Zuiganji Temple Garden

 

Zioganji is a Rinzai Zen temple in Tokushima City on Shikoku.

It was founded in 1614 by Hachisuka Shigenobu, the first lord of the domain.

I have posted earlier on a visit during the Autumn colours time....

The garden at the temple, dating to the early Edo Period, not long after the founding of the temple, is quite famous.

However in recent years it has often been closed, and photos of it are hard to find....

It is built at the base of Mount Bizan and is a stroll-type pond garden..

Compared to most Japanese gardens it has a wilder feel, as most of the greenery is not heavily pruned and trimmed...

Within the garden is a vermillion, three-storey pagoda, seen later in the post.

It also features two teahouses, Shiwatei and Kishoken, which are visible in photos towards the end of this post.

I found the garden intriguing and it felt more like exploring...

There is a famous spring in the garden but I didn't notice it....

I also didn't notice the Kirishitan Toro, the stone lantern base with carving of Mary disguised on it.

I would think the garden is excellent in the Autumn, though it was closed when I visited at that season..

The previous post in this series on Tokushima was on the garden at the castle ruins.

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Senshukaku Pond Garden

 

Senshukaku is a name given to the Daimyo gardens of the former palace in the ruins of Tokushima Castle.

While not a particularly large garden, it does consist of two quite distinct parts, a karesansui section and a pond section.

I covered the karesansui section in the previous post in this series.

Both gardens featured a lot of stone, specifically a type of stone called Awa Bluestone.

The castle was built in 1586, and the garden design is attributed to Ueda Soko, a famed warrior and tea master.

The pond is fed by the tidal river.

The name Senshukaku is a modern one, and it was the name of the lodgings built on the site for the Taishō Emperor when he visited as crown prince.

The named features within the pond garden are fairly typical..... a dry waterfall, a boat stone, etc

Some sections of the garden are reminiscent of the stone garden at Kokawadera Temple in Wakayama, also designed by Ueda Soko.

It is believed that Ueda Soko was a big influence on Mirei Shigemori

With several more good gardens in the vicinity, Tokushima is worth a visit for garden enthusiasts...

The previous post in this series was on the karesansui half of the garden.

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Ko-on-ji Temple 61 Shikoku Ohenro Pilgrimage

 

Ko-onji Temple is quite an enigma. With claims to being one of the oldest temples on the pilgrimage, the architecture is without a doubt the most modern.

Said to have been founded by Shotoku Taishi in the late 6th century, it was later visited by Gyoki, and then later still by Kobo Daishi.

He found a pregnant woman nearby suffering difficult labour and so prayed and lit incense for her. She gave birth to a healthy boy and since then the temple has been known as a place to pray for safe birth and the worship of Koyasu Daishi began.

The temple burned down and was rebuilt multiple times.

In 1976, for reasons I am unable to learn, the main hall was moved to another temple and the current structure was built.

Looking like a museum or auditorium, it is actually not too dissimilar to the latter.

With seating for more than 600, and a kind of raised stage, the huge hall doubles as the main hall and also the Daishi hall.

Numerous sources refer to it as a cathedral.

The previous temple on the Shikoku Pilgrimage was number 60, the mountaintop temple of Yokomineji.