This is the garden at the Zen temple called Saiho-ji. These gardens are an embodiment of the philosophy and practice of Zen Buddhism.Īnother beloved Kyoto landmark epitomizes a lusher variation of the Zen garden, closer in design and atmosphere to what the Japanese call a strolling garden. While there is no precise definition, traditionally we think of the Zen garden as a spare, somewhat abstract arrangement of rocks, gravel, and minimal greenery, meant to embody serenity and inspire reflection. The Zen garden is one of Japan’s cultural icons. In this way, the garden becomes a part of you-and you become a part of the garden. You have to absorb the scene so completely that the distinction between the garden outside and the garden inside disappears. In order to apprehend the garden in its entirety, you have to find the fifteenth rock in your mind. ( Related: Where to find peace in 21st-century Kyoto.)Īnd even then, you won’t see all 15 of its rocks at once. You see how the river stones are arranged in exquisitely straight lines and then in rippling circles around the rocks, the two shapes somehow seamlessly merging how the glazed wall that surrounds the garden is rough and textured, like a piece of priceless pottery how the garden’s design subtly embraces the cherry, maple, cedar, and pine trees beyond the wall how the garden itself expresses and reflects the tranquil tension between sky and stone, petal and pebble. To understand it, you have to stop and sit with it, for hours if you wish. You can’t absorb Ryoan-ji on a ten-minute walk-through, and that’s its secret. Photograph by Thomas Kierok, laif via Redux

Known for its moss garden, bamboo grove, and maple trees, Giou-ji Temple belongs to the Soto School, the largest of the three traditional sects of Zen.

Japanese zen garden