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....

Buttsuji Temple 12 Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage

 

Like many Zen temples and monasteries, Buttsuji displays a portrait of Bodhidharma, the legendary monk credited with introducing Zen.

Located in the mountains north of Mihara on the coast of Hiroshima, Buttsuji was a huge monastery complex in its heyday.

Though much reduced in size since then, there are still multiple structures on either side of the Buttsuji River.

It was founded in 1397 as a Rinzai sect Zen temple.

At its peak it had 88 sub temples and 3,000 branch temples.

On the narrow road approaching the temple are several of the former sub-temples, like Yotoku-in , the second photo of this post.

The temple suffered periodic declines and rebuilding during the long period of warfare among the various clans vying for power and other fires.

In 1795 a big fire destroyed many of the main buildings but they were rebuilt by 1805.

In 1905 it became the head temple of the Buttsuji branch of Rinzai, with currently 47 branch temples.

WhenI visited on this trip the leaves were only just beginning to turn, but later the temple will attract many visitors for the full autumn splendor.

Earlier I posted on the small pond garden and the large karesansui garden....

The Lecture Hall dates to 1805 and has a seated Shaka Nyorai flanked by Manjusri and Fugen. The two photos above and the one below.

On  the other side of the river steps lead up to the Pagoda.

Below the pagoda are several other statues

The previous post was on the statues of the 500 rakan at Buttsuji.

500 Rakan at Buttsuji Temple

 

The statues of the 500 Rakan at Buttsuji Temple are all made of stone and seem to be fairly recent in origin.

Not sure how many there are, certainly not close to 500, but there is space for more to be added and a couple seem to be almost new.

What I had not seen before is that each figure was named.

Also, to the left of the name was the name of the person who had donated the statue....

Nothing more to add, so please peruse the photos....

The previous post was on the gardens here at Buttsuji.....

Next I will look at the temple itself......

Gardens at Buttsuji

 

Buttsuji is a major Zen monastery in the mountains of southern Hiroshima.

Outside of the main walled compound, and across the river is a small garden attributed to Sesshu

Some garden experts suggest it doesn't look much like a Sesshu garden, but the temple says it has been changed over the centuries.

A little further down the approach road is a sub-temple of Buttsuji, Yotokuin, and its not possible to enter its grounds, but a sign claims that it also has a Sesshu garden.

Across the pond and stone bridge is now a Kannon altar.

Crossig over the river into the main temple compound, is a large karesansui garden.

Buttsuji is a Rinzai temple, founded in the last years of the 14th century.

It grew to be an important monastery, and is currently the only Zen monastery in western Japan with a training hall.

The garden is completely dry and has just rocks and a few pine trees among the raked sand.

On this visit the autumn colours were not in full swing....

I can find no information on when the garden was built or who designed it.

There is a small courtyard garden, recently designed, but it is not open to the public.

The previous post was on the walk to reach Buttsuji.