Kokokuji Temple Izumo

 

Kokokuji Temple is a Rinzai Zen temple founded in 1322.

It is located at the foot of the mountains that run along the Shimane Peninsula from the Izumo Taisha area.

Funding and support was provided by local nobleman Misawa Yasukuni.

The monk who founded it, Sanko Kokushi, also founded Unjuji Temple further east in the Yasugi area.

The temple may have fallen into disuse, but was revived and expanded in the late 18th century by Zen Master Setsun.

He is said to have started work on the garden, but it was his successor, Zen Master Toko who brought the garden to fruition by hiring Sawa Gentan.

The garden is the only thing that te vast majority of sources talk about

However there are some nice statues, paintings, and kote-e...

The honzon is a statue of Shaka Nyorai, the Japanese name for the historical Buddha Sakyamuni.

The garden, which is highly rated among afficianados, is covered in my previous post.

Kokokuji is a little off the beaten track, though it is not far from Hirata.

If you are heading to Gakuenji Temple, a magnificent place itself, then you drive right past Kokokuji.

Of course, if you are that far off the beaten track then nearby Karakama Shrine is a must visit.

The previous post was on the Zen garden here.

The Garden at Kokokuji Temple

 

The top ranked garden in Japan, according to the Journal of Japanese Gardening, is consistently the Adachi Museum Gardens in Shimane.

Other gardens in Shimane are in the list of top Japanese gardens, including this one at Kokuji Temple near Hirata in the Izumo area.

In 2005 it was ranked 8th, and in 2006 it was ranked 12th.

And yet it is barely known and rarely visited.

Kokokuji is a Rinzai temple founded in the 14th century.

The garden, however, was created in the early 19th century.

It is a relatively small garden consisting primarily of a dry garden with Kinkyoike, a small resevoir behind it.

The borrowed scenery is completed with Mount Tabushi and the Kitayama mountains behind.

The garden was designed by Sawa Gentan, the gardener employed by the great Tea Master Fumai Matsudaira who ruled the Matsue Domain.

Many other gardens in the area are said to have been designed by Sawa Gentan, including the magnificent ones at Hirata Honjin, literally just a couple of kilometers away. Several gardens at the Izumo Cultural Heritage Museum, and the Gesshoji Temple Garden are also attributed to Fumai and Gentan

The small entrance fee to view the garden includes a green tea and sweet, photo 3 above.

This, and many other gardens in the region are known as Izumo Style, and sometimes Gentan Style.

One of the features of Izumo style is that the stepping stones are a combination of round and rectangular.

Another feature mentioned by many is that an Izumo style garden will be a combination of a traditional garden and a Teahouse garden.

Hidden away on the right hand side of the garden here is a teahouse, and the stone path leads to it.

There are a lot of other gardens in the Matsue and Izumo region, including many I have not covered yet. If yiu are interested please let me know. Yuushien, Meimei-an Teahouse, Lafcadio Hearns House, Yakumo Honjin, and the several already mentioned earlier, are just a few already covered...

Next I will cover Kokokuji Temple itself....

Dokurakuan Tea House & Sankan Sanro Roji Gardens

 

The Izumo Cultural Heritage Museum is a must-visit site for those interested in Japanese gardens.

As well as a fine example of an Izumo-style karesansui garden attached to a huge mansion, which I covered yesterday, it also has examples of roji, the small gardens associated with tea houses and the tea ceremony.

The Dokurakuan is a replica of a teahouse designed by Sen no Rikyu, probably the most famous of all tea masters.

It was originally built in Uji, near Kyoto, but passed through many owners until ending in the hands of Matsudaira Fumai, the daimyo of Matsue domain who was a famous tea master in his own right. 

He retired early and passed the domain on to his son so he could retire to his estate in Edo where he built a huge garden with many teahouses including the Dokurakuan.

A teahouse is usually approached through a type of garden called roji.

here at the Izumo Cultural Heritage Museum  the replica Dokurakuan is reached through three gardens called Sankan Sanro.

Called Outer, Middle, and Inner, the three gardens are quite distinct and separated by walls and gates.

It is said the Sankan Sanro was designed by Fumai himself.

The teahouse and gardens were recreated using old drawings and paintings of the original.

As well as the mansion with its Izumo-style garden, and the Dokurakuan and Sankan Sanro, there is yet another garden here. A modern teahouse where visitors can enjoy tea and sweets has its own garden, but I have no photos as I didn't visit.

The museum and gardens are free to visit, though there may be some entry fees to special temporary exhibitions that are in the big galleries.

The previous post was on the Izumo mansion and Garden. Not far away are a couple of other traditional properties with nice gardens, the Hirata Honjin, and the Yakumo Honjin.

Izumo Mansion & Izumo-style Garden

 

The Izumo Mansion was formerly the residence of the Ezumi family, a wealthy farming family of the Izumo region.

Their main house was dismantled and reassembled within the grounds of what is now the Izumo Cultural Heritage Museum, located between downtown Izumo and the Izumo Taisha area.

As well as moving the substantial house, they also moved the very large garden.

The Nagayamon, gatehouse, was also relocated and serves as the entrance to the museum compound.

The garden is very large and is  a dry garden with large areas of white gravel.

It can be viewed from the southern, shoin, room of the mansion.

It was a stroll-type garden, but unfortunately cannot be entered, only viewed from the house.

It is planted mostly with evergreen shrubs and trees, including a lot of black pine.

The arrangement of stepping stones is in the Izumo-style.

The house was originally built in 1896, and all the rooms can be explored.

Next door is a restaurant that offers a different view of the garden.

The Izumo Cultural Heritage Museum has exhibits on Izumo crafts and offers workshops. Two large, modern galleries show interesting temporary exhibits that require an entrance fee. I saw a fantastic exhibition of yokai prints and paintings here. The mansion and gardens are free to enter.

For garden enthusiasts there is an extra bonus here, a replica of a teahouse by Sen no Rikyu once owned by the famed Matsue tea master Fumai, with a series of gardens including one designed by Fumai himself. I will post pictures of that next.

The previous post in this series exploring the delights of Izumo and Matsue was on Jozan Inari Shrine.