NANZEN-JI

Nanzen-ji (Southern Temple of Enlightenment) is a head temple of a school of the Rinzai sect of Zen Buddhism. At the beginning, in 1264 the Emperor Kameyama constructed his retirement villa. 25 years later in 1289 when he was 40 years old, the villa was transformed into a temple where he started his priesthood. The temple had about 10 sub-temples that were ruined several times by fire. The worst times came during the Onin war (1467-1477) when the complex was completely destroyed. It was rebuilt only at the beginning of the 17th century and at the same time, the Hojo garden was created by renowned garden designer Kobori Enshu. The garden is called “Young Tigers crossing Water”. A large field of raked gravel is completed with a bank decreasing to the west that features rocks, trees, shrubs and the soil covered with moss. The garden successfully incorporates the real landscape of buildings and the hillside behind the white wall. From raised corridors a visitor can observe a succession of small but interesting side and rear gardens.