Rurikōin Temple

This guide to Rurikoin Temple in Kyoto traces a room that stays closed ten months of the year, opening only for a few weeks each spring and autumn. It follows the building from its start in the 1880s as a retirement retreat for the nobleman Sanjo Sanetomi, through decades of sitting empty after his death, to its rebuilding in the 1930s by architect Nakamura Sotoji and garden designer Toemon Sano. You'll hear how it later became a Buddhist temple and finally opened to ordinary visitors in 2013. Look down at the lacquered table in front of you rather than out the window.