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Ryouanji Temple
The site of the temple was originally a Fujiwara family estate during the Heian period. The temple was founded in 1450 by Hosokawa Katsumoto (1430-73), a military leader in the Muromachi period.
The original temple buildings burned down during the Onin Wars (1467-77), in which Katsumoto was killed. The temple was reconstructed from 1488 to 1499, and Ryoanji's famous rock garden was probably constructed around this time. Further reconstructions and additions were made over the centuries.
The temple belongs to the Myōshinji school of the Rinzai branch of Zen Buddhism. Rinzai Zen was introduced to Japan by the Chinese priest Ensai in 1191 and emphasizes the use of koans, paradoxical puzzles or questions that help the practitioner to overcome the normal boundaries of logic.
Zen gardens are a decendant of the world famous stone garden at Ryoan-ji, a Zen temple in Kyoto, Japan. The garden is said to have been laid out in the early 16th century, influenced by the teachings of the famous ink painter, Soami.
Almost
startling in its austerity, it can hardly be called a garden
by
Western standards, for it contains no plant life. The garden consists of a
flat area of white gravel, measuring ten by thirty meters, which is raked in a
linear pattern. Set into the gravel are fifteen stones, arranged in groups of
five, three, two and two. Around each stone group the gravel is raked in a
circular pattern. The stones and groups of stones are arranged with the utmost
care and consideration. It is the composition of the stone groups and their
relation to each other that gives the garden its sense of grace and serene
beauty.
In keeping with the tradition of creating the illusion of a vast landscape
within a limited area, the forms of mountains and seas are simplified and
suggested as if by the subtle brush strokes of an ink painting. Looking out
over the garden, the viewer experiences a sense of stillness and calm, where
the mind can be opened and the imagination freed.
