Page 48 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Japan

Paradise Gardens
Introduced to Japan by Buddhist monks during
the Heian Period, a Paradise Garden is designed
to evoke the Pure Land, or Buddhist paradise.
You can easily imagine the Buddha meditating
on an island in one of the gardens’ lotus ponds.
Byodo-in in Uji City (p240) is one of the most
famous examples, while the Motsu-ji garden in
Hiraizumi (p306) makes use of “borrowed
DISCOVER Japan Your Way The practice of using flowers as temple
landscape” – trees or mountains outside
the garden that appear to be part of it.
IKEBANA

offerings originated in the 7th century,
but formalized flower arranging, or
ikebana, didn’t take hold until the late
15th century. Nowadays, it is seen as
a meditative art. Arrangements are
supposed to be created in silence, to
allow the designer to observe the The Phoenix Hall and
beauty of nature and gain inner peace. lotus pond in Byodo-in
garden in Uji City

JAPAN’S
GARDENS

Reflecting the Shinto love of nature and the Buddhist ideal of paradise,
Japan’s gardens may seem like heaven on earth. From strolling in Western-
style parks to meditating among curious rock formations in a zen garden,
there are plenty of ways to appreciate these outdoor spaces.

Zen Gardens
Looking to be more mindful?
Seek out a karesansui
(Japanese rock garden) and
focus on one of the stones,
seemingly floating in a sea of
raked gravel. Kyoto is home
to some of the best examples,
including Ryoan-ji (p200) –
where the plain earthen
walls enhance the abstract
arrangement of the stones –
and Daisen-in (p198). Kyoto
Garden Experience (www.
kyotogardenexperience.com)
offers private tours and the
chance to access gardens
usually barred to the public.

Visitors soaking up the
peaceful atmosphere
at Ryoan-ji in Kyoto

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