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src="/web/20160505075342im_/http://asia.nikkei.com/var/site_cache/storage/images/node_43/node_51/2016/201602/20160223/20160223_shodenji_temple/4096370-1-eng-GB/20160223_shodenji_temple_article_main_image.jpg" width="580" alt=""/> <p class="img-caption"> The beauty of Shodenji Temple's karesansui (dry rock and sand) garden is enhanced by the view of Mount Hiei in the background. </p> </div> </div> <div class="article-box detail"> <div class="wysiwyg_area"> <div class="articleBodyText"> <p>KYOTO -- David Bowie, the British rock legend who died in January at the age of 69, liked to immerse himself in the tranquility of Shodenji, a Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto.</p><p>     The temple, in Nishigamo in Kyoto's Kita Ward, is known for its beautiful <i>karesansui</i> dry landscape garden, which was created with mount Hiei serving as a backdrop in the distance. On a wintry day in December 1979, Bowie stood still and shed tears while gazing at the garden. </p><div class="page_limit free"></div><div class="page_limit"></div><p>     The rock star was there to make a TV commercial for Takara Shuzo, a distiller of <i>shochu</i> spirits. The company hired Bowie to give the liquor, which is typically distilled from rice, barley, sweet potatoes or brown sugar, a makeover. It had been seen as cheap hooch for middle-aged men. Takara wanted to make shochu appealing to women and younger drinkers.</p><p>     Takara bet its future on the cachet of Bowie, an aficionado of Japanese culture known for his fine sense of aesthetics. "We thought of different temples for the filming of the commercial, but Bowie, who knew Kyoto very well, chose Shodenji Temple," said Yoshiro Hosomi, who was then deputy chief of the company's advertising department.</p><p>     Shodenji Temple was founded during the Kamakura period (1185-1333) as a temple of the Rinzai sect of Zen Buddhism. It was once a large temple with six subtemples. But the subtemples were all destroyed during the government suppression of Buddhism during the early Meiji period (1868-1912).</p><p>     Shodenji Temple now stands in a forest, surrounded by a golf course that was developed during the mid-Showa period (1926-1989).</p><p><b>Hidden treasure</b></p><p>Hosomi, who later became chairman of Takara and deputy mayor of Kyoto, was unaware of the temple's existence, despite having lived in Kyoto for 25 years.</p><p>     When he first visited the temple for the filming of the commercial, Hosomi understood why Bowie chose it as the setting. He was struck by the austere beauty of the garden, an enigma in raked gravel and scattered rocks, enhanced by the view of Mount Hiei. With few tourists, the temple was a place of tranquility.</p><p>     "During the filming, Bowie stared at the garden with tears in his eyes," Hosomi recalled.  "I couldn't bring myself to ask whether he was moved by the scenery or was feeling sorrow for some reason," he said. "He was a sensitive and pure person."</p><div class="page_break auto free"></div><div class="page_break auto"></div><p>     Bowie composed an instrumental titled "Crystal Japan" to accompany the advertisement for the company's Jun shochu. The jingle, played by Bowie himself on a synthesizer, and the catchphrase, "Jun Rock Japan," captured the imagination of young consumers. Sales of Jun soared elevenfold between 1980 and 1985.</p><p><b>Artistic appeal</b></p><p>Shodenji Temple appeals to other artists as well. Singer Shinji Tanimura, who found fame across Asia with his song "Subaru",  is also a big fan of the temple. "I can have time to reflect quietly on myself" at the temple, he said. Tanimura's love affair with the Zen temple began in the early 1960s, when he was in junior high school. His sister, who is three years his senior, was a Kyoto buff. She told him about the temple, which she described as "fantastic."     </p><div class="object-left"> <div class="object-left fb"> <div class="object-left"> <div class="js_enlarge"> <a href="javascript:%20void(0);" class="mwTrg" alt="zoom_104697"> <div class="image-side"> <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20160505075342im_/http://asia.nikkei.com/var/site_cache/storage/images/node_43/node_51/2016/201602/20160223/20160223_shodenji_tanimura/4096381-1-eng-GB/20160223_shodenji_tanimura_middle_320.jpg" alt="" class=""><p class="date-area img-caption"> Singer Shinji Tanimura meditates on the engawa (wooden-floored veranda) of the main temple of Shodenji Temple. (Photo courtesy of Dao, Tanimura's agent). </p> </div> </a> </div> <div class="modal-zoom" id="zoom_104697"> <a href="javascript:%20void(0);" class="js_close fb">Close</a> <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20160505075342im_/http://asia.nikkei.com/var/site_cache/storage/images/node_43/node_51/2016/201602/20160223/20160223_shodenji_tanimura/4096381-1-eng-GB/20160223_shodenji_tanimura_article_main_image.jpg" alt="" class=""><p class="date-area"> Singer Shinji Tanimura meditates on the engawa (wooden-floored veranda) of the main temple of Shodenji Temple. (Photo courtesy of Dao, Tanimura's agent). </p> </div> </div> </div> </div><p>     Tanimura traveled alone by train and bus from his home in Osaka to see the sanctuary for himself. When he arrived at the front gate, he was deeply touched by the view of the temple and the surrounding landscape, which evokes a natural woodland in a village. Tanimura said he has visited the temple "countless times" since then. "Its tranquility during winter is especially fascinating," he said. "Just sitting on the <i>engawa</i> (wooden-floored veranda) of the main temple makes you forget time and calms your mind."</p><p>     The garden was landscaped in the early Edo period (1603-1867), but the scenery, composed of trimmed <i>satsuki</i> azaleas and white sand, was completed in the early Showa period. The main temple, which is designated an Important Cultural Property, was also built in the early Edo period. Remnants of Fushimi Castle in Kyoto, which was dismantled in the early 17th century, were incorporated into the temple.</p><p>     A sliding door in the temple, painted by Kano Sanraku (1559-1635), depicts the landscape of West Lake, a famous lake in Hangzhou, a city in China's present-day Zhejiang Province, renowned for its beauty.</p><p>     Denshu Yamazaki, the temple's chief priest, said the karesansui garden set against the backdrop of Mount Hiei has great charm. 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