Inside the extended grounds of the Zen temple Myōshinji is the sub-temple Taizō-in, which has one of the loveliest gardens in Kyoto.

The temple owns a famous ink painting called “catfish and gourd.” It uses these motifs on its roof tiles, and serves a teacake with the design. In Hidden Buddhas, this is the place where Koji realizes he is falling in love with Nora. I really should have done something with the catch-a-catfish-with-a-gourd metaphor, which of course refers to something which is so difficult as to be essentially impossible...