Jizo-in is a Buddhist temple in Arashiyama, a residential district in the west of Kyoto. There is a small gate and then bamboo groves either side of a path that leads up to a small temple. Beyond that is a small house where visitors can sit and look out over the open side to a garden.
Hosokawa Yoriyuki founded Jizo-in temple in 1367. He was a samurai of the Hosokawa clan, and an ally of shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu.
He employed Yori Sokyo Zenji to design the garden to depict Buddha’s sixteen disciples. Fires during the Onin Civil War destroyed the temple in the 15th century. A century later his successors rebuilt it.
Jizo-in is out of the way, and today there are few visitors. That makes it a wonderful spot to sit and contemplate while looking at the garden. Sitting on the tatami mats one can imagine being there hundreds of years ago. It is very peaceful.
The designers placed each element – leaning trees, rocks, and moss covered ground. The open side of the house has an upper section through which light filters. And beyond the garden is the bamboo forest. The designers placed the bamboo forest to balance the garden. Design guides the feeling it gives the viewer. And always the intention is to imitate nature.
Japan is a very popular tourist destination. In Jizo-in we rest and breathe in the garden.
This is different to the European model. In the gardens of Versailles, for example, the design tames nature. That is clear to see. Elements are placed symetrically. The elements run as mirror images of two halves either side of a line from the grand house.
Other Articles
This is one of several posts on our travels in Japan in Spring 2024. Here is the article on the Meiji Jingu Shrine In Tokyo. Also the article on the Koishikawa Korakuen garden in Tokyo. And the article on the Eikan-do temple in Kyoto.