Shoden-ji is a quiet Rinzai Zen temple hidden in Kyoto's northern suburbs, famed for a blood-stained ceiling and a rock garden that enchanted David Bowie. Founded in 1282, the temple's main hall was ...

The first thing that will strike any reader on opening "Zen Gardens and Temples of Kyoto" is that this book is a work of photographic art. The photos of John Einarsen span all seasons and somehow ...

Kita-no-Mandokoro, wife of the lord Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537–98), ordered the construction of Kōdaiji in 1606 to pray for her husband’s departed soul. The temple’s formal title is Kōdaijushōzenji—said ...

The gardens of Japan have graced both landscape and life for over a thousand years. Regarded as works of art, they lend insight into the nation’s history and culture. In Japanese Garden Design, ...

Kyoto's most famous Zen garden is Ryoan-ji. Its raked gravel and 15 carefully placed stones make it the world's most recognisable garden image. I love Ryoan-ji, which, despite the hoards of visitors ...

It was a chilly autumn morning in Kyoto’s Komyo-in Temple. Facing a serene rock garden, a group of art collectors and curators were in the midst of a group zazen – a Zen Buddhist meditation session.

When asked how to view a Japanese garden, designer Kinsaku Nakane (1917-1995) replied: “With a detached gaze, without preconceptions and in a state of total receptivity”. Since their earliest history ...

The rock garden at the temple of Ryōan-ji in northwest Kyoto is thought to be one of the finest Zen gardens in Japan. Totally flat, it is thought to date back to the late 15th century and contains no ...