Zen Gardens in Kyoto

Zen Gardens in Kyoto

A visit to Kyoto will not be complete without Zen gardens. This page and video introduces three temples with beautiful Rock gardens plus a good option for lunch.

Ryoanji:

The most famous one but it can be crowded around its rock garden.
This simple and remarkable garden measures 25 meters (82 feet) from east to west and 10 meters (32 feet) from south to north. The rectangular Zen garden is composed of 15 rocks and white gravel.
The walls are made of clay boiled in oil.
The Ryoanji stone garden is supposed to be have been made around 1500 by Tokuho Zenketsu; a highly ranked Zen monk.

Ryogenin in Daitoku-ji:

My Favorite one.
A unique representation of the Universe. It is one of the oldest and most important Zen Temple. It was built by Tokei (a Buddhist priest) in 1502.
The main garden was designed by Soami who was a popular gardener in the Muromachi Period in the 13th century.
The garden represents the universe. Green moss for oceans and rocks for mountains.

Zuihoin:

This is the smallest one in the Daitoku-ji complex but it’s very beautiful and expressive built around 1546.
The Karesansui garden (Dry garden) was designed by Mirei Shigemori in the 1960’s. It is characterized by its vigorously raked gravel giving the impression of rough seas.
Note the balance between pointed stones and flat ones providing a very special energy to the garden.

For lunch

I suggest you to stop at Café du Mon.
For a reasonable price they serve tasty dishes: Italian-Japanese cuisine.
The staff is very kind. They even offered to make an Onigiri from the rice my daughter had left.

Tour Types

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