Showing posts with label garden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label garden. Show all posts

Thursday, March 7, 2024

Seikantei Garden Kinosaki

 


Gokurakuji Temple is hidden away in a corner of Kinosaki Onsen and is barely visited by the majority of visitors to the resort town, who will miss a quite remarkable garden.


Called Seikan Tei, it is a karesansui, "dry garden" most often associated with Zen, and Gokurakuji is a Rinzai Zen temple.


It is somewhat unusual in that the garden is in front of the main hall and the entrance pathway cuts right through it. many of the traditional gardens were built to be viewed from the rear of the main hall or from the Abbot's residence.


The most unusual thing, to my mind, was that one half of the garden used areas of white gravel and dark gravel, something I don't remember noticing before.


The light and dark areas are separated by a border made of roof tiles set vertically, something that is quite common.


Actually the light areas inside the dark ground form the Chinese character for kokoro, "heart". This is sometimes the shape of ponds.


The rock and moss "islands" in the sea of gravel  also use standard design representations, there being a Crame Island, a Turtle Island, a Three Buddhas Island.....


The garden uses a red rock brought from Kurama, a blue rock from Yoshino, and Shirakawa sand from Kyoto.


 I have been unable to establish when the garden was built. Most sources suggest it is fairly modern and a photo of it dates to 1976.


One source suggests it was designed by a disciple of Mirei Shigemori.


Entry is free, so if you are in the area it would be well worth a visit.


Later I will post on the temple and its history and the nice rock garden in front of it.


The previous post in this series on Toyooka was on the lower part of nearby Onsenji Temple.


Saturday, February 17, 2024

Saikoji Temple 73 on the Kyushu Pilgrimage

 


Totakesan Saiko Temple, number 73 on the Shingon Kyushu Pilgrimage, is located in the high country north of Sasebo, Nagasaki, not far from the border with Arita in Saga.


The long, straight approach is lined with lanterns, and many of the statues that comprise a miniature 88 temple Shikoku Pilgrimage. The latter part of the approach has a trellis supporting wisteria.


There was a pond with a small shrine, probably a Benzaiten or a Suijin. Like much of the temple grounds, it seemed overgrown and unkempt, although I believe that since I visited a young priest has taken over the temple and has done a lot of renovation work.


A pair of stone Nio guard the main entrance gate.


The temple was founded in 1687 and was supported by the successive lords of the Hirado Domain.


It is said that at a nearby sacred rock and spring a priest had a vision of Kokuzo Bodhisattva, and so a statue of Kokuzo from a temple said to be founded by Gyoki across the mountains in Takeo, was transferred here and became the honzon.


The temple is also number 28 on the Kyushu Kannon Pilgrimage and number 17 on the Kyushu Jizo Pilgrimage.


A branch of Suitengu Shrine is within the temple grounds.


The grounds of the temple include some noteworthy trees that attract visitors. Most notable is a huge Omurazakura which is a cutting from the original Omurazakura lanted at the founding of the temple.


There is also a big Weeping Cherry and a Gyoiko Cherry with unusually coloured blooms, and something called a Turmeric Cherry.

There are also plenty of rhododendrons, and the aforementioned Wisteria.


Since the new priest took over in 2017 I believe the gardens have also been looked after much better than when I visited.


The previous post was on the Giant Fudo Myo statue adjacent to the temple.


Thursday, October 5, 2023

Nabeshima Mansion Garden

 


The Nabeshima mansion was a high-ranking samurais residence and administrative outpost of the Nabeshima Clan who ruled what is now Saga during the Edo Period.


The mansion and surrounding district of samurai residences is located on the north side of the Shimbara Peninsula in Nagasaki.


The Nabeshima house and surrounding samurai district is a historical preservation district, though the Nabeshima mansion is the only property open to the public


When the mansion was built in the late 17th century it had a pond-type garden, but in the early 20th century the garden was renovated and the pond was removed and the garden turned into a dry, karesansui, stroll-type garden.


The steep slope is landscaped in quite, for my untrained eye, an unusual way.


The stepping stones also seem to be larger than usual....


I visited in mid-February so plums were in blossom, including a fine weeping plum shown in the first photo. I imagine that later when the azaleas are blooming would also be a good time to view the garden.


A path does lead up to the high ground where you can look down on the garden, mansion, and surrounding area and on clear days as far as Mount Unzen.


Remnants of the pond can still be seen.


The previous post in the series was on the Nabeshima Mansion itself and includes photos of the gardens in front of the property.

Sunday, September 24, 2023

Chikurin-in Temple Gunpoen Garden

 


The Gunpoen Garden at Chikurin-in Temple in Yoshino is, along with one of the gardens at Taimadera and the one at Jikoin, classed as one of the Three Great Gardens of Yamato, and while having an intriguing history is hardly known at all.


Yoshino, in the mountains of southern Nara, is and was a centre of Shugendo, the mountain-worshipping cult, but is now most famous for its cherry blossoms, although the Shugendo sites are part of a World Heritage Site.


The small temple of Chikurin-in is now somewhat overshadowed by its lodgings facility, technically a Shukubo, but in essence a ryokan.


Historically the temple was a lodging for Shugendo pilgrims, and it is said many very famous guests have stayed here, including Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Emperor Hirohito.


The temple claims to have been founded by Prince Shotoku which would mean late 6th or early 7th century and it was called  Chinzan Dera. A couple of centuries later Kukai visited and changed its name to Josen-ji.


In 1385 it was renamed Chikurin-in, and in the late 16th century was moved to its current location.


The garden, a stroll-type with a large pond, is said to have been originally designed by Sen no Rikyu, probably the most famous tea master of all, although one of his most important students, the renowned general Yusai Hosokawa, is thought to have done further work on the garden.


What is often mentioned in reference to the garden here is that several cherry trees play a prominent part in the design and that this is quite rare in standard Japanese garden design. When I visited in November, the cherry trees were bare but a few maples were in full colour.


A path leads up to high ground above the garden where there is an archery ground and great views over the Yoshino mountains, the grand Kinpusenji Temple, and the rest of the  town.


The temple was closed down in 1874 with the shiunbutsu bunri edicts but re-opened later as a Tendai sect temple. In 1948 it became a Shingon temple.


Chikurin-in is situated at roughly the boundary between the Naka Senbon area and the Kami Senbon area.


I'm sure that when the cherries are blossoming in the late Spring then the garden is delightful, but a glorious Autumn day was just fine for me. I was the only person in the garden.