Vignettes of the World
In the last entry on Thailand in the modern era, I have discussed why Siam maintained its independence against the threats of colonialism in the 18th and 19th centuries. One question remained for me in this brief study of Thailand’s history. How did Thailand fare …
“Whatever it is that you do in Thailand, just do not criticize the Thai king in any way,” my uncle said to us, “I know the people that will get you out even for a murder, but if you offend the Thai king, nobody can …
It is said that Thailand was the only Southeast Asian country that survived the onslaught of western colonialism, which swept the world between the 15th and 19th centuries. That itself is a provocative food for thought.
Thailand also emerged relatively unscathed from World War II, as it immediately pledged alliance with Japan after coming under a five-day invasion by Japan in 1941.
There had to be a way that Thailand was unique as a nation in surviving the disastrous currents of history. With these two points in mind, I learned something about Thailand’s history.
In times beyond immemorial, there were early settlement in this area of Southeast Asia by the prehistoric humans. The fossils of the Lampang man dated to one million to 500,000 years ago, suggesting that the early Homo erectus have found it home here.
Perhaps as early as 2000 B.C., what were akin to civilizations showed their traces in the excavated artefacts consisting of skilled metallurgy, such as complex bronze instruments. This historical fact suggests that the Bronze Age had a flourishing presence in this part of the world as well.
Modern day Thailand is a large mass of land in the north with a southern coast, and a panhandle in the southwest that would extend to the Malaysian Peninsula. Its long southern coastline enables the maritime trade that was a lifeline for multiple kingdoms in its history.
At this part of the world, Thailand falls within the center of a melting pot, where the sweeping influences of various ancient religions and cultures slowly bound themselves together and resulted in myriad expressions of norms, practices and faiths of the modern Thai’s. Between 2000 B.C. and 1000 A.D., Thailand was part of the maritime jade trade for three thousand years. The traveling merchants from India was the great driving force that introduced Hinduism and Buddhism to Southeast Asia.
The first known kingdom in Thailand’s history was Funan, existing as early as 1st century B.C. (or even earlier, in 4th century B.C.). There was little known of Funan that is definitive, but the Indianization of this kingdom that spanned parts of modern-day Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Malaysia is beyond contest. Scholars have found evidence that the Funan kingdom engaged in heavy maritime trade, with control of part of an established sea route that went from India to China via the Gulf of Siam. Furthermore, it had a sophisticated bureaucracy that hired Brahmin clerks for administration, and the language of the court was Sanskrit. This kingdom had fallen by 6th century A.D.
The Mon people would be the first in Southeast Asia to adopt Buddhism. Between 6th and 11th centuries, the Mon kingdoms were known to be Dvarati and they contended for influence in this part of the world against the Srivijaya Empire, which was based in Sumatra and had vast influence in the southern part of modern day Thailand and the Malay peninsula. Maritime trade was also critical for Srivijaya.
The modern country of Thailand began with the migration of Tai people, who are the ancestors of the Thai people today. There are contesting theories about where the Tai people originated. The older generation of historians believed that the Tai people moved from southwestern China into this land mass by the ocean. The scholars now believe that the Tai people came from northern Vietnam, in the Dien Bien Phu area. Whatever the origin was, the Tai people’s migration would go on between the 8th and 10th centuries.
Between the 9th and 13th centuries, the Khmer kingdom rose to dominance. The Khmer kingdom had a territory that extended about half of modern-day Thailand. As opposed to the Mon people, who were predominantly Buddhists, the Khmers were heavily influenced by Hinduism, as the world-famous Angkor Wat attests. The Tai people then began to borrow these ideas of the Khmers, from royal etiquettes to literature and dance.
As the Khmer empire declined and fell during the 13th to 14th centuries, there followed a period of various states in the area, known as the Tai, Mon, Khmer and Malay Kingdoms. The Tai kingdom would eventually prevail. The first unified Thai kingdom that would lay the foundation for the development of the country that would be known as Siam was established in the mid 14th century.
The Sukhothai kingdom existed between 1238 and 1438 following the Tai people’s revolt against the Khmer kingdom. Sukhothai was the capital of this kingdom. The era is known for the development of art, architecture and governance, with particular emphasis on the embrace of Theravada Buddhism (as opposed to Mahayana Buddhism) from Ceylon. Theravada Buddhism was established as the official state religion at this time. Most Thai people today still abide by Theravada Buddhism.
The Ayutthaya kingdom was established in 1351 and ushered in an age of glory for this part of Southeast Asia. With territorial expansion centered along Menam, the Ayuthaya kingdom would eventually overtake the influence of the Sukhothai kingdom. In 1431, the rising kingdom invaded Angkor, resulting in the Khmer abandoning it. The kingdom instituted a system of governance that balanced central authority with local autonomy, maintaining the room for growth in its regions.
Ayutthaya would prove itself to be a thriving center for trade in Asia with the network of riverways within its ever-expanding territory. This would be the opening by which European involvement began in this part of the world.
Soon enough, Siam would be known to the European powers as it caught on with the world relations that would necessitate significant modernization in Asia. The Chakri dynasty of Siam followed the heels of the fall of the Ayutthaya kingdom.
Britannica on the History of Thailand.
Thailandembassy.org on Thailand History.
www.thethailandlife.com on A Brief History of Thailand.
The Wikipedia on History of Thailand
The Wikipedia on Bronze Age.
The Wikipedia on Funan.
This was not the first time in Thailand for me, but surely my first time visiting Bangkok. My last trip to Thailand was more than a decade ago in Phuket. I was quite excited about this trip because it was organized by my uncle with …
The Eikando-ji Temple of Kyoto is a Heian period temple practicing the Jodo school of Buddhism. A view of its beautiful temple grounds in the evening was an amazing experience.
During the very crowded fall foliage season, the temples of Kyoto are illuminated for visitors to admire the night scene there. Eikando-ji Temple was a good choice for me, as I was quite familiar with that area, having visited the Nanzen-ji Temple the previous day.
Eikando-ji Temple acquired its name from the very popular head priest Yokan, who was commonly known as Eikan. Eikando means “Eikan Hall’ in Japanese. Formerly the Zenrin-ji Temple, the Eikando-ji Temple lent its former name to the very inception of Nanzen-ji Temple’s Buddhist beginning.
Zenrin-ji Temple, meaning “temple in a clam grove,” lies on the foothill of Higashiyama mountain surrounded by lush green trees that turn crimson in autumn. A noble of the Heian period donned the grounds of Eikando-ji Temple to the priest Shinjo. Thus began the Eikando-ji Temple as the first temple was established in 853 A.D. by Shinjo. Emperor Seiwa gave the temple its original name, Zenrin-ji, in 863 A.D.
This head priest was a disciple of the Shingon Sect of Buddhism. At that point in the temple’s history, it belonged to the Shingon Sect, which was the Buddhism being practiced there for 220 years.
Came the next 140 years and the Eikando-ji Temple practiced the teachings of Shingon Sect and Pure Land of Sanron Sect, which was one of the six sects of Nara Buddhism. Between 1166 A.D. to 1224 A.D., this age of the temple was named after its head priests Yokan to Johen.
Beginning in 1224 A.D., the head priest Johen led the temple’s religious lineage into the teachings of the Shingon sect of Buddhism. Honen, the founder of the Jodo sect, was then appointed as the 11th nominal priest of Eikando-ji Temple. Under the leadership of Joon, the Eikando-ji Temple officially converted from the Shingon sect to the Seizan branch of the Jodo sect.
One special feature of the Eikando-ji Temple was the unique pose of its Buddha statue. Amida, the resident Buddha at Eikando-ji Temple, has the posture of “looking back.” This came about when Yokan (Eikan) was walking around the altar as he chanted his Nembutsu. The Amida came down from the altar and led him. The priest stopped walking, as he was surprised. Amida then looked back over his left should and said, “Yokan, you are slow.” This was the story that inspired the Mikaeri-Amida statue looking back, as a reminder to followers of the Buddha’s mercy.
Like so many other temples in Kyoto, the very old structures that originated from their inception were destroyed by fires that were mostly the results of civil wars.
The ten-year Onin War (1467A.D.-1477A.D.) razed the Eikando-ji Temple to the ground. It took generations of priests to restore the temple by the 16th century. The temple then fell into ruins again in the early modern times. As the state policy of the Meiji period was to elevate the native faith of Japan, Shinto, as distinguished from Buddhism, a great number of Japanese Buddhist temples were destroyed in the early modern era as well.
In a previous entry, I discussed the lowdown on how to handle the crowds for night Momiji viewing at the Kiyomizu-dera Temple. The two temples both present fantastic views at night, and the crowds are certainly no less at the Eikando-ji Temple.
Momiji is the Japanese word for foliage viewing in autumn. In this time of the year, Kyoto meets an exceptional spike of tourist presence. In fact, in those five days that I stayed in Kyoto, I sensed the crowd gaining numbers by the day, from hotel check-in, to sightseeing, to restaurant dining.
The Eikando-ji Temple was the last temple that I visited in Kyoto, and surely, all of the world’s tourists caught up with me then. Therefore, expect long queues, not just at the entrance, but throughout your walk at the temple. There is a section of the bridge where tourists must not take photographs. So crowds gather right at the point that they could take photographs to snap some beautiful shots of the pond.
The temple features beautiful structures, gardens and a pond. The illuminations are well done there. I highly recommend a night visit at the Eikando-ji Temple.
The study of temples in Kyoto would not be complete without a realistic consideration of the implications of Buddhism in Japanese history. The temples of Kyoto presented a kaleidoscopic view of Buddhism’s role as a prominent religion. The priests of these temples dedicated their whole lives to a serious study of Buddhism. Schools of Buddhist sects blossomed in the Heian period. The relationship between different schools of Buddhism was not just academic. They were contentious with political ramifications, as proper Buddhism was a province of the imperial court.
As a matter of politics, Buddhism had a significant role in the power struggles in premodern Japan. The Buddhist monks were not just priests that sat in the temple grounds chanting their nenbutsu. They had wide influence in the politics of the day because of the imperial patronage of Buddhism. And that part of Japan’s history of Buddhism awaits further exploration on my part.
There were also temples that stood for the emotional refuge that religion offered in one’s personal life. The Gio-ji Temple of Arashiyama attests to the faith’s power in restoring women’s spirits from heartbreaks and rejections.
To conclude my journey in Kyoto, there were a few things that I would have really liked to see. That includes the Gingkaku-ji Temple, the Path of Philosophy (Tetsugaku no Michi), the Daigo-ji Temple, the Fushimi Inari Shrine and the Blue Bottle café that is in a heritage building in Kyoto. It was also a pity that I did not manage to hike from Mount Takao to Arashiyama. But travelling in Kyoto entails a whole lot of walking, and surely that affected my energy level in Nara. I was honestly tired by the time I made it there.
Thinking back, I could have done one full week in Kyoto, but I can certainly save those key sites for a next trip. So, I bid farewell to Kyoto. Nara was next up.
The history of Eikando-ji Temple from this entry was taken from the official website of the Eikando-ji Temple.
The fantastic tour at the Samurai Museum presents visitors with a brief history lesson of feudal Japan. The young and knowledgeable tour guides shed light on the hierarchy of Japan’s ruling power during the Shogunate period, which lasted for roughly 7 centuries between 1192 and …
The fantastic tour at the Samurai Museum presents visitors with a brief history lesson of feudal Japan. The young and knowledgeable tour guides shed light on the hierarchy of Japan’s ruling power during the Shogunate period, which lasted for roughly 7 centuries between 1192 and …
I went to Nishiki Market twice on this trip to Kyoto. The irony is that I went the second time because the first time was not good enough, and I would not rest until I found something fantastic there. Having gone twice and confirmed that it was all around underwhelming, perhaps I would never go again in the future.
The Nishiki Market comes with a long history of selling the greatest produce of Kyoto. Since 1615, the market has been the official place for trading the delicacies of Kyoto, as such earning the good name as “Kyoto’s kitchen.” It has run for centuries, therefore it is, properly considered, a historical heritage embodying both the tangible goodies for sale there and the intangible cuisine that originates from the abundance and variety of ingredients at the market.
At its very beginning, Nishiki Market was a market for wholesale seafood trade. By now, it has fully developed itself into an all-things-food-related theme. Spanning a total of five blocks of narrow streets, the market now features more than 130 stores.
As I have said in my food entry, the food of this trip was the single most disappointing aspect for me. The experience at Nishiki Market was a main contributor to the ongoing grumble in a dissatisfied gut. From the cheaper end snacks to the higher end kaisen-don (seafood over rice bowl), I found the food to be “somewhat off” in different ways. Where it tasted normal, there were no bright spots to speak of.
I have turned this over in my head many times. The likely explanation is that I was simply too accustomed to the Japanese food that had been adapted to local preferences. I have so much Japanese food outside Japan that I have been spoiled with ways that the food were not authentically made in order to meet my flavor preferences. Another explanation is that I simply ordered the wrong thing at the wrong shop.
Honestly, I have not heard one person telling me that food in Japan is not good. The error must be mine. Hundreds of bloggers offer their take on what foods to get at the Nishiki Market, and I certainly will defer to their expertise.
That said, I must say that the Nishiki Market is exceedingly photogenic for photographers. The Japanese people are known for their expert arrangements in all kinds, from rock gardens to tea ceremony, to flowers and gifts, and to shopkeeping. The ways that these shops are set up are themselves a marvel to behold. I also found the general color theme there to express a classic autumn vibe, in a warm, solid chestnut hue.
Do note that the Nishiki Market is now very much a touristy spot. You won’t be able to avoid the crowds at any day of the week. The peak afternoon hours guarantee a whole lot of shoulder brushing in its premise. It opens from 9am to 5:30pm on weekdays and 9am to 4:30pm on Saturdays. Perhaps a good time to visit would be in the late morning hours, when the goodies are still available and fresh. Some shops close on Wednesdays.
In the next entry, I shall discuss the Samurai Museum. It leads visitors through a brief history and hierarchy of Japan’s power structure under the shogunate rule. I think the Samurai Museum is certainly a must-do activity, balancing history learning with quite a bit of fun. It is especially suitable for family with children. Even as an adult, I enjoyed participating in the game of throwing shuriken, a typical distraction device of the ninja’s.
Another place to visit is the Nishiki Tenmangu Shrine in the market. The shrine dedicates itself to the worship of Tenjin, traditionally the kami for learning and scholarship.
This shrine is really quite crowded, and there are a number of reasons. First of all, it lies on the eastern entrance to the Nishiki Market. The cascades of lanterns hung in front of the temple naturally draw the attention of tourists.
However, this shrine has a whole lot of significance for the Kyoto people as well. During examination time, students would come here to tend their tribute to the kami of scholarship, praying for good results at school. Rumor has it that the kami here are especially attentive in answering the believers’ prayers and wishes as well.
The man that was deified as the Tenjin kami was Sugawara no Michizane. He was a very accomplished statesman, poet and scholar. Fate had it that he would fall out of favor, and he died banished from the capital, in shame. Thereafter, disasters swept Kyoto and people thought that it was a revenge by Sugawara no Michizane’s angry spirit. He was then deified and enshrined as the Tenji kami. The head shrine for Tenji kami is the Kitano Tenmangu, also in Kyoto.
It is a common advice to tourists that the Japanese people frown upon the practice of eating while walking. Please suppress that instinct as you savor the delicacies of Kyoto at the Nishiki Market. I know, it is street food and so you walk as you eat, but it is considered extremely impolite to do so in Japanese culture.
Japanguide.com on the Nishiki Market.
Discoverkyoto.com on Nishiki Tenmangu.
Nanzen-ji Temple is one of the most important Zen temples in Japan. Nestled in the foothill of the Higashiyama mountains, Nanzen-ji Temple has an enormous temple ground that accommodates many sub-temples, as well as a 19th century aqueduct. This presents tourists the opportunity for a …
