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 > 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 > 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
Top > Gardens Overview > Famous Gardens > Kyoto Area > Kōrin-in (Daitoku-ji) Kōrin-in (Daitoku-ji)(興臨院) Kōrin-in is a sub-temple of Daitoku-ji. It was founded in 1520 as a family temple for the Hatekeyama family. The temple building (Hōjō, 方丈, abbot’s quarter) built in the Shoin architectural style of the Muromachi period....Continue Reading