// SIGHT TO SEE
ZEN ROCK GARDEN OF RYOAN-JI , JAPAN
Japan ’ s most-visited and well-known Zen gardens , where nature is stripped to bare essentials , have an elegant mystery , says Karen Worrall
The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Ryoan-ji in northwest Kyoto is Japan ’ s most renowned dry landscape garden .
Each day , hundreds of people visit the garden , which fulfills the three principles of Zen thought in art and architecture : simplicity , irregularity and suggestion .
The garden is located within the Ryoan-ji Temple complex , a Zen temple belonging to the Miyoshinji school of Zen Buddhism . The land on which the temple sits was part the Fujiwara clan ’ s estate in the 11th century , and the original temple was built in 1450 . The garden itself is a rectangular plot of white gravel raked daily into a linear pattern by monks ; there are 15 boulders laid out in small groups on patches of moss , surrounded by a trench of smooth pebbles carefully chosen from a nearby river , and low earthen walls . The design is credited to famous garden designer Soami .
The garden can be viewed from the veranda of the Hojo , former residence of the head priest , which has delicate paintings of dragons on the six sliding doors of its tatami rooms and smaller gardens to the rear of the building . It ’ s connected to the temple ’ s main entrance through what used to be the temple kitchen .
Don ’ t miss the park in the grounds below the main temple buildings . It has a shrine to the spirit of music and creativity on one of its three small islands , and a restaurant serving Kyoto ’ s specialty , boiled tofu .
ESSENTIALS To get to Ryoan-ji from central Kyoto , take the JR bus from Kyoto Station or the Keifuku Kitano Line train to Ryoan-ji Station . Most Kyoto and Kansai area passes cover the trip .
DID YOU KNOW ?
ONLY 14 OF THE 15 BOULDERS ARE VISIBLE AT ONCE FROM ANY VANTAGE POINT . LEGEND HAS IT THAT ONLY THOSE WHO ATTAIN ENLIGHTENMENT ARE ABLE TO SEE ALL OF THEM AT ONCE . image : alamy
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