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  • The Nawikawa Cloisonné Museum is located in a small villa lost in the narrow streets south of Heian Jingu. This residence, built in 1894, was the home of Namikawa Yasuyuki an artist of the Meiji and Taisho periods. Namikawa started his career of cloisonné artist at 28. Cloisonne is an old technique for decorating metallic objects. It consists in building wire frame enclosures in which enamel of different colors is poured. Every outline of every coloured region in the drawing is first delimited by wires, then enamel is poured and the piece is cooked, and finally polished. The museum has around 130 pieces from Namikawa. Namikawa earned a few international prizes, among which is the Exposition Internationale de Paris. This made him famous worldwide and resulted in many foreigners visiting him in Kyoto. The villa also has many sliding partitions that use glass instead of rice paper which was very unusual at the time. Besides the museum, the villa has a nice photogenic garden with a pond that reaches under the main building making it appear to float upon the pond.
    namikawa-cloisonne-garden-09.jpg
  • Enkoji was founded in 1601 by Tokugawa Ieyasu - its mission was to promote learning and scholarship in Japan. As a result, both monks and laymen were allowed as students. Enkoji is well known for its autumn leaves. Out front there is a modern zen garden, though the showcase is the tatami room overlooking the back garden.
    enkoji-garden-2.jpg
  • Located at the foot of Mt. Hiei in eastern Kyoto, Enkoji is one of many temple gardens that dot this part of town. Enkoji was founded in 1601 by Tokugawa Ieyasu - its mission was to promote learning and scholarship in Japan. As a result, both monks and laymen were allowed as students. Enkoji is well known for its autumn leaves.
    enkoji-garden-1.jpg
  • Bentendo Hall at Daigoji Temple Pond - Daigoji Temple Garden within Daigoji temple complex, a UNESCO world heritage site that includes many temple halls, structures and pagodas including Kyoto's oldest building.
    daigoji-pond-garden-1.jpg
  • Honpo-ji’s main garden is called the Mitsudomoe no Niwa, or Garden of Three Tomoe, which are comma-shaped designs traditionally used in Japanese crests.  This garden was originally designed by Honami Koetsu, a famous calligrapher.   A dry karesansui garden, the Mitsudomoe no Niwa has a waterfall made of stones on one side, the movement of water illustrated by white streaks naturally present in the rocks.  A small pond in the middle of the garden is dedicated to lotuses, a flower long held sacred as a metaphor for Buddhism.  Kyoto is home to several shrines and temples that, despite their treasures and natural beauty, remain somehow unknown to the average visitor.  Honpo-ji, a Nichiren sect temple in central Kyoto, is one of these hidden temples that is rarely visited by tourists.  It is, however, popular with locals during sakura season when it provides a quiet place to enjoy cherry blossoms without the usual crowds.  Honpo-ji is also home to works by the famous 16th century Japanese artist Hasegawa Tohaku.  Honpo-ji also has a tranquil garden which makes it the perfect choice for the discerning visitor looking to enjoy a temple in peace.
    honpo-ji-garden-05.jpg
  • Honpo-ji’s main garden is called the Mitsudomoe no Niwa, or Garden of Three Tomoe, which are comma-shaped designs traditionally used in Japanese crests.  This garden was originally designed by Honami Koetsu, a famous calligrapher.   A dry karesansui garden, the Mitsudomoe no Niwa has a waterfall made of stones on one side, the movement of water illustrated by white streaks naturally present in the rocks.  A small pond in the middle of the garden is dedicated to lotuses, a flower long held sacred as a metaphor for Buddhism.  Kyoto is home to several shrines and temples that, despite their treasures and natural beauty, remain somehow unknown to the average visitor.  Honpo-ji, a Nichiren sect temple in central Kyoto, is one of these hidden temples that is rarely visited by tourists.  It is, however, popular with locals during sakura season when it provides a quiet place to enjoy cherry blossoms without the usual crowds.  Honpo-ji is also home to works by the famous 16th century Japanese artist Hasegawa Tohaku.  Honpo-ji also has a tranquil garden which makes it the perfect choice for the discerning visitor looking to enjoy a temple in peace.
    honpo-ji-garden-03.jpg
  • Honpo-ji’s main garden is called the Mitsudomoe no Niwa, or Garden of Three Tomoe, which are comma-shaped designs traditionally used in Japanese crests.  This garden was originally designed by Honami Koetsu, a famous calligrapher.   A dry karesansui garden, the Mitsudomoe no Niwa has a waterfall made of stones on one side, the movement of water illustrated by white streaks naturally present in the rocks.  A small pond in the middle of the garden is dedicated to lotuses, a flower long held sacred as a metaphor for Buddhism.  Kyoto is home to several shrines and temples that, despite their treasures and natural beauty, remain somehow unknown to the average visitor.  Honpo-ji, a Nichiren sect temple in central Kyoto, is one of these hidden temples that is rarely visited by tourists.  It is, however, popular with locals during sakura season when it provides a quiet place to enjoy cherry blossoms without the usual crowds.  Honpo-ji is also home to works by the famous 16th century Japanese artist Hasegawa Tohaku.  Honpo-ji also has a tranquil garden which makes it the perfect choice for the discerning visitor looking to enjoy a temple in peace.
    honpo-ji-garden-01.jpg
  • Honpo-ji’s main garden is called the Mitsudomoe no Niwa, or Garden of Three Tomoe, which are comma-shaped designs traditionally used in Japanese crests.  This garden was originally designed by Honami Koetsu, a famous calligrapher.   A dry karesansui garden, the Mitsudomoe no Niwa has a waterfall made of stones on one side, the movement of water illustrated by white streaks naturally present in the rocks.  A small pond in the middle of the garden is dedicated to lotuses, a flower long held sacred as a metaphor for Buddhism.  Kyoto is home to several shrines and temples that, despite their treasures and natural beauty, remain somehow unknown to the average visitor.  Honpo-ji, a Nichiren sect temple in central Kyoto, is one of these hidden temples that is rarely visited by tourists.  It is, however, popular with locals during sakura season when it provides a quiet place to enjoy cherry blossoms without the usual crowds.  Honpo-ji is also home to works by the famous 16th century Japanese artist Hasegawa Tohaku.  Honpo-ji also has a tranquil garden which makes it the perfect choice for the discerning visitor looking to enjoy a temple in peace.
    honpo-ji-garden-04.jpg
  • Honpo-ji’s main garden is called the Mitsudomoe no Niwa, or Garden of Three Tomoe, which are comma-shaped designs traditionally used in Japanese crests.  This garden was originally designed by Honami Koetsu, a famous calligrapher.   A dry karesansui garden, the Mitsudomoe no Niwa has a waterfall made of stones on one side, the movement of water illustrated by white streaks naturally present in the rocks.  A small pond in the middle of the garden is dedicated to lotuses, a flower long held sacred as a metaphor for Buddhism.  Kyoto is home to several shrines and temples that, despite their treasures and natural beauty, remain somehow unknown to the average visitor.  Honpo-ji, a Nichiren sect temple in central Kyoto, is one of these hidden temples that is rarely visited by tourists.  It is, however, popular with locals during sakura season when it provides a quiet place to enjoy cherry blossoms without the usual crowds.  Honpo-ji is also home to works by the famous 16th century Japanese artist Hasegawa Tohaku.  Honpo-ji also has a tranquil garden which makes it the perfect choice for the discerning visitor looking to enjoy a temple in peace.
    honpo-ji-garden-02.jpg
  • Shogo-in Garden - Shogo-in Monzeki - After repeated relocations due to fires such as the Onin War in the Muromachi periodthe temple moved to its current location in the early Edo period.The temple and its gardens are only open a few weeks per year usually in autumn, and besides its large dry karesansui garden, there are moss gardens behind the main hall.This is the head temple of the Honzan sect of the Shugendo religion which was founded by the ascetic and mystic En-no-Gyoja. Shogo-in Monzeki Temple is also known for the fact that it served as the Monzeki Temple for generations of the imperial family and imperial court. The temple also once served as the temporary living quarters for Emperor Kokaku when the imperial palace was damaged by a fire. Monzeki temples were where the royal family serve as the head priest. Shogo-in Monzeki has another side; a more beautiful side. The temple hall, known as the shinden, houses over 100 sliding doors beautifully painted by Edo Period painter Masunobu Kano, and Kano Eino, the third heir to the Kyogano Kyoto school of Kano painting. Shugendo is an ancient Japanese religion based on mountain religions and seeks to attain Buddhist enlightenment through grueling mountainous training
    shogo-in-garden-03.jpg
  • Japanese Maple and Autumn Colors at Koto-In Garden, Daitokuji Temple, Kyoto.  Koto-in was established in 1601 by Tadaoki Hosokawa. He was a famous warrior under Toyotomi Hideyoshi, studied Zen under the Daitoku-ji abbot, Seigan, and was a distinguished disciple of tea master, Sen no Rikyu. Koto-in is home to two famous tea houses, Shoko-ken and Horai.
    koto-in-garden-1.jpg
  • Japanese Maple and Autumn Colors at Koto-In Garden, Daitokuji Temple, Kyoto.  Koto-in was established in 1601 by Tadaoki Hosokawa. He was a famous warrior under Toyotomi Hideyoshi, studied Zen under the Daitoku-ji abbot, Seigan, and was a distinguished disciple of tea master, Sen no Rikyu. Koto-in is home to two famous tea houses, Shoko-ken and Horai.
    koto-in-garden-3.jpg
  • Shogo-in Garden - Shogo-in Monzeki - After repeated relocations due to fires such as the Onin War in the Muromachi periodthe temple moved to its current location in the early Edo period.The temple and its gardens are only open a few weeks per year usually in autumn, and besides its large dry karesansui garden, there are moss gardens behind the main hall.This is the head temple of the Honzan sect of the Shugendo religion which was founded by the ascetic and mystic En-no-Gyoja. Shogo-in Monzeki Temple is also known for the fact that it served as the Monzeki Temple for generations of the imperial family and imperial court. The temple also once served as the temporary living quarters for Emperor Kokaku when the imperial palace was damaged by a fire. Monzeki temples were where the royal family serve as the head priest. Shogo-in Monzeki has another side; a more beautiful side. The temple hall, known as the shinden, houses over 100 sliding doors beautifully painted by Edo Period painter Masunobu Kano, and Kano Eino, the third heir to the Kyogano Kyoto school of Kano painting. Shugendo is an ancient Japanese religion based on mountain religions and seeks to attain Buddhist enlightenment through grueling mountainous training
    shogo-in-garden-02.jpg
  • Shogo-in Garden - Shogo-in Monzeki - After repeated relocations due to fires such as the Onin War in the Muromachi periodthe temple moved to its current location in the early Edo period.The temple and its gardens are only open a few weeks per year usually in autumn, and besides its large dry karesansui garden, there are moss gardens behind the main hall.This is the head temple of the Honzan sect of the Shugendo religion which was founded by the ascetic and mystic En-no-Gyoja. Shogo-in Monzeki Temple is also known for the fact that it served as the Monzeki Temple for generations of the imperial family and imperial court. The temple also once served as the temporary living quarters for Emperor Kokaku when the imperial palace was damaged by a fire. Monzeki temples were where the royal family serve as the head priest. Shogo-in Monzeki has another side; a more beautiful side. The temple hall, known as the shinden, houses over 100 sliding doors beautifully painted by Edo Period painter Masunobu Kano, and Kano Eino, the third heir to the Kyogano Kyoto school of Kano painting. Shugendo is an ancient Japanese religion based on mountain religions and seeks to attain Buddhist enlightenment through grueling mountainous training
    shogo-in-garden-01.jpg
  • The Nawikawa Cloisonné Museum is located in a small villa lost in the narrow streets south of Heian Jingu. This residence, built in 1894, was the home of Namikawa Yasuyuki an artist of the Meiji and Taisho periods. Namikawa started his career of cloisonné artist at 28. Cloisonne is an old technique for decorating metallic objects. It consists in building wire frame enclosures in which enamel of different colors is poured. Every outline of every coloured region in the drawing is first delimited by wires, then enamel is poured and the piece is cooked, and finally polished. The museum has around 130 pieces from Namikawa. Namikawa earned a few international prizes, among which is the Exposition Internationale de Paris. This made him famous worldwide and resulted in many foreigners visiting him in Kyoto. The villa also has many sliding partitions that use glass instead of rice paper which was very unusual at the time. Besides the museum, the villa has a nice photogenic garden with a pond that reaches under the main building making it appear to float upon the pond.
    namikawa-cloisonne-garden-08.jpg
  • Ryoanji Pond Garden is a treat, although Ryoanji's famous zen garden is one of the world's best known gardens after Versailles. The temple's main attraction is its rock garden, the most famous of its kind in Japan. The simple Zen garden consist of nothing but rocks, moss and neatly raked gravel. Though the meaning of the garden's arrangement is unknown and up to each visitor's interpretation, it is said that if you can see all of the 15 stones at one time, you will have reached enlightenment.
    ryoanji-pond-garden.jpg
  • Japanese Maple and Autumn Colors at Koto-In Garden, Daitokuji Temple, Kyoto.  Koto-in was established in 1601 by Tadaoki Hosokawa - a famous warrior under Toyotomi Hideyoshi, studied Zen under the Daitoku-ji abbot, Seigan, and was a disciple of tea master Sen no Rikyu. Koto-in is home to two famous tea houses, Shoko-ken and Horai.
    koto-in-garden-4.jpg
  • Manshu-in also known as Manshuin Monzeki is a Tendai sect Zen Buddhist temple located near the Shugakuin Imperial Villa in Kyoto.  The temple's major garden is in the Karesansui style, and now designated as an eminent scenery; it contains a notable Pinus pentaphylla tree, now about 400 years old, set within an "island" on a stream of white sand.  This garden lies just south of Shugakuin Detached Palace on the grounds of the Monzekiji-in temple (a Tendai sect temple). Prince Toshihito's (who designed Katsura) second son, Yoshihisa seems to have had some connection with this garden's construction in 1656. The original buildings still stands in their original locations, and their Shoin style closely resembles that of Katsura. The garden is wrapped around both the large and small shoin, but according to Gunter Nitsche, it is best viewed from the small shoin. Its design is that of a pond garden in terms of layout, but the older Heian form has been transformed into the dry karesansui of the Edo period. An artificial Mount Horai is paired with rock groupings on its left. A stone bridge "Ishibashii" crosses a dry stream and a second bridge of stone slabs links a penninsula to a crane island in the far west. On the crane island are three undulating rock groups that resemble the nosuji of the Heian period . In front is a turtle island floating in an expanse of white gravel.
    manshu-in-garden-4.jpg
  • Manshu-in also known as Manshuin Monzeki is a Tendai sect Zen Buddhist temple located near the Shugakuin Imperial Villa in Kyoto.  The temple's major garden is in the Karesansui style, and now designated as an eminent scenery; it contains a notable Pinus pentaphylla tree, now about 400 years old, set within an "island" on a stream of white sand.  This garden lies just south of Shugakuin Detached Palace on the grounds of the Monzekiji-in temple (a Tendai sect temple). Prince Toshihito's (who designed Katsura) second son, Yoshihisa seems to have had some connection with this garden's construction in 1656. The original buildings still stands in their original locations, and their Shoin style closely resembles that of Katsura. The garden is wrapped around both the large and small shoin, but according to Gunter Nitsche, it is best viewed from the small shoin. Its design is that of a pond garden in terms of layout, but the older Heian form has been transformed into the dry karesansui of the Edo period. An artificial Mount Horai is paired with rock groupings on its left. A stone bridge "Ishibashii" crosses a dry stream and a second bridge of stone slabs links a penninsula to a crane island in the far west. On the crane island are three undulating rock groups that resemble the nosuji of the Heian period . In front is a turtle island floating in an expanse of white gravel.
    manshu-in-garden-3.jpg
  • The Nawikawa Cloisonné Museum is located in a small villa lost in the narrow streets south of Heian Jingu. This residence, built in 1894, was the home of Namikawa Yasuyuki an artist of the Meiji and Taisho periods. Namikawa started his career of cloisonné artist at 28. Cloisonne is an old technique for decorating metallic objects. It consists in building wire frame enclosures in which enamel of different colors is poured. Every outline of every coloured region in the drawing is first delimited by wires, then enamel is poured and the piece is cooked, and finally polished. The museum has around 130 pieces from Namikawa. Namikawa earned a few international prizes, among which is the Exposition Internationale de Paris. This made him famous worldwide and resulted in many foreigners visiting him in Kyoto. The villa also has many sliding partitions that use glass instead of rice paper which was very unusual at the time. Besides the museum, the villa has a nice photogenic garden with a pond that reaches under the main building making it appear to float upon the pond.
    namikawa-cloisonne-garden-12.jpg
  • The Nawikawa Cloisonné Museum is located in a small villa lost in the narrow streets south of Heian Jingu. This residence, built in 1894, was the home of Namikawa Yasuyuki an artist of the Meiji and Taisho periods. Namikawa started his career of cloisonné artist at 28. Cloisonne is an old technique for decorating metallic objects. It consists in building wire frame enclosures in which enamel of different colors is poured. Every outline of every coloured region in the drawing is first delimited by wires, then enamel is poured and the piece is cooked, and finally polished. The museum has around 130 pieces from Namikawa. Namikawa earned a few international prizes, among which is the Exposition Internationale de Paris. This made him famous worldwide and resulted in many foreigners visiting him in Kyoto. The villa also has many sliding partitions that use glass instead of rice paper which was very unusual at the time. Besides the museum, the villa has a nice photogenic garden with a pond that reaches under the main building making it appear to float upon the pond.
    namikawa-cloisonne-garden-10.jpg
  • Kyaku-den Garden at Jisho-in is a dry landscape garden which effectively incorporates the arrangement of stones, moss and a 300 year-old pine tree.  Jisho-in Temple is one of sub-temples of Shokokuji in Kamigyo Ward, Kyoto City. Shokokuji is the head of the Rinzai secto of Shokokuji School of Zen Buddhist nad has 16 sub-temples) Jisho-in was constructed in the Muromachi period of 1405 by a Zen priest and 13th abbot of Shokoku-ji, Chuen Zaochu. Jisho-in is rarely open to the public though its dry landscape karesansui garden is viewable through the main gate, free of charge.
    jisho-in-garden-05.jpg
  • Kyaku-den Garden at Jisho-in is a dry landscape garden which effectively incorporates the arrangement of stones, moss and a 300 year-old pine tree.  Jisho-in Temple is one of sub-temples of Shokokuji in Kamigyo Ward, Kyoto City. Shokokuji is the head of the Rinzai secto of Shokokuji School of Zen Buddhist nad has 16 sub-temples) Jisho-in was constructed in the Muromachi period of 1405 by a Zen priest and 13th abbot of Shokoku-ji, Chuen Zaochu. Jisho-in is rarely open to the public though its dry landscape karesansui garden is viewable through the main gate, free of charge.
    jisho-in-garden-02.jpg
  • Kyaku-den Garden at Jisho-in is a dry landscape garden which effectively incorporates the arrangement of stones, moss and a 300 year-old pine tree.  Jisho-in Temple is one of sub-temples of Shokokuji in Kamigyo Ward, Kyoto City. Shokokuji is the head of the Rinzai secto of Shokokuji School of Zen Buddhist nad has 16 sub-temples) Jisho-in was constructed in the Muromachi period of 1405 by a Zen priest and 13th abbot of Shokoku-ji, Chuen Zaochu. Jisho-in is rarely open to the public though its dry landscape karesansui garden is viewable through the main gate, free of charge.
    jisho-in-garden-03.jpg
  • Kyaku-den Garden at Jisho-in is a dry landscape garden which effectively incorporates the arrangement of stones, moss and a 300 year-old pine tree.  Jisho-in Temple is one of sub-temples of Shokokuji in Kamigyo Ward, Kyoto City. Shokokuji is the head of the Rinzai secto of Shokokuji School of Zen Buddhist nad has 16 sub-temples) Jisho-in was constructed in the Muromachi period of 1405 by a Zen priest and 13th abbot of Shokoku-ji, Chuen Zaochu. Jisho-in is rarely open to the public though its dry landscape karesansui garden is viewable through the main gate, free of charge.
    jisho-in-garden-04.jpg
  • Kyaku-den Garden at Jisho-in is a dry landscape garden which effectively incorporates the arrangement of stones, moss and a 300 year-old pine tree.  Jisho-in Temple is one of sub-temples of Shokokuji in Kamigyo Ward, Kyoto City. Shokokuji is the head of the Rinzai secto of Shokokuji School of Zen Buddhist nad has 16 sub-temples) Jisho-in was constructed in the Muromachi period of 1405 by a Zen priest and 13th abbot of Shokoku-ji, Chuen Zaochu. Jisho-in is rarely open to the public though its dry landscape karesansui garden is viewable through the main gate, free of charge.
    jisho-in-garden-01.jpg
  • The Nawikawa Cloisonné Museum is located in a small villa lost in the narrow streets south of Heian Jingu. This residence, built in 1894, was the home of Namikawa Yasuyuki an artist of the Meiji and Taisho periods. Namikawa started his career of cloisonné artist at 28. Cloisonne is an old technique for decorating metallic objects. It consists in building wire frame enclosures in which enamel of different colors is poured. Every outline of every coloured region in the drawing is first delimited by wires, then enamel is poured and the piece is cooked, and finally polished. The museum has around 130 pieces from Namikawa. Namikawa earned a few international prizes, among which is the Exposition Internationale de Paris. This made him famous worldwide and resulted in many foreigners visiting him in Kyoto. The villa also has many sliding partitions that use glass instead of rice paper which was very unusual at the time. Besides the museum, the villa has a nice photogenic garden with a pond that reaches under the main building making it appear to float upon the pond.
    namikawa-cloisonne-garden-11.jpg
  • The Nawikawa Cloisonné Museum is located in a small villa lost in the narrow streets south of Heian Jingu. This residence, built in 1894, was the home of Namikawa Yasuyuki an artist of the Meiji and Taisho periods. Namikawa started his career of cloisonné artist at 28. Cloisonne is an old technique for decorating metallic objects. It consists in building wire frame enclosures in which enamel of different colors is poured. Every outline of every coloured region in the drawing is first delimited by wires, then enamel is poured and the piece is cooked, and finally polished. The museum has around 130 pieces from Namikawa. Namikawa earned a few international prizes, among which is the Exposition Internationale de Paris. This made him famous worldwide and resulted in many foreigners visiting him in Kyoto. The villa also has many sliding partitions that use glass instead of rice paper which was very unusual at the time. Besides the museum, the villa has a nice photogenic garden with a pond that reaches under the main building making it appear to float upon the pond.
    namikawa-cloisonne-garden-05.jpg
  • The Nawikawa Cloisonné Museum is located in a small villa lost in the narrow streets south of Heian Jingu. This residence, built in 1894, was the home of Namikawa Yasuyuki an artist of the Meiji and Taisho periods. Namikawa started his career of cloisonné artist at 28. Cloisonne is an old technique for decorating metallic objects. It consists in building wire frame enclosures in which enamel of different colors is poured. Every outline of every coloured region in the drawing is first delimited by wires, then enamel is poured and the piece is cooked, and finally polished. The museum has around 130 pieces from Namikawa. Namikawa earned a few international prizes, among which is the Exposition Internationale de Paris. This made him famous worldwide and resulted in many foreigners visiting him in Kyoto. The villa also has many sliding partitions that use glass instead of rice paper which was very unusual at the time. Besides the museum, the villa has a nice photogenic garden with a pond that reaches under the main building making it appear to float upon the pond.
    namikawa-cloisonne-garden-07.jpg
  • The Nawikawa Cloisonné Museum is located in a small villa lost in the narrow streets south of Heian Jingu. This residence, built in 1894, was the home of Namikawa Yasuyuki an artist of the Meiji and Taisho periods. Namikawa started his career of cloisonné artist at 28. Cloisonne is an old technique for decorating metallic objects. It consists in building wire frame enclosures in which enamel of different colors is poured. Every outline of every coloured region in the drawing is first delimited by wires, then enamel is poured and the piece is cooked, and finally polished. The museum has around 130 pieces from Namikawa. Namikawa earned a few international prizes, among which is the Exposition Internationale de Paris. This made him famous worldwide and resulted in many foreigners visiting him in Kyoto. The villa also has many sliding partitions that use glass instead of rice paper which was very unusual at the time. Besides the museum, the villa has a nice photogenic garden with a pond that reaches under the main building making it appear to float upon the pond.
    namikawa-cloisonne-garden-06.jpg
  • The Nawikawa Cloisonné Museum is located in a small villa lost in the narrow streets south of Heian Jingu. This residence, built in 1894, was the home of Namikawa Yasuyuki an artist of the Meiji and Taisho periods. Namikawa started his career of cloisonné artist at 28. Cloisonne is an old technique for decorating metallic objects. It consists in building wire frame enclosures in which enamel of different colors is poured. Every outline of every coloured region in the drawing is first delimited by wires, then enamel is poured and the piece is cooked, and finally polished. The museum has around 130 pieces from Namikawa. Namikawa earned a few international prizes, among which is the Exposition Internationale de Paris. This made him famous worldwide and resulted in many foreigners visiting him in Kyoto. The villa also has many sliding partitions that use glass instead of rice paper which was very unusual at the time. Besides the museum, the villa has a nice photogenic garden with a pond that reaches under the main building making it appear to float upon the pond.
    namikawa-cloisonne-garden-04.jpg
  • The Nawikawa Cloisonné Museum is located in a small villa lost in the narrow streets south of Heian Jingu. This residence, built in 1894, was the home of Namikawa Yasuyuki an artist of the Meiji and Taisho periods. Namikawa started his career of cloisonné artist at 28. Cloisonne is an old technique for decorating metallic objects. It consists in building wire frame enclosures in which enamel of different colors is poured. Every outline of every coloured region in the drawing is first delimited by wires, then enamel is poured and the piece is cooked, and finally polished. The museum has around 130 pieces from Namikawa. Namikawa earned a few international prizes, among which is the Exposition Internationale de Paris. This made him famous worldwide and resulted in many foreigners visiting him in Kyoto. The villa also has many sliding partitions that use glass instead of rice paper which was very unusual at the time. Besides the museum, the villa has a nice photogenic garden with a pond that reaches under the main building making it appear to float upon the pond.
    namikawa-cloisonne-garden-03.jpg
  • The Nawikawa Cloisonné Museum is located in a small villa lost in the narrow streets south of Heian Jingu. This residence, built in 1894, was the home of Namikawa Yasuyuki an artist of the Meiji and Taisho periods. Namikawa started his career of cloisonné artist at 28. Cloisonne is an old technique for decorating metallic objects. It consists in building wire frame enclosures in which enamel of different colors is poured. Every outline of every coloured region in the drawing is first delimited by wires, then enamel is poured and the piece is cooked, and finally polished. The museum has around 130 pieces from Namikawa. Namikawa earned a few international prizes, among which is the Exposition Internationale de Paris. This made him famous worldwide and resulted in many foreigners visiting him in Kyoto. The villa also has many sliding partitions that use glass instead of rice paper which was very unusual at the time. Besides the museum, the villa has a nice photogenic garden with a pond that reaches under the main building making it appear to float upon the pond.
    namikawa-cloisonne-garden-02.jpg
  • Japanese Maple and Autumn Colors at Koto-In Garden, Daitokuji -  Koto-in was established in 1601 by Tadaoki Hosokawa - a famous warrior under Toyotomi Hideyoshi, studied Zen under the Daitoku-ji abbot, Seigan, and was a disciple of tea master Sen no Rikyu. Koto-in is home to two famous tea houses, Shoko-ken and Horai.
    koto-in-garden-11.jpg
  • Japanese Maple and Autumn Colors at Koto-In Garden, Daitokuji -  Koto-in was established in 1601 by Tadaoki Hosokawa - a famous warrior under Toyotomi Hideyoshi, studied Zen under the Daitoku-ji abbot, Seigan, and was a disciple of tea master Sen no Rikyu. Koto-in is home to two famous tea houses, Shoko-ken and Horai.
    koto-in-garden-09.jpg
  • Japanese Maple and Autumn Colors at Koto-In Garden, Daitokuji -  Koto-in was established in 1601 by Tadaoki Hosokawa - a famous warrior under Toyotomi Hideyoshi, studied Zen under the Daitoku-ji abbot, Seigan, and was a disciple of tea master Sen no Rikyu. Koto-in is home to two famous tea houses, Shoko-ken and Horai.
    koto-in-garden-13.jpg
  • Japanese Maple and Autumn Colors at Koto-In Garden, Daitokuji -  Koto-in was established in 1601 by Tadaoki Hosokawa - a famous warrior under Toyotomi Hideyoshi, studied Zen under the Daitoku-ji abbot, Seigan, and was a disciple of tea master Sen no Rikyu. Koto-in is home to two famous tea houses, Shoko-ken and Horai.
    koto-in-garden-08.jpg
  • Japanese Maple and Autumn Colors at Koto-In Garden, Daitokuji -  Koto-in was established in 1601 by Tadaoki Hosokawa - a famous warrior under Toyotomi Hideyoshi, studied Zen under the Daitoku-ji abbot, Seigan, and was a disciple of tea master Sen no Rikyu. Koto-in is home to two famous tea houses, Shoko-ken and Horai.
    koto-in-garden-15.jpg
  • Japanese Maple and Autumn Colors at Koto-In Garden, Daitokuji -  Koto-in was established in 1601 by Tadaoki Hosokawa - a famous warrior under Toyotomi Hideyoshi, studied Zen under the Daitoku-ji abbot, Seigan, and was a disciple of tea master Sen no Rikyu. Koto-in is home to two famous tea houses, Shoko-ken and Horai.
    koto-in-garden-12.jpg
  • Japanese Maple and Autumn Colors at Koto-In Garden, Daitokuji -  Koto-in was established in 1601 by Tadaoki Hosokawa - a famous warrior under Toyotomi Hideyoshi, studied Zen under the Daitoku-ji abbot, Seigan, and was a disciple of tea master Sen no Rikyu. Koto-in is home to two famous tea houses, Shoko-ken and Horai.
    koto-in-garden-10.jpg
  • Japanese Maple and Autumn Colors at Koto-In Garden, Daitokuji -  Koto-in was established in 1601 by Tadaoki Hosokawa - a famous warrior under Toyotomi Hideyoshi, studied Zen under the Daitoku-ji abbot, Seigan, and was a disciple of tea master Sen no Rikyu. Koto-in is home to two famous tea houses, Shoko-ken and Horai.
    koto-in-garden-07.jpg
  • Japanese Maple and Autumn Colors at Koto-In Garden, Daitokuji -  Koto-in was established in 1601 by Tadaoki Hosokawa - a famous warrior under Toyotomi Hideyoshi, studied Zen under the Daitoku-ji abbot, Seigan, and was a disciple of tea master Sen no Rikyu. Koto-in is home to two famous tea houses, Shoko-ken and Horai.
    koto-in-garden-05.jpg
  • Japanese Maple and Autumn Colors at Koto-In Garden, Daitokuji -  Koto-in was established in 1601 by Tadaoki Hosokawa - a famous warrior under Toyotomi Hideyoshi, studied Zen under the Daitoku-ji abbot, Seigan, and was a disciple of tea master Sen no Rikyu. Koto-in is home to two famous tea houses, Shoko-ken and Horai.
    koto-in-garden-14.jpg
  • Japanese Maple and Autumn Colors at Koto-In Garden, Daitokuji -  Koto-in was established in 1601 by Tadaoki Hosokawa - a famous warrior under Toyotomi Hideyoshi, studied Zen under the Daitoku-ji abbot, Seigan, and was a disciple of tea master Sen no Rikyu. Koto-in is home to two famous tea houses, Shoko-ken and Horai.
    koto-in-garden-06.jpg
  • Japanese Maple and Autumn Colors at Koto-In Garden.  Koto-in was established in 1601 by Tadaoki Hosokawa, a famous warrior under Toyotomi Hideyoshi.  He studied Zen under the Daitoku-ji abbot, Seigan, and was a disciple of tea master, Sen no Rikyu. Koto-in is home to two famous tea houses, Shoko-ken and Horai.
    koto-in-garden-2.jpg
  • Manshu-in also known as Manshuin Monzeki - the temple's major garden is in the Karesansui style, contains a notable pine tree which is about 400 years old, set within an "island" on a stream of white sand best viewed from the shoin.
    manshu-in-garden-5.jpg
  • Reiun-in was established in 1390 and has always had a tradtional Japanese garden on its grounds since its establishment but unfortunately the original was destroyed.  However, there was a picture taken of the original during the Edo period, and modern Japanese garden designer Mirei Shigemori redesigned the garden using the original as a base.  The garden was meant to express the true aspect of the great universe and is called Garden of Nine Mountains and Eight Seas
    reiun-in-garden-1.jpg
  • Bread and Espresso Garden has been renovated as a cafe from Former Kobayashi House a 210-year-old tangible cultural property designated by Kyoto Prefecture.  The thatched building was originally located in a rural area of Sonobe and relocated to the current location of Arashiyama.  The garden itself, which was created in the center of the store site, is a very new garden designed specifically to enhance the structures.
    kobayashi-espresso-chocolate-1.jpg
  • Tenryuji has been ranked first among Kyoto's "Five Great Zen Temples". Tenryuji was established in 1339, and like many other temples burnt down several times over its history. Muso Soseki, the temple's founding abbot and famous garden designer, created Tenryuji's landscape garden which, unlike the temple buildings, survived the many fires and is considered one of the oldest of its kind, that is "borrowed landscape" garden, taking in the background scenery of the hills of  Arashiyama as part of the garden's composition. Sogenchi pond and Ishigumi rock clusters in the garden are this pond garden's essential ingredients.
    tenryuji-7.jpg
  • Tenryuji Garden has been ranked first among Kyoto's "Five Great Zen Temples". Tenryuji was established in 1339, and like many other temples burnt down several times over its history. Muso Soseki, the temple's founding abbot and famous garden designer, created Tenryuji's landscape garden which, unlike the temple buildings, survived the many fires and is considered one of the oldest of its kind, that is "borrowed landscape" garden, taking in the background scenery of the hills of  Arashiyama as part of the garden's composition. Sogenchi pond and Ishigumi rock clusters in the garden are this pond garden's essential ingredients.
    tenryuji-1.jpg
  • Sogenchi Pond Garden - Tenryuji has been ranked first among Kyoto's "Five Great Zen Temples".  Muso Soseki, the temple's founding abbot and famous garden designer, created Tenryuji's landscape garden which, unlike the temple buildings, survived the many fires and is considered one of the oldest of its kind.  This is a "borrowed landscape" garden, taking in the background scenery of the hills of  Arashiyama as part of the garden's composition. Sogenchi pond and Ishigumi rock clusters in the garden are this pond garden's main ingredients and what makes it so special.
    tenryuji-13.jpg
  • Sogenchi Pond Garden - Tenryuji has been ranked first among Kyoto's "Five Great Zen Temples".  Muso Soseki, the temple's founding abbot and famous garden designer, created Tenryuji's landscape garden which, unlike the temple buildings, survived the many fires and is considered one of the oldest of its kind.  This is a "borrowed landscape" garden, taking in the background scenery of the hills of  Arashiyama as part of the garden's composition. Sogenchi pond and Ishigumi rock clusters in the garden are this pond garden's main ingredients and what makes it so special.
    tenryuji-13-crop.jpg
  • Tenryuji Sogenchi Pond Garden - Tenryuji Garden has been ranked first among Kyoto's "Five Great Zen Temples". Tenryuji was established in 1339, and like many other temples burnt down several times over its history. Muso Soseki, the temple's founding abbot and famous garden designer, created Tenryuji's landscape garden which, unlike the temple buildings, survived the many fires and is considered one of the oldest of its kind, that is "borrowed landscape" garden, taking in the background scenery of the hills of  Arashiyama as part of the garden's composition. Sogenchi pond and Ishigumi rock clusters in the garden are this pond garden's essential ingredients.
    tenryuji-9-crop.jpg
  • Motonobu-no-Niwa Garden at Taizoin - Motonobu Kano, the Master of Zen and also a painter of the Muromachi period, designed this garden and as such, it retains a very graceful, elegant and painterly ambience, giving it a unique air. The background scenery of the garden consists mainly of camellia, pine, Japanese umbrella pine, and other evergreens, presumably planted to present an "eternal beauty" that remains the same throughout the changing seasons.
    taizo-in-20.jpg
  • Tenryuji Sogenchi Pond Garden - Tenryuji Garden has been ranked first among Kyoto's "Five Great Zen Temples". Tenryuji was established in 1339, and like many other temples burnt down several times over its history. Muso Soseki, the temple's founding abbot and famous garden designer, created Tenryuji's landscape garden which, unlike the temple buildings, survived the many fires and is considered one of the oldest of its kind, that is "borrowed landscape" garden, taking in the background scenery of the hills of  Arashiyama as part of the garden's composition. Sogenchi pond and Ishigumi rock clusters in the garden are this pond garden's essential ingredients.
    tenryuji-9.jpg
  • Sanbo-in is a Buddhist temple in southern Kyoto, famous for the quality of its Japanese garden.  The garden is designed as a strolling garden with a large pond and several paths and bridges and said to contain over 700 stones.  One of the stones, called the Fujito, is said to have cost over 5,000 bushels of rice to obtain. Sanb-in is also a noteworthy illustration of a landscape garden which is designed for viewing from a specific perspective within a building. Laid out in the Momoyama period, the garden depicts "fortuitous crane," the "tortoise" and the "isle of eternal youth" poetic terms that identify specific ways in which stones and ponds are poised in a prescribed, esoteric relationship. .Toyotomi Hideyoshi designed this garden as a venue for an extravagant cherry blossom viewing party.  Sanbo-in is subtemple of Daigoji, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and National Treasure of Japan. IMAGE UNAVAILABLE FOR SALE IN JAPAN
    sanbo-in-3.jpg
  • Sanbo-in is a Buddhist temple in southern Kyoto, famous for the quality of its Japanese garden.  The garden is designed as a strolling garden with a large pond and several paths and bridges and said to contain over 700 stones.  One of the stones, called the Fujito, is said to have cost over 5,000 bushels of rice to obtain. Sanb-in is also a noteworthy illustration of a landscape garden which is designed for viewing from a specific perspective within a building. Laid out in the Momoyama period, the garden depicts "fortuitous crane," the "tortoise" and the "isle of eternal youth" poetic terms that identify specific ways in which stones and ponds are poised in a prescribed, esoteric relationship. .Toyotomi Hideyoshi designed this garden as a venue for an extravagant cherry blossom viewing party.  Sanbo-in is subtemple of Daigoji, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and National Treasure of Japan. IMAGE UNAVAILABLE FOR SALE IN JAPAN
    sanbo-in-4.jpg
  • Sanbo-in is a Buddhist temple in southern Kyoto, famous for the quality of its Japanese garden.  The garden is designed as a strolling garden with a large pond and several paths and bridges and said to contain over 700 stones.  One of the stones, called the Fujito, is said to have cost over 5,000 bushels of rice to obtain. Sanb-in is also a noteworthy illustration of a landscape garden which is designed for viewing from a specific perspective within a building. Laid out in the Momoyama period, the garden depicts "fortuitous crane," the "tortoise" and the "isle of eternal youth" poetic terms that identify specific ways in which stones and ponds are poised in a prescribed, esoteric relationship. .Toyotomi Hideyoshi designed this garden as a venue for an extravagant cherry blossom viewing party.  Sanbo-in is subtemple of Daigoji, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and National Treasure of Japan.IMAGE UNAVAILABLE FOR SALE IN JAPAN
    sanbo-in-7.jpg
  • Zuiho-in Zen Garden's most intriguing feature is its main rock garden called "Dozuka-tei" which is raked into appealing patterns to suggest water ripples and waves lapping against rock formations representing the Hohrai Mountains. It was designed by Mirei Shigemori and is considered one of his most important modern Japanese gardens.
    zuiho-in-3.jpg
  • Ryoanji Temple garden is one of the world's best known gardens. The main attraction is its rock garden, the most renowned of its kind in Japan. The simple Zen garden consist of nothing but rocks and neatly raked gravel. Though the meaning of the garden's arrangement is unknown and up to each visitor's interpretation it is said that if you can see all of the 15 stones at one time you have reached enlightenment.
    ryoanji-crop.jpg
  • Sanbo-in is a Buddhist temple in southern Kyoto, famous for the quality of its Japanese garden.  The garden is designed as a strolling garden with a large pond and several paths and bridges and said to contain over 700 stones.  One of the stones, called the Fujito, is said to have cost over 5,000 bushels of rice to obtain. Sanb-in is also a noteworthy illustration of a landscape garden which is designed for viewing from a specific perspective within a building. Laid out in the Momoyama period, the garden depicts "fortuitous crane," the "tortoise" and the "isle of eternal youth" poetic terms that identify specific ways in which stones and ponds are poised in a prescribed, esoteric relationship. .Toyotomi Hideyoshi designed this garden as a venue for an extravagant cherry blossom viewing party.  Sanbo-in is subtemple of Daigoji, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and National Treasure of Japan. IMAGE UNAVAILABLE FOR SALE IN JAPAN
    sanbo-in-1.jpg
  • Sanbo-in is a Buddhist temple in southern Kyoto, famous for the quality of its Japanese garden.  The garden is designed as a strolling garden with a large pond and several paths and bridges and said to contain over 700 stones.  One of the stones, called the Fujito, is said to have cost over 5,000 bushels of rice to obtain. Sanb-in is also a noteworthy illustration of a landscape garden which is designed for viewing from a specific perspective within a building. Laid out in the Momoyama period, the garden depicts "fortuitous crane," the "tortoise" and the "isle of eternal youth" poetic terms that identify specific ways in which stones and ponds are poised in a prescribed, esoteric relationship. .Toyotomi Hideyoshi designed this garden as a venue for an extravagant cherry blossom viewing party.  Sanbo-in is subtemple of Daigoji, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and National Treasure of Japan. IMAGE UNAVAILABLE FOR SALE IN JAPAN
    sanbo-in-6.jpg
  • Sanbo-in is a Buddhist temple in southern Kyoto, famous for the quality of its Japanese garden.  The garden is designed as a strolling garden with a large pond and several paths and bridges and said to contain over 700 stones.  One of the stones, called the Fujito, is said to have cost over 5,000 bushels of rice to obtain. Sanb-in is also a noteworthy illustration of a landscape garden which is designed for viewing from a specific perspective within a building. Laid out in the Momoyama period, the garden depicts "fortuitous crane," the "tortoise" and the "isle of eternal youth" poetic terms that identify specific ways in which stones and ponds are poised in a prescribed, esoteric relationship. .Toyotomi Hideyoshi designed this garden as a venue for an extravagant cherry blossom viewing party.  Sanbo-in is subtemple of Daigoji, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and National Treasure of Japan. IMAGE UNAVAILABLE FOR SALE IN JAPAN
    sanbo-in-5.jpg
  • Sanbo-in is a Buddhist temple in southern Kyoto, famous for the quality of its Japanese garden.  The garden is designed as a strolling garden with a large pond and several paths and bridges and said to contain over 700 stones.  One of the stones, called the Fujito, is said to have cost over 5,000 bushels of rice to obtain. Sanb-in is also a noteworthy illustration of a landscape garden which is designed for viewing from a specific perspective within a building. Laid out in the Momoyama period, the garden depicts "fortuitous crane," the "tortoise" and the "isle of eternal youth" poetic terms that identify specific ways in which stones and ponds are poised in a prescribed, esoteric relationship. .Toyotomi Hideyoshi designed this garden as a venue for an extravagant cherry blossom viewing party.  Sanbo-in is subtemple of Daigoji, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and National Treasure of Japan.IMAGE UNAVAILABLE FOR SALE IN JAPAN
    sanbo-in-8.jpg
  • Tenryuji Garden has been ranked first among Kyoto's "Five Great Zen Temples". Tenryuji was established in 1339, and like many other temples burnt down several times over its history. Muso Soseki, the temple's founding abbot and famous garden designer, created Tenryuji's landscape garden which, unlike the temple buildings, survived the many fires and is considered one of the oldest of its kind, that is "borrowed landscape" garden, taking in the background scenery of the hills of  Arashiyama as part of the garden's composition. Sogenchi pond and Ishigumi rock clusters in the garden are this pond garden's essential ingredients.
    tenryuji-6.jpg
  • Sanb-in is a Buddhist temple in southern Kyoto, famous for the quality of its Japanese garden.  The garden is designed as a strolling garden with a large pond and several paths and bridges and said to contain over 700 stones.  One of the stones, called the Fujito, is said to have cost over 5,000 bushels of rice to obtain. Sanb-in is also a noteworthy illustration of a landscape garden which is designed for viewing from a specific perspective within a building. Laid out in the Momoyama period, the garden depicts "fortuitous crane," the "tortoise" and the "isle of eternal youth" poetic terms that identify specific ways in which stones and ponds are poised in a prescribed, esoteric relationship. .Toyotomi Hideyoshi designed this garden as a venue for an extravagant cherry blossom viewing party.  Sanbo-in is subtemple of Daigoji, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and National Treasure of Japan. IMAGE UNAVAILABLE FOR SALE IN JAPAN
    sanbo-in-2.jpg
  • Ryogen-in, the head temple of the South School of Rinzai-shu Daitoku-ji sect, has a collection of zen gardens including Ryogin-tei a Karesansui or Zen garden laid out in the early 16th century.
    ryogen-in-2.jpg
  • Tenjuan Temple Garden - Tenjuan Temple is a small subtemple of Nanzenji dedicated to the Zen master who served Emperor Kameyama in his religious studies. Tenju-an has a main hall and study which date back to the early 17th century. Tenjuan is noteworthy for its two gardens, a rock garden and an adjacent pond garden, which are particularly attractive during autumn. The dry karesansui garden has unusual patterns normally not found in karesansui zen gardens.
    tenju-an-4.jpg
  • Tenjuan Temple Garden - Tenjuan Temple is a small subtemple of Nanzenji dedicated to the Zen master who served Emperor Kameyama in his religious studies. Tenju-an has a main hall and study which date back to the early 17th century. Tenjuan is noteworthy for its two gardens, a rock garden and an adjacent pond garden, which are particularly attractive during autumn. The dry karesansui garden has unusual patterns normally not found in karesansui zen gardens.
    tenju-an-1.jpg
  • Ryoanji Garden and Sakura - one of the world's best known gardens. The main attraction is its rock garden, the most renowned of its kind in Japan. The simple Zen garden consist of nothing but rocks and neatly raked gravel. Though the meaning of the garden's arrangement is unknown and up to each visitor's interpretation it is said that if you can see all of the 15 stones at one time you have reached enlightenment.
    ryoanji-3.jpg
  • Sanbo-in is a Buddhist temple in southern Kyoto, famous for the quality of its Japanese garden.  The garden is designed as a strolling garden with a large pond and several paths and bridges and said to contain over 700 stones.  One of the stones, called the Fujito, is said to have cost over 5,000 bushels of rice to obtain. Sanb-in is also a noteworthy illustration of a landscape garden which is designed for viewing from a specific perspective within a building. Laid out in the Momoyama period, the garden depicts "fortuitous crane," the "tortoise" and the "isle of eternal youth" poetic terms that identify specific ways in which stones and ponds are poised in a prescribed, esoteric relationship. .Toyotomi Hideyoshi designed this garden as a venue for an extravagant cherry blossom viewing party.  Sanbo-in is subtemple of Daigoji, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and National Treasure of Japan. IMAGE UNAVAILABLE FOR SALE IN JAPAN
    sanbo-in-9.jpg
  • Sanbo-in is a Buddhist temple in southern Kyoto, famous for the quality of its Japanese garden.  The garden is designed as a strolling garden with a large pond and several paths and bridges and said to contain over 700 stones.  One of the stones, called the Fujito, is said to have cost over 5,000 bushels of rice to obtain. Sanb-in is also a noteworthy illustration of a landscape garden which is designed for viewing from a specific perspective within a building. Laid out in the Momoyama period, the garden depicts "fortuitous crane," the "tortoise" and the "isle of eternal youth" poetic terms that identify specific ways in which stones and ponds are poised in a prescribed, esoteric relationship. .Toyotomi Hideyoshi designed this garden as a venue for an extravagant cherry blossom viewing party.  Sanbo-in is subtemple of Daigoji, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and National Treasure of Japan. IMAGE UNAVAILABLE FOR SALE IN JAPAN
    sanbo-in-10.jpg
  • Hoshun-in Zen Garden, Daitokuji Temple, Though not very large, Hoshun-in is an elegantly landscaped garden with oddly overlaying rocks, and attractive for its three dimensional composition.  Hoshun-in offers outstanding seasonal beauty in the flowering season due to lilies and irises surrounding the pond and its Zen rock garden.
    hoshun-in-4.jpg
  • Tenjuan Temple Garden - Tenjuan Temple is a small subtemple of Nanzenji dedicated to the Zen master who served Emperor Kameyama in his religious studies. Tenju-an has a main hall and study which date back to the early 17th century. Tenjuan is noteworthy for its two gardens, a rock garden and an adjacent pond garden, which are particularly attractive during autumn. The dry karesansui garden has unusual patterns normally not found in karesansui zen gardens.
    tenju-an-3.jpg
  • Tofukuji Western Garden - Compared with rigidity of the southern garden's Zen-style dry stone-garden, the western garden has a gentle style composed of moss and azalea shrubs trimmed in a chequered pattern like a "Seiden" or Chinese style of dividing plots of land.  Renowned landscape architect Shigemori Mirei designed this garden
    tofukuji-west-2.jpg
  • Shinsenen is the oldest existing garden in Kyoto and dates back to the Heian period 794-1185.  This pond garden was made in an area that was marshy. Shinsenen’s site was originally six times larger than its present state.  In Chinese characters the pond was called “God’s Fountain,” because very fresh and pure water always welled up from the pond. Also it is said that noblemen enjoyed rowing in the pond or hunting on the garden’s grounds during the Heian era.  Adjacent to the pond garden Heihachi Restaurant is famous for serving the thickest noodles in Japan - it has a dragon headed stationary boat on the pond that is mostly disused and merely a decoration in the pond.  There is a red bridge called Hojyo Bridge where wishes came true as you cross the bridge thinking about it and pray at Zennyo Ryuou Shrine on the opposite shore.
    shinsen-en-6.jpg
  • Shinsenen is the oldest existing garden in Kyoto and dates back to the Heian period 794-1185.  This pond garden was made in an area that was marshy. Shinsenen’s site was originally six times larger than its present state.  In Chinese characters the pond was called “God’s Fountain,” because very fresh and pure water always welled up from the pond. Also it is said that noblemen enjoyed rowing in the pond or hunting on the garden’s grounds during the Heian era.  Adjacent to the pond garden Heihachi Restaurant is famous for serving the thickest noodles in Japan - it has a dragon headed stationary boat on the pond that is mostly disused and merely a decoration in the pond.  There is a red bridge called Hojyo Bridge where wishes came true as you cross the bridge thinking about it and pray at Zennyo Ryuou Shrine on the opposite shore.
    shinsen-en-5.jpg
  • Kodai-ji Temple is located at the foot of Higashiyama Ryozen Mountains in Kyoto. It is officially called Kodaiji Jushozenji Temple and was established in 1606.  Tokugawa Ieyasu - the first Tokugawa shogun - financed the construction of the temple resulting in its magnificent appearance.  Many of its buildings and tea houses.  Kodaiji's garden is said to have been designed by the landscape garden designer Kobori Enshu. The garden is designated by the Japanese Government as a historical site and a place of scenic beauty.  Kodaiji south garden is a karesansui or dry rock garden that features raked gravel punctuated by conical formations and surrounded by borders of moss and stone.
    kodaiji-4.jpg
  • Kodai-ji Temple is located at the foot of Higashiyama Ryozen Mountains in Kyoto. It is officially called Kodaiji Jushozenji Temple and was established in 1606.  Tokugawa Ieyasu - the first Tokugawa shogun - financed the construction of the temple resulting in its magnificent appearance.  Many of its buildings and tea houses.  Kodaiji's garden is said to have been designed by the landscape garden designer Kobori Enshu. The garden is designated by the Japanese Government as a historical site and a place of scenic beauty.  Kodaiji south garden is a karesansui or dry rock garden that features raked gravel punctuated by conical formations and surrounded by borders of moss and stone.
    kodaiji-3.jpg
  • Shisendo is a hermitage garden in eastern Kyoto established by Jozen Ishikawa, a scholar and landscape architect. After he retired as a samurai he devoted the rest of his life to learning Chinese classics. When he was 59 he built this masterpiece as a retirement villa which has come to be known as Shisendo.
    shisendo-1.jpg
  • Shinsenen is the oldest existing garden in Kyoto and dates back to the Heian period 794-1185.  This pond garden was made in an area that was marshy. Shinsenen’s site was originally six times larger than its present state.  In Chinese characters the pond was called “God’s Fountain,” because very fresh and pure water always welled up from the pond. Also it is said that noblemen enjoyed rowing in the pond or hunting on the garden’s grounds during the Heian era.  Adjacent to the pond garden Heihachi Restaurant is famous for serving the thickest noodles in Japan - it has a dragon headed stationary boat on the pond that is mostly disused and merely a decoration in the pond.  There is a red bridge called Hojyo Bridge where wishes came true as you cross the bridge thinking about it and pray at Zennyo Ryuou Shrine on the opposite shore.
    shinsen-en-7.jpg
  • Bread and Espresso Garden has been renovated as a cafe from Former Kobayashi House a 210-year-old tangible cultural property designated by Kyoto Prefecture.  The thatched building was originally located in a rural area of Sonobe and relocated to the current location of Arashiyama.  The garden itself, which was created in the center of the store site, is a very new garden designed specifically to enhance the structures.
    kobayashi-espresso-chocolate-3.jpg
  • Kodai-ji Temple is located at the foot of Higashiyama Ryozen Mountains in Kyoto. It is officially called Kodaiji Jushozenji Temple and was established in 1606.  Tokugawa Ieyasu - the first Tokugawa shogun - financed the construction of the temple resulting in its magnificent appearance.  Many of its buildings and tea houses.  Kodaiji's garden is said to have been designed by the landscape garden designer Kobori Enshu. The garden is designated by the Japanese Government as a historical site and a place of scenic beauty.  Kodaiji south garden is a karesansui or dry rock garden that features raked gravel punctuated by conical formations and surrounded by borders of moss and stone.
    kodaiji-5.jpg
  • Ryoanji Temple zen garden is one of the world's best known gardens. The temple's main attraction is its rock garden - the most famous of its kind in Japan. The simple garden consist of nothing but rocks, moss and neatly raked gravel. The meaning of the garden's arrangement is up to each visitor's interpretation, though it is said that if you can see all of the fifteen stones at one time, you will have reached enlightenment.
    ryoanji-7.jpg
  • Shinsenen is the oldest existing garden in Kyoto and dates back to the Heian period 794-1185.  This pond garden was made in an area that was marshy. Shinsenen’s site was originally six times larger than its present state.  In Chinese characters the pond was called “God’s Fountain,” because very fresh and pure water always welled up from the pond. Also it is said that noblemen enjoyed rowing in the pond or hunting on the garden’s grounds during the Heian era.  Adjacent to the pond garden Heihachi Restaurant is famous for serving the thickest noodles in Japan - it has a dragon headed stationary boat on the pond that is mostly disused and merely a decoration in the pond.  There is a red bridge called Hojyo Bridge where wishes came true as you cross the bridge thinking about it and pray at Zennyo Ryuou Shrine on the opposite shore.
    shinsen-en-8.jpg
  • Bread and Espresso Garden has been renovated as a cafe from Former Kobayashi House a 210-year-old tangible cultural property designated by Kyoto Prefecture.  The thatched building was originally located in a rural area of Sonobe and relocated to the current location of Arashiyama.  The garden itself, which was created in the center of the store site, is a very new garden designed specifically to enhance the structures.
    kobayashi-espresso-chocolate-2.jpg
  • Nanzen-in Garden at Nanzenji Temple is a strolling garden composed around a pond.  Less austere than Nanzenji's main garden the centerpiece of Nanzen-in is a large rock in the pond representing Mt Horai which was a mythical dwelling place of immortal sages.
    nanzen-in-2.jpg
  • Kongoji Temple has a small, neat garden and is slightly hidden away in the back streets of the Okazaki museum area of Kyoto.  Kongo-ji is very much a community temple, hosting many local events,  Kongoji's founding is thought to have been by the priest Gyoki 668-749 during the 8th century.  Kongoji is part of the Jodo sect of Buddhism.  It is said that Gyoki carved a statue of Amida Buddhia though it was damaged and only the head was found though it was preserved and protected and restored into a full size statue in 1713.
    kongo-ji-3.jpg
  • Tofukuji Western Garden - Compared with rigidity of the southern garden's Zen-style dry stone-garden, the western garden has a gentle style composed of moss and azalea shrubs trimmed in a chequered pattern like a "Seiden" or Chinese style of dividing plots of land.  Renowned landscape architect Shigemori Mirei designed this garden
    tofukuji-west-06.jpg
  • Tofukuji Temple Eastern Garden - Hokutoshichisei - Seven cylindrical stones are arranged in a field to represent main stars of the Great Bear of the Heavens or the Big Dipper. These stones were originally foundation stones used in other places in the temple.  Renowned landscape architect and garden designer Shigemori Mirei designed this garden to show the Great Bear of Heaven that is the Big Dipper.   The pillars were repurposed from other parts of the building.
    tofukuji-east-06.jpg
  • Yoko-en Garden at Taizo-in Temple displays both elegance and austerity and has been called one of the Showa era's finest gardens. The landscape gardener Nakane Kinsaku designed this expansive garden.  While difficult to see at a glance, great pains have gone into the details. An example of this is the spacious impression one gets when the garden is viewed from the front.
    taizo-in-7.jpg
  • Kongoji Temple has a small, neat garden and is slightly hidden away in the back streets of the Okazaki museum area of Kyoto.  Kongo-ji is very much a community temple, hosting many local events,  Kongoji's founding is thought to have been by the priest Gyoki 668-749 during the 8th century.  Kongoji is part of the Jodo sect of Buddhism.  It is said that Gyoki carved a statue of Amida Buddhia though it was damaged and only the head was found though it was preserved and protected and restored into a full size statue in 1713.
    kongo-ji-4.jpg
  • Kongoji Temple has a small, neat garden and is slightly hidden away in the back streets of the Okazaki museum area of Kyoto.  Kongo-ji is very much a community temple, hosting many local events,  Kongoji's founding is thought to have been by the priest Gyoki 668-749 during the 8th century.  Kongoji is part of the Jodo sect of Buddhism.  It is said that Gyoki carved a statue of Amida Buddhia though it was damaged and only the head was found though it was preserved and protected and restored into a full size statue in 1713.
    kongo-ji-1.jpg
  • Tofukuji Western Garden - Compared with rigidity of the southern garden's Zen-style dry stone-garden, the western garden has a gentle style composed of moss and azalea shrubs trimmed in a chequered pattern like a "Seiden" or Chinese style of dividing plots of land.  Renowned landscape architect Shigemori Mirei designed this garden
    tofukuji-west-05.jpg
  • Tofukuji Western Garden - Compared with rigidity of the southern garden's Zen-style dry stone-garden, the western garden has a gentle style composed of moss and azalea shrubs trimmed in a chequered pattern like a "Seiden" or Chinese style of dividing plots of land.  Renowned landscape architect Shigemori Mirei designed this garden
    tofukuji-west-04.jpg
  • Northern Garden, Tofukuji Hojo Temple.  Square cut stones and moss are distributed in a chequered pattern. Though modern in its style and composition, this is one of the most unique gardens in Japan.  Renowned landscape architect and garden designer Shigemori Mirei designed this garden in an ichimatsu inspired checked pattern.
    tofukuji-north-06.jpg
  • Tofukuji Temple Eastern Garden - Hokutoshichisei - Seven cylindrical stones are arranged in a field to represent main stars of the Great Bear of the Heavens or the Big Dipper. These stones were originally foundation stones used in other places in the temple.  Renowned landscape architect and garden designer Shigemori Mirei designed this garden to show the Great Bear of Heaven that is the Big Dipper.   The pillars were repurposed from other parts of the building.
    tofukuji-east-05.jpg
  • Ryoanji Temple garden is one of the world's best known gardens. The main attraction is its rock garden, the most renowned of its kind in Japan. The simple Zen garden consists of nothing but rocks and neatly raked gravel. Though the precise meaning of the garden's arrangement is unknown and up to each visitor's interpretation, it is said that if you can see all of the 15 stones at one time you have reached enlightenment.
    ryoanji-8.jpg
  • Kongoji Temple has a small, neat garden and is slightly hidden away in the back streets of the Okazaki museum area of Kyoto.  Kongo-ji is very much a community temple, hosting many local events,  Kongoji's founding is thought to have been by the priest Gyoki 668-749 during the 8th century.  Kongoji is part of the Jodo sect of Buddhism.  It is said that Gyoki carved a statue of Amida Buddhia though it was damaged and only the head was found though it was preserved and protected and restored into a full size statue in 1713.
    kongo-ji-2.jpg
  • Tofukuji South Garden, in front of the Hojo is the most contrived work among the four gardens and is composed of rock compositions symbolizing Elysian islands - from the east to the west named "Eiju, Horai, Koryo, and Hojo" - placed on the sand garden floor "Hakkai" meaning the eight seas and five moss covered sacred mountains at the western end.  The garden was designed by renowned landscape architect Mirei Shigemori and considered to be one of his most important and representative works.
    tofukuji-south-09.jpg
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