Top > Gardens Overview > Secret Gardens > Kamakura Area > Hasedera Hasedera(長谷寺) A mystical kannon statue, hydrangea at full bloom, a modern dry landscape garden. This is the Hasedera temple in Kamakura, the probably second oldest temple in the city, also simply known as Hase kannon. It is the...Continue Reading
Top > Gardens Overview > Secret Gardens > Kyoto Area > Funda-in (Tōfuku-ji) Funda-in (Tōfuku-ji)(芬陀院 東福寺) Funda-in is a sub-temple of Tofuku-ji temple in Kyoto. It was built in 1321, in the Kamakura period, as a family temple for the Ichijo clan. In 1691, the buildings of the temple burnt...Continue Reading
Top > Gardens Overview > Secret Gardens > Kyoto Area > Entsū-ji Entsū-ji(圓通寺) The Emperor Go-Mizuno abdicated in 1629 and began to built this villa and garden as a retirement residence. It took him 13 years to find the right place for it with a nice view on Mt. Hiei...Continue Reading
Top > Gardens Overview > Secret Gardens > Kyoto Area > Aoi-den and Kasui-en Aoi-den and Kasui-en(葵殿 佳水園) Both gardens are now on the ground of the Westin Hotel Kyoto. Visitors can enter before sunset for free. “Aoiden” was built by the garden master Ogawa Jihei (7th generation). It is...Continue Reading
Top > Gardens Overview > Secret Gardens > Kamakura Area > Jōmyō-ji Jōmyō-ji(浄妙寺) Founded in 1188, this Rinzai Zen temple is number 5 of the Kamakura Zen temples. The Kamakura branch of the Ashikaga family, the main powerholders in the Muromachi period, made it their family temple. The Kisan-an, a...Continue Reading
Top > Gardens Overview > Famous Gardens > Kyoto Area > Ryōgin-an (Tōfuku-ji) Ryōgin-an (Tōfuku-ji)(龍吟庵) The Ryōgin-an is famous for its three gardens designed by the modern Japanese garden designer Shigemori Mirei in 1964. In contrast to the gardens, the temple and its buildings are really old. At first, it...Continue Reading
Top > Gardens Overview > Famous Gardens > Kyoto Area > Ryōgen-in (Daitoku-ji) Ryōgen-in (Daitoku-ji)(大徳寺龍源院) Ryōgen-in is one of Daitoku-ji’s twenty-two sub-temples. It is a rather small temple, but has several superlatives to offer: → One of its gardens (Tōkekiko) is Japan’s smallest garden (supposedly). → Another of its gardens...Continue Reading
Top > Gardens Overview > Famous Gardens > Kyoto Area > Ryōan-ji Ryōan-ji(龍安寺) Ryōan-ji is maybe the most famous rock garden of Japan. Ryoan-ji was built on the grounds of a villa of the Fujiwara clan in the Heian period (794-1185). The deputy of the shogun and warlord Hosokawa Katsumoto...Continue Reading
Top > Gardens Overview > Famous Gardens > Other Regions > Raikyū-ji Raikyū-ji(頼久寺) Raikyū-ji is an old temple of the Rinzai school of Buddhism. It is unclear when it was founded, but Ashikaga Takauji, the first shogun of the Muromachi period (1337 to 1573) has rebuilt the temple in 1339....Continue Reading
Top > Gardens Overview > Famous Gardens > Kyoto Area > Ōbai-in (Daitoku-ji) Ōbai-in (Daitoku-ji)(黄梅院) Ōbai-in is one of the secret sub-temples of Daitoku-ji and has one of Japan’s best-designed Japanese gardens. It is only open for a few weeks in November, which is also the best time for visiting....Continue Reading