ryoan ji gardens
Ryoan-Ji
In Kyoto, Japan lies one of the most famous Zen temples and its many gardens of Ryoan-Ji. The temple was built in 1450 by Hosokawa Katsumoto, a military leader in Japan. During the Onin war the temple was demolished and Katsumoto’s son, Hosokawa Matsumoto, rebuilt the temple in 1488. The temple is a resting place for the emperors of the Onin war.in which their tombs lie to what is known as the Seven Imperial Tombs. Adjacent to the temple is it’s accompanying Zen garden which is also considered to be a dry garden. The Zen garden of Ryoan- Ji is 2669 square feet and contains fifteen rocks of different shapes and sizes. The stones are carefully arranged into five different categories. The first of these categories contains five rocks grouped together, the second category with three rocks in groups of two, and lastly the third category contains two rocks in groups of two. White gravel surrounds the stones in which the monks of the temple take great care to rake them every single day. It is also said by some that the white gravel represents water and the rocks symbolize the land and animals.Although there are no plants in the Zen garden there is some moss that surrounds the rocks. The Zen garden of Ryoan-Ji is ment to be observed from the the dwelling of the monastery. The Zen rock garden can only be seen from the monastery and when trying to look from any other position only fourteen rocks are able to be seen in which only in a seated position which one feels enlightenment can see the fifteenth rock. Also, in conjunction with the Ryoan-Ji Temple and Zen garden lies a water garden called the Kyoyochi Pond. The pond was built in the twelfth century by the Fujiwara family which owned the estate before Katsumoto first built the temple. Traces of flowers from the four season’s such as plum, cherry, alpine rose and lily can be seen around the pond with its two small islands in the middle. Additionally, Ryoan-Ji has a tea garden with a tea house that contains a
In Kyoto, Japan lies one of the most famous Zen temples and its many gardens of Ryoan-Ji. The temple was built in 1450 by Hosokawa Katsumoto, a military leader in Japan. During the Onin war the temple was demolished and Katsumoto’s son, Hosokawa Matsumoto, rebuilt the temple in 1488. The temple is a resting place for the emperors of the Onin war.in which their tombs lie to what is known as the Seven Imperial Tombs. Adjacent to the temple is it’s accompanying Zen garden which is also considered to be a dry garden. The Zen garden of Ryoan- Ji is 2669 square feet and contains fifteen rocks of different shapes and sizes. The stones are carefully arranged into five different categories. The first of these categories contains five rocks grouped together, the second category with three rocks in groups of two, and lastly the third category contains two rocks in groups of two. White gravel surrounds the stones in which the monks of the temple take great care to rake them every single day. It is also said by some that the white gravel represents water and the rocks symbolize the land and animals.Although there are no plants in the Zen garden there is some moss that surrounds the rocks. The Zen garden of Ryoan-Ji is ment to be observed from the the dwelling of the monastery. The Zen rock garden can only be seen from the monastery and when trying to look from any other position only fourteen rocks are able to be seen in which only in a seated position which one feels enlightenment can see the fifteenth rock. Also, in conjunction with the Ryoan-Ji Temple and Zen garden lies a water garden called the Kyoyochi Pond. The pond was built in the twelfth century by the Fujiwara family which owned the estate before Katsumoto first built the temple. Traces of flowers from the four season’s such as plum, cherry, alpine rose and lily can be seen around the pond with its two small islands in the middle. Additionally, Ryoan-Ji has a tea garden with a tea house that contains a