photograph! My other love is fiction writing and I have pub...