Chuai-tenno-ryo Kofun and Daigo-ji

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Chuai-tenno-ryo Kofun

   Chuai is a name from the mists of early Japanese legend. The Chronicles describe him as the fourteenth emperor, husband of the formidable Empress Jingu, who is said to have led an army against the Korean peninsula while pregnant, and he died on the way in Kyushu. Historians doubt that he existed as described, but tradition places his tomb here, in the town of Fujiidera, in the heart of the Furuichi tomb group, and the Imperial Household Agency treats it as his resting place. The mound is a keyhole shape with a moat, and the trees on it are thick and old, as at the other great tombs of this region.

   Read the complete Chuai-tenno-ryo Kofun write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Chuai-tenno-ryo Kofun is where the day begins. Next is Gangô-ji.

2. 2. Gangô-ji

   Nara lives in the shadow of its grand temples, Todai-ji and Kofuku-ji, but Gango-ji is the one with the best sense of age. It started life in Asuka, in the late sixth century, as Asuka-dera, the first true Buddhist temple in Japan, founded by the powerful Soga clan. When the capital moved to Heijo-kyo in the early eighth century, the monks followed, and the temple was rebuilt on a new site in what is now the Naramachi district, with some of the original roof tiles carried across the plain and reused. You can still pick out the older, darker tiles on the roof of the main hall, a faint line of continuity across thirteen centuries.

   Read the complete Gangô-ji write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Gangô-ji comes up about 34 km into the recorded legs. Next is Daigo-ji.

3. 3. Daigo-ji

   The oldest building in Kyoto does not stand in the city centre but in the southeastern hills, at the temple of Daigo-ji: a five storey pagoda completed in 951, which has survived fires, earthquakes and wars that destroyed almost everything else of its age in the city. The temple was founded in the ninth century on Mount Daigo, and its grounds spread from the foot of the mountain to the summit, linked by a steep path, with halls, gardens and sub temples along the way. It is part of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto World Heritage Site.

   Read the complete Daigo-ji write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 70 km into the recorded legs you reach Daigo-ji. Next is back through Gangô-ji.

4. 4. back through Gangô-ji

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Gangô-ji write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Gangô-ji, late in the day. Next is Chuai-tenno-ryo Kofun.

5. 5. Chuai-tenno-ryo Kofun

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Chuai-tenno-ryo Kofun write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Chuai-tenno-ryo Kofun. That is the ride.