Brandy--Kyoto





KYOTO

Great Britain, and Australia and gives it to India, China and Thailand. China, the worlds largest producer of CO2 can double their output every year with no affect. Thei protocol is a waste of energy and does nothing for the world.

 It is a important because it is a procedure which tries to decrease the amount of greenhouse gases so that the world stops getting dangerously warmer.   The purpose of the protocol is to transfer money from the United States to other countries. China, the world's largest producer of CO2 (27%) has zero restrictions and will double it production in the next ten years. There are three countries that have actual reductions under Kyoto. These three are just asked to try to limit. If they don't wish to, their only requirement is to buy excess CO2 from countries that have no limits (ie China). Overall effect? Only a money transfer from the U.S.A., Britain and Australia.  · ** How It Came To Be? ** Daigoji is a temple complex in southeastern Kyoto, which has been designated an UNESCO world heritage site. **Sanboin ** is a large wooden building constructed in 1115 as the residence of Daigoji's archbishop. It includes a beautiful Japanese garden which was built for Toyotomi Hideyoshi 's famous hanami (cherry blossom viewing) party of 1598. In the **Shimo-Daigo** area of Daigoji stand most temple halls and structures including Kyoto's oldest building, a five storied pagoda dating from 951, and the Bentendo, a much photographed small temple hall to the goddess Benten.  More temple buildings are located at **Kami-Daigoji**, about a one hour walk up the mountain from the Shimo-Daigo area, where Daigoji was originally founded. Due to a fire at the temple complex in August 2008, the road to Kami-Daigoji was temporarily closed, but re-opened on January 7, 2009. 

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· <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif';"> **What Has Happened Since Then?**

<span style="line-height: 130%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 130%;">In 874, a Buddhist monk Shobo, who is known under his posthumous name of Rigen Daishi (the Great Master of Holy Treasures), built a hermitage to which Kannon (Avalokitesvara) statues of Juntei and Nyoirin were dedicated on the top of the Kamidaigo mountain where he discovered a well of the spiritual water named Daigo through an inspiration from a local god Yokoo Daimyojin. This is the origin of Daigoji temple. After a while pious supports of Emperor Daigo (897-930), Suzaku (930-46), and Murakami (946-67) contributed to development of Daigoji temple complex. In 907, for instance, the Yakushi hall was constructed to fulfill the imperial wish of Emperor Daigo. The temple complex of Kamidaigo (the upper part of Daigo) was completed by construction of the Godai hall. Consequently a plan of the Shimodaigo (the lower part of Daigo) complex was carried on. The Sakyamuni hall built in 926 and the five-storied pagoda built in 951 were consisted of the prototype of the Shimodaigo temple complex. <span style="line-height: 130%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 130%;">Since then Daigoji has played an important role as a main temple of Shingon school Ono branch in a history of Japanese Buddhism. Moreover, it might be worthwhile to note that many politicians in power have had a close family relationship with this temple. For instance, the linage of Minamoto Toshifusa, called Daigo Minamoto family, were the heads of this temple for many generations. Minamoto Toshifusa is known for having seized power instead of Fujiwara family in the late Heian period. When his son Shokaku was the head of the temple, the temple complex of both Kamidaigo and Shimodaigo was more developed and the Sanboin was constructed in 1115. From his time on Daigoji temple had enjoyed its prosperity. However, Daigoji temple suffered from several fires. The fire especially caused by Onin and Bunmei wars in Kyoto city destroyed the Shimodaigo complex except the five-storied pagoda. It is fortunate that nowadays we can see the pagoda built in 951. In Kamidaigo complex the Juntei hall is well known as the eleventh place of the pilgrimage in the Western part of Japan and the Godai hall is as the center of the Godai-san faith. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">What Else Has Happened Since Then? The colour of cherry blossoms is fading at Daigoji Temple <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif';">Many spots in Kyoto are now losing their cherry blossoms at an accelerated rate and soon enough the season will be more or less over. When I visited the city three days ago on April 7 some popular cherry blossom spots such as Arashiyama and the Philosopher's Path were starting to lose their petals. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif';">Today I saw many trees that were clearly beyond their peak as well as some that had no flowers at all. Though I was still able to see some trees that were very impressive, over the next few days the cherry blossom season in Kyoto will for the most part be coming to an end. In the morning I headed to Daigoji Temple to begin the day's search for cherry blossoms. Daigoji is located in southern Kyoto and consists of quite a large temple complex. There are three paid areas that can be visited individually or all together with a combination ticket.

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· <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif';"> **How It Is Used Now** <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif';">Kyoto Prefecture stretches out from the southeast to the northwest in the central and northern parts of the Kansai region. It has four geographical features, the saw-toothed coastal area around Maizuru Bay in the northeast, the Tanba Mountains around its center, the Kyoto Basin in the southeast, and the Yamashiro Basin.

Kyoto became the capital of Japan in the 8th century. It flourished as the center for Japanese politics, economy and culture for some 1,100 years, until the capital functions were transferred to Tokyo in the mid-19th century. There remain many temples and shrines in Kyoto that were built during this long period. Seventeen historic sites including, Kiyomizu-dera Temple and Nijo Castle, are inscribed as World Cultural Heritage Sites. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The area including Yamashina and Daigo lies to the southeast of Kyoto City. Its location on the Nara-kaido Highway, which connects Kyoto and Nara, has made it an important traffic point for many centuries as the eastern entrance to Kyoto. Daigo is renowned for Daigo-ji Temple, home of many precious cultural assets.

· <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif';"> **Another Important Thing About The Place Now** <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif';"> The capital of Japan for more than a thousand years, KYOTO is endowed with an almost overwhelming legacy of ancient Buddhist temples, majestic palaces and gardens of every size and description, not to mention some of the country's most important works of art, its richest culture and most refined cuisine. For many people the very name Kyoto conjures up the classic image of Japan: streets of traditional wooden houses, the click-clack of geta (traditional wooden sandals) on the paving stones, geisha passing in a flourish of brightly coloured silks, and temple pagodas surrounded by cherry blossom trees. <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 58.5pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">While you can still find all these things, and much more, first impressions of Kyoto can be disappointing. Decades of haphazard urban development and a too-visible industrial sector have affected the Kyoto landscape; in some areas you could be anywhere in Japan. However, new ordinances passed by the city government in 2007, limiting the height of new buildings and banning rooftop advertising, indicate that more serious thought is being given to preserving Kyoto's visual environment. Yet, regardless of all the trappings of the modern world, Kyoto remains notoriously exclusive, a place where outsiders struggle to peek through the centuries-thick layer of cultural sophistication into the city's secretive soul. <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 58.5pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">The vast amount of culture and history to explore in Kyoto is quite mind-boggling, yet despite this, it's perfectly possible to get a good feel for Kyoto even within just a couple of days. Top priority should go to the eastern, Higashiyama district, where the walk north from famous Kiyomizu-dera to Ginkaku-ji takes in a whole raft of fascinating temples, gardens and museums. It's also worth heading for the northwestern hills to contemplate the superb Zen gardens of Daitoku-ji and Ryōan-ji, before taking in the wildly extravagant Golden Pavilion, Kinkaku-ji. The highlight of the central sights is Nijō-jō, a lavishly decorated seventeenth-century palace, while nearby Nijō-jin'ya is an intriguing place riddled with secret passages and hidey-holes.

<span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 76.5pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: -0.25in;">· <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">**The Future Of The Place**

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">The landmark Kyoto climate treaty, a global warming pact negotiated 12 years ago, is unlikely to live on after its 2012 end date. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">During climate talks in Bangkok last week it became apparent that after the treaty's initial term ends, a new treaty will almost certainly take its place. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Diplomats from the U.S. and 15 other major economies will meet on Sunday in London to talk about a new global warming agreement. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">The news leaves many countries in the developing world frustrated. The key to the Kyoto pact was that many industrialized countries had promised to reach emissions reduction targets on a specific timetable.