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Kyoto is the seventh largest city of Japan with a population of around 1.4 million. Many travelers, visiting the city for the first time, are often taken aback by the lush green gardens and parks, winding rivers, picturesque houses and sidewalks; all of which make this city look like a picture postcard. There are several places to explore in this beautiful city. In Kyoto one comes across some of the daintiest temples like: the Kiyomizu temple, the Ryugen temple among several others. The beautiful location of such temples is really a treat for the eyes. Besides, the Kyoto museum and Kyoto tower are some of the most visited tourist places in the city. The main attraction of any Japanese city however lies in its superbly beautiful parks and gardens. Garden design, for many centuries, has been perfected by the Japanese. It is no longer just a design element but is considered as an art. The influence of well decorated gardens is so much in the Japanese culture and religion that temples always contain well decorated gardens. The Ryugen-in Temple Zen Garden, Kyoto is famous for integrating Zen Buddhist philosophy in the design of the garden. The Ryugen-in Temple was erected in 1502 by the Japanese feudal lords like Hatakeyama Yoshimoto, Ootomo Yoshinaga and others. This temple boasts of having four Zen gardens that encircle the Hojo or the abbot’s residence. All of these gardens are different from one another. The front garden, for example, is a rock garden. A rock garden is not filled with greenery; rather rocks, gravel, sand and a few patches of moss constitute the garden. These elements however signify a deep understanding of the universe. The Ryugen-in Temple Zen Garden likewise has moss in the middle of the garden. Sand and gravel encircle the small patch of green with gravel bordering it. The moss at the centre signifies rivers and sand and gravel signify islands. The stones or rocks at the centre of this garden likewise symbolize mountains. The back garden at the Ryugen-in Temple is the smallest Zen garden in entire Japan. It is much greener compared to the front garden. In fact this garden is full of green moss, though stones are present too. The green moss and stones represent sea and lands respectively. A tall stone, which represents Mt. Shumisen, is present in the centre of this garden. This stone symbolizes spiritual enlightenment.
The north garden has nine stones encircling the lush moss surface.
The Ryugen-in Temple Zen Garden remains open for general public from 9:00 in the morning to 4:30 in the evening. The entry fee is approximately 350 yen per person.
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