overgrowth

overgrowth

Entering Heian Jingū 平安神宮 and stepping through the main gate, the view immediately opens into a vast forecourt with light gravel underfoot and a strong sense of visual symmetry. The wide set shrine is centred in the distance in brilliant red orange with a contrasting green roof and an architectural style from the late Heian period 平安時代 that contrasts with the other shrines nearby.

Half of the complex is comprised of its impressive garden of over 33,000 m², with a number of distinctive bridges over ponds fed by the Lake Biwa Canal 琵琶湖疏水.

In the first section on the west side, the garden is covered with a canopy of “red weeping cherry blossoms” 紅しだれ桜. I was spending most of my time enjoying the scenery in that light that was left of the day, so my quickly snapped pics certainly don't capture the true beauty of the garden.