Reviving a Lost Garden Part One

 

At almost 600 meters elevation, high on Mount Taima near Hamada is a wonderful garden, truly off the beaten track.

A shrine was established here in 889 after a monk received an oracle. In 947, a temple, Sonshoji, was established just below the shrine. It had an Eleven-faced Kannon as its honzon.

In 969, further shrines were built and over the centuries the shrine^temple complex grew.

In the early 16th century the shrine^temple complex was burned down during the war between the Ouchi Clan and Amago Clan.

It is believed that in the mid to late 17th century the garden was created.

In 1836 a huge landslide destroyed the compkex.

In 1844 the shrine was rebuilt but at the temple, only the priests' quarters were rebuilt.

In 1868, with the Shinbutsu Bunri edict, the temple was moved to Koyasan.

In 1872 the shrine was destroyed by the Hamada Earthquake and then rebuilt soon after.

In 1942 the great garden scholar and designer Mirei Shigemori "discovered" the garden.

In 1979, Shigemori's son and collaborator, Kando Shigemori visited.

Obviously, by now, all the overgrown vegetation has been removed and the bushes pruned back to reveal the stonework.

The current head priest of the shrine used to be a gardener in Kyoto, and I believe it has been he who has been personally responsible for the revival.....

All the stone used is native to the mountain.

From one edge of the garden are views down onto the coast....

Apparently, some of what appear to be smaller stones are in fact huge boulders buried deeply, inplying that the stone work of the garden must have been built around some fixed features.... There are no Crane or Turtle arrangements, although the uppermost grouping of stones is considered a Horai arrangement.

These photos were taken during a visit to the shrine in the winter of 2009. Next up I will show how the garden now looks.

Some other gardens I've covered recently include the Ryushintei Garden at Sorinji Temple, and the Chofuteien garden, both of which I highly recommend.

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