In this fourth travelogue, landscape professionals who traveled to Japan with NAJGA in November 2024 share their journey. See the experience through their eyes as they recount their stories and adventures.

Day 4: November 21 – Kyoto

Day four did not disappoint! Temple gardens, a meditation experience, a stroll in a famous park and more made this second-to-last day of our tour memorable, magical, and simply magnificent.

Photos of the Kennin-ji Temple

In contrast to the stroll gardens of Tokyo that are meant to be entered, and the viewer becomes an active participant, the temple gardens we saw in Kyoto are meant to be observed from afar. Places of meditation and contemplation, these temple gardens are represented by symbolism and stories about the journey of life and encourage viewers to look inward while keeping the exterior in sight.  

We met up with our guide, landscape architect, Mr. Yukihiro Nakane. Mr. Nakane’s family has been involved in garden design and construction for generations. He guided us through two gardens within sub-temples of Kennin-ji: Reigen-in and Sairai-in. While both gardens are new, they’re designed in the classical style, allowing them to blend into their historic surroundings inconspicuously.    

Kennin-ji

Kennin-ji is the main temple of the Rinzai branch of Zen Buddhism, founded in 1202 by the monk Eisai.  He is credited with bringing back the first tea seeds from China, thus becoming the founder of tea in Japan.  It is known for its Zen gardens: the Great Dry Garden , Daioen, the Circle, Triangle, and Square Garden (another example of these symbols being used to represent heaven, earth, and humankind), and the Cho-on-tei Garden composed of three huge stones, moss and maple trees representing a monk and his students.

Reigen-in 

Reigen-in is one of the sub-temples located in the southeast of the Kennin-ji temple grounds.  The garden extended to the southwest of the temple grounds. It depicts the life of Buddha Shakyamuni from his birth to his death.  It is known as “The Garden of Sweet Hydrangea” because many Sweet Hydrangea trees are planted in the garden.  From left to right, there were Indian, Chinese, and finally, Japanese representations in the motifs and allusions representing the journey Zen Buddhism took to Japan.  The boat rock is symbolically going to pick up Eisai from China and deliver him to Japan.  Cranes were used to represent the longevity of the Temple.  

Sairai-in

Our next stop was Sairai-in, which was also designed and installed by Mr. Yukihiro Nakane.  It was inspired by classic Chinese landscape scenes and represented China in the distance and Japan in the foreground.  The Head Monk of each temple in the garden was to perform the maintenance of the garden every morning.  That maintenance of the garden is considered a Do, or Way, to enlightenment. 

Left: A Monk on a scooter. Right: Meditation experience 

While touring the temple gardens, it was only fitting that the group indulged in a meditation experience, led by a Buddhist Monk. He taught us how to sit Zazen and practice Tonglen Meditation.  He helped us center our meditation position and center our concentration.  The monk used the wonderful metaphor of the Japanese fan: we saw the fan through our inner self, not our eyes.  We heard the fan slap in his hand through our essence, not our ears.  We knew it was a fan through our inner Buddha, not our mind.  The monk also demonstrated the use of the Keisaku, which is a three-foot-long stick used for ‘encouragement’ for the monks when they become sleepy or have lapses of concentration. A couple of sharp strikes between the shoulder and the spine tend to refocus the mind. 

As the meditation experience ended, we gathered our things and started the walk to the next temple garden. As we were walking, the Monk whizzed by on a scooter, robes flowing in the wind. He was on his way to wet down the next garden, a traditional Japanese practice.  It was quite a sight.

Maruyama Park

After lunch, we visited Maruyama Park with our guide, Mr. Takuhiro Yamada, President of Hanatoyo Landscape Co. Ltd.  Maruyama Park, designed by Ogawa Jihei VII, who also designed Murin-an, is situated next to Yasaka-jinja Shrine at the base of Kyoto’s eastern mountains.  It contains stroll gardens, tea houses, watercourses, orchards, restaurants, and its claim to fame: Cherry trees. In April, when the trees are in full bloom, the park is a popular spot for cherry blossom viewing.  Locals and tourists alike dress the part, and we saw traditional Japanese clothing everywhere.  People were taking professional pictures and coming-of-age photos all over the place.  

Photos of Ryoanji

Next stop was Ryoanji. Mr. Yamada continued as our guide because his company maintains the grounds at Ryoanji. This temple garden was made famous by Queen Elizabeth when she remarked how beautiful the garden was while visiting in 1975.  This moment can be credited with making Ryoanji famous in the West. 

It was originally a country house for the Tokudaiji clan but was converted to temple use in 1450.  The main pond represents the ocean and islands and was created in the late 12th century.  The island is called Bentenjima and has a hall in which the image of Sarasvati, the Hindu Goddess of knowledge and the arts, is housed.

There is a back garden that has one of the most famous Tsukubai basins.  The inscription says, “I learn only to be contented. He who learns to be contented is spiritually rich, while one who does not is spiritually poor even if they are materially wealthy.”  It was donated by Mitukino Mito in the late 1600s.  

However, the true star of the temple complex was the dry rock garden.  It was created around 1500 by the highly respected Zen Monk, Tokuho Zenketsu.  This small, rectangular garden is completely different in that the lush gardens were constructed by court nobles.  Only white gravel and 15 rocks are used, but you can only see 14 at any one time.  Something is always hidden.  No trees or shrubs are seen.  The walls are angled to make the garden appear larger. Even the finish on the walls was incorporated into the garden aesthetic.  It is truly a sight to behold and a moment that takes your breath away.