Genkoan Temple

Genkoan in northern Kyoto is a Zen temple known for two windows that frame the garden beyond: a round 'Window of Enlightenment' representing the universe's true form, and a square 'Window of Confusion' representing the cycle of birth, aging, illness, and death. Through each, a composition of moss, maple, and bamboo shifts with every season. The temple also preserves a bloodstained ceiling repurposed from Fushimi Castle, where warriors died during a 1600 siege. The floorboards were installed overhead as a memorial, and faint handprints and footprints are still visible. Autumn, when the maples around both windows turn red, is the most popular time, but the place has a meditative quality year-round.