Kyoto – Imperial Gardens and Swords
Streams of beautiful, clean water. This is what comes to my mind when I think of Kyoto. Reminds of the proverb that says:
Above everything else guard your heart,
because from it flow the springs of life.
After arriving in Tokyo my first stop was at the Imperial Gardens:
It was very interesting to see on the entrance map that an area was dedicated to the mother-child special relationship:
There are wide alleys surrounded by refreshing vegetation. Lots of space for relaxing and walking.
These walls give you the feeling that is not an easy thing to have access to the King, the Emperor. It gives you the impression that you, as a commoner, are restricted to enjoy the fullness of life. You don’t have access to that special person that is located on the other side of the walls. You feel hopeless.
Interesting is the fact that the Emperor was seen as descending from gods. In this logic of thinking access to God’s presence would be impossible: there are walls that cannot be overcome.
Through grace, by forgiveness (Jesus Christ made forgiveness possible) any human being has the chance to have access in the presence of the almighty King of Kings, God. There is hope!
The sword making craft is part of Japan’s history. I met a native that wanted foreigners to be enthusiastic on other traditional things rather than swords. But swords are a part of Japan’s culture so I welcomed the opportunity to visit a sword exhibition at
There were lots of swords of different types and ages, with their own history and legends. A sword draws its power from its maker, the techniques used to create it, and its metal type.
These swords were used to do good or evil in the realm of visible reality. But, Japanese people do believe in evil spirits. How can you fight that? I am called to defend kindness, truth, and justice. In order to accomplish this
Sorry, we were not allowed to take pictures inside the museum 🙂