Chion-in is the main temple of the Jodo sect of the Japanese Zen Buddhism founded by the priest Honen. He wanted to make Buddhism accessible to common people. On the site of his teaching his followers constructed the temple in his honor. The reconstruction of the temple on a large scale was conducted by shogun Tokugawa in the first half of the 17th century. The Chion-in Yuzen garden was created recently in 1954. It consists of a stroll garden with a pond and a dry garden just besides the monumental Sanmon gate.