Ryoan-ji (龍安寺）

Ryoan-Jis Rock Garden

Ryoan-ji is a particularly notable Zen temple in Kyoto. Initially a Fujiwara estate, this came into the hands of the Hosokawa clan, and Hosokawa Katsumoto willed that it be made a Zen temple after his death. The temple is particularly famous for its rock garden, which has fifteen boulders placed so that whatever angle one looks at the garden, there appear to be only fourteen. Buddhists see the number 15 as completion, thus demonstrating that the complete view of the world needed to fully appreciate the garden is not possible in this world. Only through enlightenment, says the Zen Buddhist, can one see the fifteenth boulder.

Ryoan-ji’s garden is viewed from the Hojo, which is the head priest’s former residence. The Hojo is then connected to the Kuri, the former temple kitchen, which now acts as the temple’s main entrance.