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80115-0008 - Tea Plantation and Toji Pagoda, Kyoto, 1890s

Kyoto 1870s
Tea Field and Toji Pagoda

Artist Matsusaburo Yokoyama
Publisher Matsusaburo Yokoyama
Medium Albumen Print
Period Meiji
Location Kyoto
Image No. 80115-0008
Purchase Digital File
Author

Many people who have visited Toji temple’s‘s wonderful temple markets will be astounded by this rural image of tea fields with the five-story pagoda of Toji in the background. The tea fields have long since dissapeared and the temple is now surrounded by busy roads and modern buildings.

In the middle of this photo, believed to have been taken in the 1870s, the roof of the Kondo (main hall) can be seen, with the Kanjouin (灌頂院), used for special rituals like prayers for the emperor’s safety (天皇の安泰を祈願する儀式), to its left.

In front of these two buildings are a row of minka (traditional houses).1

Located near Kyoto Station, Toji (literally East Temple) is a Buddhist temple of the Shingon sect. Together with Saiji (West Temple), it flanked the road to the entrance gate to Kyoto known as Rashomon (also: Rajomon). The two temples were meant to protect the capital from evil.

Sadly, Saiji was destroyed by fire in the 13th century and not rebuilt. Toji also succumbed to fire several times, but was rebuilt each time.

The temple was established in 796, just two years after the capital was moved to Kyoto, but construction did not proceed smoothly. In 823, the important Buddhist scholar and monk Kobo-Daishi (also: Kukai) was asked by Emperor Saga to finish the project. This decision would eventually ensure the establishment of Shingon as an independent Buddhist movement. Therefore, Toji plays an important role in Japanese Buddhism.

70521-4055 - Toji Pagoda, Kyoto, 2009
The Toji Pagoda in Kyoto, 2009 (Heisei 21).

Kobo-Daishi built the pagoda in 826. However, it burned to the ground after being struck by lightning. It was rebuilt three times and struck again and again. The pagoda on this photo was built in 1644 by Tokugawa Iemitsu. It is still there. At 57 meters high, it is the tallest wooden tower in Japan.2

Toji is a wonderful place to visit when the temple markets take place. There are actually two. A big one on the 21st of each month, featuring everything from food, plants and used kimono to antiques. And a smaller one focusing on antiques, on the first Sunday of every month.

During the market, the pagoda is a great place to escape the milling crowds. Surrounded by a neatly kept traditional garden with a pond filled with koi carps, it allows you to relax and while away the hours.

Along with 16 other locations (Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto), Toji was designated a World Heritage Site in 1994 (Heisei 6).

91101-5142 - Toji temple pagoda in Kyoto
Kyoto's Toji temple in 2009 (Heisei 21), photographed from approximately the same location.

see current map

Notes

1 白幡洋三郎 (2004). 幕末・維新彩色の京都, 京都: 京都新聞出版センター, 86, 87. ISBN 4763805312

2 弘法市~東寺縁日, 東寺教王護国寺. Retrieved on 2008-03-28.

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Old Photos of Japan aims to be your personal museum for Japan's visual heritage and to bring the experiences of everyday life in old Japan to you.

To enhance our understanding of Japanese culture and society I track down, acquire, archive, and research images of everyday life, and give them context.

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Thank you,
Kjeld Duits

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Reference for Citations

Duits, Kjeld (). Kyoto 1870s: Tea Field and Toji Pagoda, OLD PHOTOS of JAPAN. Retrieved on February 10, 2025 (GMT) from https://www.oldphotosjapan.com/photos/130/tea-field-and-toji-pagoda

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Add Comment

It seems the photo at the top of the page is a copy with erased caption that might have been from Yokoyama Matsusaburō’s atelier. See the reference photo

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(Author)

Yes, that is the original print by Yokoyama. It also confirms that Toji is the correct location. Many sources place this scene incorrectly in Uji. Now this photo is two decades older… Amazing observation, Noel! Thank you very much. I will adjust the captions.

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I still don’t know much about Yokoyama Matsusaburo’s works, so it was more or less a guess. Following Terry Bennett’s “Photography in Japan” I assumed that this specific “framed” caption might be Yokoyama’s, but from what I’ve seen there are 2 or 3 different styles of said caption and I’m not sure all of them were used by his studio.

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(Author)

@Noel: I looked at the digital files I have of Yokoyama Matsusaburo’s work, and this image fits in quite well. But in 19th century Japanese photography one can never really be 100% sure, of course…

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A tea field near Toji!!! Sadly, that part of Kyoto is not so pretty these days. Surrounded by major roads and local office buildings. I used to drop my wife off to work everyday across from Toji. At least Toji and the pagoda still stand representing old Kyoto.

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(Author)

@James Saunders-Wyndham: Yes, the outskirts of the city were a bit closer than they are today… Thankful indeed that Toji itself still stands! I used to visit the temple market here a lot, and even found some lovely portraits of women from the 1930s, including this one.

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