Tenryu-ji Temple is the top ranked of Kyoto’s Five Great Zen temples and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The “Heavenly Dragon Temple” was built in 1339 but has been destroyed by fires 8 times since then. The most recent fire was in 1864 and reconstruction started 4 years later.
While the temple buildings were destroyed many times over the years, the temple’s landscape garden, Sogenchi Teien, survived all of the fires and is one of the oldest in Japan. Designed by Zen master Muso Soseki, the garden’s interplay with the mountains of Arashiyama is an example of shakkei (borrowed scenery) and helped it to earn its designation as a Site of Special Historic and Scenic Importance by the Japanese government.
The temple does charge a small fee to enter. It costs ¥500 for the garden only or ¥800 for the temple and gardens. There is also an additional fee of ¥500 to enter Dharma Hall, which houses the famous Cloud Dragon painting. We opted for the garden only ticket and paid at the north entrance off of the path through the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove.
We started out on the garden’s stone path and were instantly surrounded by beautiful hydrangeas. We soon came to a crowd gathered at the foot of a small pond. At the opposite end of the pond was a statue of Kannon bodhisattva. In the pond in front of the statue was a large stone frog flanked by two smaller frogs, all surrounded by hundreds of coins in the water. The crowd of people were waiting their turn to attempt to toss a coin onto the large frog’s head, a feat that is said to bring good luck.
We continued through the garden and reached the main feature of the garden, Sogen Pond. With the Arashiyama mountains in the background, the pond features a large set of rocks arranged to represent Dragon Gate Falls from the Yellow River of China. Legend has it that if a carp can successfully jump up the falls, it will transform into a dragon, which is the Zen symbol of enlightenment. We enjoyed the peaceful view of the pond while resting on the benches at the back of the Daihojo (large abbott’s quarters).
Before heading back to the Bamboo Grove, we followed a trail uphill and were rewarded with a beautiful view back over the temple grounds. The peaks of the gently sloping tiled roofs poked out above the tree line. With the mountains as a backdrop, it was a site well worth the short hike up the steps.
We really enjoyed wandering the gardens of Tenryu-ji Temple. It was full of beautiful flowers, a stunning pond, and unexpected surprises. Sogenchi Teien is great diversion off the trail through the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove and for us because the feature attraction of the afternoon.
