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 > Famous Gardens > Kyoto Area > Shisen-dō Shisen-dō（詩仙堂） Shisen-dō is is a temple of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism. It was built in the early Edo period (1641) as a retirement villa for Ishikawa Jōzan. Ishikawa Jōzan was a poet and calligrapher. Feel free...Continue Reading
Top > Gardens Overview > Famous Gardens > Kyoto Area > Sentō Gosho (Sentō Imperial Palace) Sentō Gosho (Sentō Imperial Palace)（仙洞御所） The Sentō Imperial Palace was built in 1630 as Emperor Go-Mizunoo’s retirement residence. Several fires have burnt down the buildings over the time, and the Sentō Imperial Palace was...Continue Reading
Top > Gardens Overview > Famous Gardens > Kyoto Area > Murin-an Murin-an（無鄰菴） Murin-an is a typical strolling garden of the Meiji period (1868-1912). It was built between 1894 and 1896 by Yamagata Aritomo, a Prime Minister of Meiji period Japan. As much as he loved the Japanese garden culture,...Continue Reading
Top > Gardens Overview > Famous Gardens > Kyoto Area > Kōzan-ji (Ikō-an) Kōzan-ji (Ikō-an)（高山寺, 遺香庵） Kōzan-ji is one of the oldest temples in the larger Kyoto area. It belongs to the Shingon sect of Buddhism and is said to have been founded first in 744 by the imperial orders...Continue Reading
Top > Gardens Overview > Famous Gardens > Kyoto Area > Konnichi-an Konnichi-an（今日庵） Sen no Rikyu is the most famous Japanese tea master and founder of the Japanese way of tea. After his grandson died, his heirs founded three different schools of the Japanese way of tea. One of these...Continue Reading
Top > Gardens Overview > Famous Gardens > Kyoto Area > Kankyū-an Kankyū-an（官休庵） Sen no Rikyu is the most famous Japanese tea master and founder of the Japanese way of tea. After his grandson died, his heirs founded three different schools of the Japanese way of tea. One of these...Continue Reading
Top > Gardens Overview > Famous Gardens > Kyoto Area > Fushin-an Fushin-an（不審庵） Sen no Rikyu is the most famous Japanese tea master and founder of the Japanese way of tea. After his grandson died, his heirs founded three different schools of the Japanese way of tea. One of these...Continue Reading
Top > Gardens Overview > Famous Gardens > Kyoto Area > Daisen-in (Daitoku-ji) Daisen-in (Daitoku-ji)（大徳寺、大仙院） Do you want to experience Zen Buddhist philosophy first hand and meet a zen priest that makes you laugh? Do you want to find out where key persons of the Japanese history have lived and...Continue Reading
The next garden element on my list is the water basin! I guess, the best-known examples for these water basins are the ones in front of Japanese shrines but also the ones in Japanese tea gardens. Both are meant to symbolically purify oneself before entering a special place. To fulfill...Continue Reading
