2024.12.11
今も17世紀の日本の原風景が残る京都市の右上エリアにある修学院離宮。
17世紀に後水尾上皇によって造営工事が起こされ約四年程で完成した山荘です。
東京ドーム11個分にあたる面積の自然豊かな場所に作られ、
上・中・下の三つの離宮（御茶屋）からなり、松並木や田畑で構成されています。
宮内庁によって管理されており、申込制で参観することができます。
1時間15分程かけてガイドさんと歩いた修学院離宮をご紹介します。
入口の前に集合し、時間になると参観者休所でガイドさんから注意事項を聞いてから出発します。
まずは、下離宮へ。御水尾上皇好みの花菱模様が透かし彫りされた御幸門（みゆきもん）
をくぐります。寿月観（月見をする建物）に到着するまでの砂利道には秋らしく、
大きさも形もさまざまの沢山のきのこが生えていました。
17世紀に、上皇が仙洞御所（京都御苑内の東南の区域）から御輿に乗ってここまでお越しになり
遅い時間までゆったり過ごされたそう。
琵琶、お琴、笛などの楽器で演奏会が開かれた話をガイドさんから聞きながら、
当時の様子を頭で思い浮かべてみました。
優雅さを感じつつも、仙洞御所から比叡山の麓まで御輿を担ぐ力者は大変だったろうな、
とも思いました。
松並木を歩きながら、稲刈りの風景を見掛けしました。
この景観と田畑を守るために、地元の農家さん達がご協力されているそうです。
この離宮でお米を育てるなんて、とてもラッキーですね。
特別な地で作られたお米を食べてみたいものです。
黄色い蝶々が飛び交い、カエルの声や虫の声、鳥のさえずりを聞きながら、
まるで森林浴をしているかの様な気分になりました。
次に見学をしたのは、中離宮。
もともと上離宮と下離宮しかなく、御水尾上皇の皇女が住職をされた尼寺があり、
その半分の土地が宮内庁に渡され中離宮となったそうです。
大宮御所にあった客殿が移された為、豪華で華やかで床の間もとても手の込んだ造りです。
一の間の霞棚は三代名棚の一つ。（ここ以外では醍醐寺の醍醐棚、桂離宮の桂棚が三大名棚なのだそうです。）
戸袋の引手は、羽子板の型で尾長鶏の型など細部まで凝ったものでした。
坂道を上がり切り、上離宮の隣雲亭に着くと京都市内が遠くに見渡せ雲が頭の近くになった様に感じました。
足元には茶色い鞍馬石、黒い鴨川の石が埋め込んでありました。
ここでは滝の水音を聴きながら和歌を作られたそう。
広々とした敷地内と京都市内を見渡しながら、
上皇もここでは思いっきりリラックスされていたのでしょうか。
大きな浴龍池では、なんとお酒を持ち込んで舟遊びをされていたそうです。
17世紀から続く、日本の原風景。
また違う季節に訪れたい気持ちになれるそんな楽しみな場所が一つ増えました。
Shugakuin Imperial Villa, located in the upper right area of Kyoto City, still retains the original
Japanese landscape of the 17th century and was built by Emperor Gomizunoo.
The villa was built in an area of rich nature, about 11 times the size of the Tokyo Dome, and consists of three detached palaces (teahouses) in the upper, middle, and lower sections, lined with pine trees and rice paddies.
Shugakuin Imperial Villa is managed by the Imperial Household Agency and you can visited with a reservation. I’d like to introduce the villa, which took about 1 hour and 15 minutes to walk with a guide.
We gathered in front of the entrance, and at the time of the tour, we left after listening to the precautions from the guide at the visitor’s rest area. First, we visited Shimorikyu, lower section. We passed through the Miyukimon Gate, which is openworked with a flower-shaped diamond pattern favored by Emperor Gomizunoo. The gravel road leading to the Jugetsukan (a building for viewing the moon) was covered with mushrooms of various sizes and shapes, just as in autumn.
It is said that in the 17th century, the emperor came here from the Sento Gosho (the southeast area of the Kyoto Imperial palace) in a portable shrine and spent a late night here. I tried to picture in my mind what it was like in those days as I listened to the guide talk about how concerts were held with musical instruments such as loquat, Japanese harp, and Japanese flute. While I felt the elegance of the event, I also thought about how hard it must have been for the rickshaw men who carried the sacred palanquin from the Sento Gosho to the villa.
While walking along the rows of pine trees, I saw a scene of rice harvesting. Local farmers are helping to protect this landscape and their fields. I thought that they are very lucky to be able to grow rice in this villa. I would love to try rice produced in this special place. Yellow butterflies were fluttering around, and I felt as if I was taking a walk in a forest while listening to the sounds of frogs, insects, and birds chirping.
The next place we visited was Naka-rikyu in the middle section. Originally, there were only the Kami-Rikyu (in upper leverl)and Shimo-Rikyu(in lower section), and there was a nunnery whose abbess was the wife of Emperor Gomizunoo, and half of the land was given to the Imperial Household Agency. The guest rooms in the Omiya Palace were moved to this place, so they are gorgeous and the alcove is very elaborate. The Kasumidana in the first room is one of the three most famous shelves in Japan. (The other two are Daigo-dana at Daigoji Temple and Katsura-dana at Katsura-Imperial Palace, which are said to be the three most famous shelves.) The pullers of the fusuma sliding door pockets were elaborate in detail, such as the shape of a battledore racket and a long-tailed chicken.
As we crested the hill and arrived at the Rin un tei, we could see the city of Kyoto in the distance and felt as if the clouds were close to our heads. At my feet were brown Kurama stones and black Kamo River stones embedded in the ground. It is said that people used to compose waka poems here while listening to the sound of the waterfall. Looking out over the spacious grounds and the city of Kyoto, I could imagine that the emperor must have relaxed here to the fullest.
He used to bring his own Sake and enjoy boating on the large Yukuryu-chi pond.
This is an original Japanese landscape that has continued since the 17th century. I am looking forward to visiting this place again in a different season.
Mikko
