Zuihō-in (Daitoku-ji) （瑞峯院）

Zuihō-in is an extraordinary temple in Kyoto: It was founded by daimyo Otomo, who was one of the early Christians in Japan. He founded the temple as his family temple; he and his wife are buried here as well. Garden designer Shigemori Mirei, who created the gardens in 1961, included a Garden of the Cross and even a statue of the Virgin Mary in reference to the founder.

The temple itself was built in 1546, after the Onin war (1467-77), so many of its building have never burnt and are still in their original shape.

The main garden to the south of the Hōjō is called Dokuza-tei (独坐庭 ). The Chinese characters mean Alone-Sitting-Garden and refer to an Island of the Taoist mythology. From the famous Horai-Zan, the Mountain of the Blessed, a long and thin peninsula protrudes into the rough sea. Even further away is a single island, sitting alone in the rough waters of the wide sea. If you look at the garden, it is actually really easy to see the Horai-zan in the right-hand corner, the peninsula in front of it and the rough sea.

Contents of the eBook

• Introduction
• Daitoku-ji
• History of Zuihō-in
•  -Shigemori Mirei-
• Buildings
    -Hōjō
    -Teahouse Yokei-an
    -Teahouse Anshō-ken
    -Teahouse Heisei-tai-an
    -Gates
• Gardens
    -Entry Garden
    -Dokuza-tei
    -Kanmin-tei
    -Tea gardens
• Anika’s Impressions
• Recommendations around Zuihō-in
• Access & General Information
• Related eBooks

12 pages full of information about the temple
21 pictures of the gardens
PDF 15 MB

The eBook is delivered as PDF.

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