The outside world ... Ginkaku-Ji.
September 10, 2009
Toby Musgrave visits six of the finest classical gardens in the ancient capital of Kyoto.
The gardens of Japan have fascinated Westerners since the 1854 Treaty of Kanagawa opened the country and they first came to the attention of the garden-making cognoscenti. Imitations are now commonplace but they cannot be anything more than that - this is an exquisite art form that needs to be experienced in context.
Only in Japan will you find those existential elements - climatic, luminance, topographical, architectural, cultural, psychological and agedness - that are as intrinsic to the garden as its physical form. Japanese gardens draw heavily on the country's natural landscapes, literature and elements of religion and philosophy.
The country's garden capital is Kyoto and this seat of the imperial court from 794 until 1868 (when the capital was transferred to Edo, now Tokyo) is still home to more than 60 gardens.
Spring is often trumpeted as the time to visit Japan to enjoy the shows of cherry blossom. This is a wonderful experience but can be difficult to time correctly; just a day or two differentiates success from failure. More forgiving, and arguably no less spectacular, is the show of autumn colour. In mid-November the foliage of Japanese maples sets the gardens aflame with vivid reds, oranges and yellows.
KATSURA IMPERIAL VILLA (KATSURA RIKYU)
The Katsura Imperial Villa is considered to be one of the finest examples of Japanese architecture in existence. It was built for Prince Toshihito, brother of Emperor Goyozei, and was completed in 1645 by his son Toshitada. Covering some seven hectares and the first of its type, the stroll garden became the archetype for such landscapes throughout the Edo period (1603-1868). In contrast to the Zen style of viewing gardens, stroll gardens are entered and progress is made along a prescribed route by means of gravel paths, stepping stones and bridges, with an expanse of water always to the viewer's right and garden buildings carefully positioned along the route.
Onward movement creates a succession of opened and closed vistas of an idealised natural landscape of rock and lakes, lanterns and fences, hedges, shrubs, trees, rustic buildings and teahouses. The positioning of all the elements prevents the whole garden being visible at once and keeps the eye constantly stimulated. The garden is also filled with literary images, in particular, from The Tale of Genji.
Open daily but only on booked tours. Entry is free. Visitors must be over 18 and carry their passports. Permission must be obtained at least four days in advance from the Imperial Household Agency next to Kyoto Imperial Palace. See sankan.kunaicho.go.jp/sankan/servlet/recept/initPlace.
RYOAN-JI
The grounds of Ryoan-ji, originally the estate of a nobleman of the Heian period, became a temple of the Myoshinji school of the Rinzai sect of Zen Buddhism in the mid-1470s. The buildings were burned down during the Onin War (1467-1477) and rebuilt at the end of the century. The rectangular garden (10 metres wide by 25 metres long) in front of the abbot's residence (hojo) is an arrangement of 15 rocks set in a bed of carefully raked, coarse white granite gravel that symbolises landscape and water. This supreme example of the kare-sansui or dry garden style (there are no plants except the moss at the foot of the rocks) is believed to date from about 1499, although the designer remains unknown.
The garden was used by the monks as a ''meditative tool'' and because its true meaning was a personal, mental one achieved through disciplined study, there can be no all-encompassing meaning for the arrangement of the rocks. Their arrangement is such that from whatever viewing point is taken, only 14 are visible. It was believed that when spiritual enlightenment is attained the 15th rock will become visible.
Open daily, March-November, 8.30am-5pm; December-February, 8.30am-4.30pm. Entry costs ¥500 ($6.20).
GOLDEN PAVILION (KINKAKU-JI)
The garden of the Golden Pavilion dates from about 1395, when the three-storey building was erected by Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu as part of his retirement villa and garden complex. The whole was influenced by the artistry of the Chinese Song dynasty and it was Yoshimitsu's son who converted the pavilion into a Zen temple of the Rinzai sect. The temple has been burnt down several times, most recently in 1950. The current structure is the first to be gilded.
The pavilion is the focal point of the 1.8-hectare landscape and enjoys prime position on the edge of the mirror pond, whose stillness produces perfect reflections. The scale of the scatter of small islands, enhanced by shaped pine trees and arrangements of rare Hatakeyama rocks, together with the pond's sinuous outline are designed to emphasise the pavilion, while creating the illusion that the garden is larger than it is. The garden ascends the steep hillside behind the pavilion to the tranquillity pond and the Sekkatei Teahouse and when viewed from across the mirror pond, the perspective ingeniously makes full use of distant Mount Kinugasa. Also worth a visit is the garden of Ninna-ji, a 15-minute walk down the hill.
Open daily, 9.30am-5pm. Entry costs ¥600.
SILVER PAVILION (GINKAKU-JI)
On the foothills of Daimonjiyama, this Zen temple complex began life as a retirement villa - in this case for Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa (grandson of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu). It was converted after his death in 1490.
The garden has a particularly complex series of ''wet and dry'' contrasts, whose juxtaposition creates a harmonious balance. Put into a Zen context, the opposites are not so much differentiated as considered elements of the same whole. The pavilion overlooks a picturesque landscape of pond, rocks and plants, designed to be seen from multiple viewpoints, while in the front are two sculpted mounds of sand. At the start of the Edo period, the Sea of Silver Sand was added. In the moonlight it looks as its name suggests, while the truncated cone of the moon-viewing heights implies lofty peaks - possibly even Mount Fuji.
From its formal approach along a path flanked by stone walls and tall clipped hedges of camellia, through the second gate and into a less formal court and finally entering the garden itself, Ginkaku-ji provides an excellent example of shin-gyo-so; or progression from formal to semi-formal and, finally, informal. The Silver Pavilion is at the northern end of the Philosopher's Path, a stroll by a stream that also passes a number of temple gardens.
Open daily, 8.30am-5pm; December-mid-March, 9.30am-4.30pm. Entry costs ¥500.
KONCHI-IN
A sub-temple of the Nanzenji-in complex, which nestles at the foot of the city's Higashiyama or eastern hills, Konchi-in is famous for its Tsurukame garden. Made between 1611 and 1632, it is one of few gardens unequivocally attributable to the renowned designer Kobori Enshu. The horizontal foreground of the dry garden contrasts with the verdant verticals beyond. A cluster of stones evoking the mountain islands of Horai (the home of Daoist immortals) harmonises with the heavily planted natural slope and two rock formations, suggesting the crane (tsuru) and the turtle (kame) - symbols of longevity, beauty and eternal youth - which give the garden its name.
To the east is the recent addition of the Benten Ike, a pool in the shape of the Japanese character for spirit or heart (kokoro). Surrounded by plants growing in a sea of moss, this has echoes of a mini stroll garden.
Open daily, 8am-5pm; December-mid March, 9.30am-4.30pm. Entry costs ¥400.
DAITOKU-JI
The Daitoku-ji was established in 1319 by Shohomyocho as the head temple of the Rinzai sect and one of the largest precincts in Kyoto. Surrounding the main temple are 24 sub-temples. Many of the original buildings were destroyed during the Onin War and most now date from the early Edo period. However, the concentration of high-quality art, architecture and gardens makes this a great Japanese garden experience. Among them, Ryogen-in (1502) has five gardens of differing sizes, including both the complex's oldest (Ryugin-tei) and Japan's smallest (Totekiko). With its crane-and-tortoise imagery, the large dry garden (Isshidan) was created in the 1980s and provides an interesting modern take on an ancient tradition.
Zuiho-in (1546) is noted for its natural simplicity. It has an interesting Garden of the Cross, which was designed by Mirei Shigemori in the 1960s.
Daisen-in (1509) has an exquisitely small rock garden (3.6 metres wide by 14 metres long) which was laid out by the temple founder, Kogaku Shuko, in about 1513. Sadly, photography is prohibited.
Open daily, 9am-4.30pm. Entry costs ¥400-¥600.
FAST FACTS
Getting there
From Tokyo Central, take the bullet train, or Shinkansen, to Kyoto, 513 kilometres away. The Nozomi train takes about 21/2 hours; the cheaper Hikari and Kodama trains take at least 25 minutes longer.
Staying there
Kyoto's hotels are fully booked in mid-November, so make reservations well ahead. There are many Western-standard hotels. Less expensive but with no-frills service and tiny rooms are business hotels. Or try one of the reasonably priced Japanese inns, or ryokan.
Visitors' tip
In autumn, the most famous gardens - in particular, the Silver and Golden Pavilions and Ryoan-ji - become very crowded. Aim to visit on a weekday and arrive at opening time. At weekends, visit some of the less well-known ones.
Source: The Sydney Morning Herald
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