Zen: And the Art of Japanese Gardening

Kyoto was the capital during the Edo period and continues to be the cultural centre of Japan. To be more specific, today, Kyoto has 2000 Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines, noble villas, the shogun’s castle, and some of the world’s greatest gardens, and on top of that, it boasts 17 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, of which we will see three. Unfortunately, this is a whistle stop tour and despite having a day of leisure tomorrow, we are taking a trip a little further afield to visit another site of interest, so we are unable to explore it further.

However, I need to appreciate all that we are shown on today’s tour, and our next stop brings us to yet another UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Ryoan-ji garden is considered one of the finest surviving examples of kare-sansui, a dry landscape temple garden.

Designed to be viewed from the facing platform, this garden is a collection of 15 carefully-placed stones apparently adrift in a sea of raked gravel and enclosed by an earthen wall. No matter where you stand, you should not be able to see all 15 stones, and although I think I do count all stones, I am not sure whether one of them is fissured, thus appearing as two. According to Monty Don, the British garden guru, these gardens are a microcosm of Buddhist philosophy, and that no matter how large a concept is, it can be represented in a very small space. The flat garden is void of hills or ponds and its simplicity gives a chance for each person to find how it speaks to them individually. Personally, I would like to have more time to view the garden and to try to understand its meaning, but unlike Monty Don, I do not have the advantage of viewing out of hours, and there is a horde of visitors on this Sunday afternoon, making it impossible to ‘contemplate’. I can only see the garden as a unique and special place. Beyond the wall are cherry blossom trees that are yet to bloom, so I can only imagine what it looks like during the spring.

The walk from the bus to the garden is through extensive an garden that features a large pond, and although we are on a strict time limit, we veer off the main route and onto a small path, cross a bridge, and find a red Tori gate.

There is something magical about Japanese gardens, which is probably true of all well-planned gardens. Despite the crowds, and by the time we leave the buses and the hustle and bustle behind, it’s easy to forget the activity and noise and to concentrate on the harmony created by the trees and plants, the ponds and water features, steps and paths, and magical nooks where moss and stones beautifully blend.

Before long, we are reintroduced to the busy carpark and as we are shepherded into the bus yet again, we are informed that we have just one more place to visit. Kinkaku-ji is Kyoto’s Golden Pavilion, and it is again located in the centre of some extensive gardens. This is one of the attractions of Kyoto that I am most interested in as I have in my possession an old postcard of the pavilion that I found amongst Dad’s photos. I am most eager to compare what I see today with the postcard.

Originally built in 1397, the pavilion was a retirement villa for a shogun, and whose son later converted it to a Buddhist temple. The building appears to float in the lake and is surrounded by pine trees that were planted for their longevity and strength. The two upper floors are covered in goldleaf as is the phoenix statue on the top.

Following the crowds up expansive stone stairs, I catch my first view of the building, but what I see here is completely different to the postcard from Dad’s album. In his photo, only the top two roofs are covered with gold leaf and the building appears to be more refined. I find out later that the postcard and what I see today are actually two different buildings.

In 1950, some years after Dad had visited this site, a young monk burnt the temple to the ground. This act of arson was fictionalised in Mishina Yukio’s the Temple of the Golden Pavilion. In 1955 a full reconstruction was completed that followed the original design, but the gold foil covering was extended to the lower floors. Today, most of the sliding doors are shut, thus providing a more solid view to that of the old postcard. The phoenix statue on the tip of the roof is perhaps a symbol of this new building rising from the ashes of the old one.

Our busy day ends at the hotel, where we collect keys and gather some information in regard to tomorrow’s self-guided tour.