Mossy Roof, Kyoto

Moss adorns the roof over the front gate of a house in Kyoto. Taken last year during a walk in a residential section of the city.

Outdoor Bonsai

In a residential section of Kyoto, I caught sight of this bonsai tree that was cut to fit the space it's in as well as to please the eye, its leaves artistically cut. The Japanese admire things that are "sculpted and controlled," in the words of writer Pico Iyer, who lived in Nara, close to Kyoto.

If you click on the picture to enlarge it, you will see the "fence" made of horsetail plants that are grown closely together around the base of the tree. Very ingenious. The tree with its gnarled and shaped branches in a "pom pom" look, must be quite old.

Note the decorated ceramic tile roof of the house in the background.