A photo of a weeping cherry tree posted on X (formerly Twitter) by a temple in Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto City, has been viewed more than 1.4 million times and is causing a huge response. It is said that the photos taken from angles not available to the general public are picturesque. Coinciding with the timing of spring tourism in Kyoto getting into full swing, the photo was widely spread, and even the monk who posted it was surprised.
This was posted on the morning of April 2nd by Koin Aoyama, the chief priest of Kourin-in Temple. Okorin-in Temple was founded in 1608 as the sub-temple of Kodai-ji Temple. It is said to be the oldest existing sub-temple of Kodai-ji Temple.
On the morning of April 2nd, Mr. Aoyama took a photo of a weeping cherry tree in the front garden of the head priest of Kodaiji called "Hashin-tei." I aimed the camera at the flowers in full bloom from between the upper rooms. Ordinary people are not allowed to take photos from the upper room, and Aoyama says, ''This angle of view is unique to the priest of Kodaiji Temple.''
The entrance to the upper room looks like a picture frame, and when she posted it with the line, ''It's like a painting...'' it had been viewed 1.47 million times on the night of April 5th. There are many comments such as ''I want to watch it with a quiet mind'' and ''Let's go and see it.'' Aoyama said with a smile, ''The reaction was so overwhelming that I couldn't fully cope with it. I never expected something like this to happen.'' The best time to see weeping cherry blossoms is expected to be around April 7th.
