Yasaka pagoda, Yasaka-no-to, was once a part of Hokan-ji, a Zen Buddhist temple, but over the centuries the temple has almost entirely disappeared, leaving behind its pagoda as a most picturesque landmark in the Higashiyama district of Kyoto. Higashiyama is, in itself, a quite appealing part of Kyoto, an area that retains something of the aura of the past, with many traditional houses, shops, and restaurants lining cobbled streets and alleyways. It is also an area through which one passes when heading up the hill to pay a visit to Kiyomizu-dera Temple, seen in a separate gallery here.

Yasaka Pagoda and Its Neighborhood

Along the way to Kiyomizu-dera temple
One encounters this figure of Binzuru (like the figure seen outside the Daibutsu-den at Tōdai-ji temple in Nara) in a small courtyard just off the street on the way to Kiyomizu-dera. He is said to accept the prayers of petitioners, which are scrawled on the colorful ball-like objects that surround him.
The 'balls' are actually cloth monkeys whose hands and feet are tied in such a way as to obscure their real shapes. In Buddhism, the unfocused, frequently avaricious, human mind is often referred to as a restless 'monkey mind.' The 'monkey balls,' on which resolutions are written, are said to help one's resolve in overcoming the 'monkey mind's' tendency toward avariciousness or dissoluteness.
This woman was making new 'monkeys.'
Hokan-ji Temple, to which Yasaka pagoda belongs, was founded in 589. The temple was destroyed by fire several times over the centuries. The current pagoda was erected in 1440.
The graceful five-story pagoda with gently curving roofs is some 150 feet high.
This small, parklike garden is just beside the main street.
A koi pond is part of the garden.
Window shopping in Higashiyama
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Fans in the window of one of the shops along the street