Entsuji Temple Garden

 

The karensansui rock garden at Ryoanji Temple in Kyoto is almost certainly the most famous example of what are commonly called Zen gardens.

Five clusters of rocks on moss "islands" in a 300 square metre "sea" of raked gravel....

At Entsuji Temple in Saijo, Hiroshima, is a garden that while not quite an exact copy of the one at Ryoanji, is more than modelled on it.

It was created in 2001 by the head priest who received permission from Ryoanji to measure their garden. Entsuji and Ryoanji both belong to the same sect of Rinzai Zen.

The shape of the garden is a little different to that of Ryoanji, but it was made to be the same total area.

The rock clusters and their spatial relationship with each other seem to coincide with Ryoanji. Since taking these photos it seems the garden has been changed a little by the addition of pure white gravel areas around each rock cluster contrasting with  the sandier coloured gravel of the rest of the garden.

The full name of the temple is Fukujuin Entsuji and it is believed that Shotoku Taishi trained here.

It fell into disuse multiple times over the centuries but was revived as  Rinzai temple in 1706 and the current main hall dates to that time.

The honzon is an Eleven-faced Kannon. The temple is one of the 24 Flower Temples of Sanyo and so is worth visiting in Spring and early Summer when flowers such as azaleas, hydrangeas, and lilies are blooming.

The previous post in this series exploring Saijo while walking the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage was on Aki Kokubunji, the ancient provincial temple....

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