The branch canals were constructed to supply water for the use of water-powered equipment, irrigation, or fire protection to areas along the main canals. There is a promenade alongside the branch canal from Kumano Nyakuoji Shrine to Ginkakuji Temple, and the promenade is referred to as “Philosophers’ Path,” Kitaro Nishida, a philosopher who was studying at Kyoto University, and his fellow philosophers supposedly strolled along here while being absorbed in meditation.