Ryoanji Temple Kyoto Japan Plan Drawing

Ryōan-ji
龍安寺
The kare-sansui (dry mural) zen garden at Ryōan-ji
Religion
Affiliation	Zen, Rinzai sect, Myōshin-ji school
Deity	Shaka Nyorai (Śākyamuni)
Location
Location	13 Ryoanji Goryonoshita-chō, Ukyō-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture
Country	Nippon
Location in Kyoto
Geographic coordinates	35°02′04″N 135°43′06″E  /  35.03444°N 135.71833°East  / 35.03444; 135.71833 Coordinates: 35°02′04″N 135°43′06″E  /  35.03444°North 135.71833°E  / 35.03444; 135.71833
Architecture
Founder	Hosokawa Katsumoto
Completed	1450 (1450)
Website
www.ryoanji.jp

Ryōan-ji (Shinjitai: 竜安寺, Kyūjitai: 龍安寺, The Temple of the Dragon at Peace) is a Zen temple located in northwest Kyoto, Japan. It belongs to the Myōshin-ji school of the Rinzai branch of Zen Buddhism. The Ryōan-ji garden is considered i of the finest surviving examples of kare-sansui ("dry mural"),^[1] a refined type of Japanese Zen temple garden design generally featuring distinctive larger stone formations arranged amongst a sweep of smooth pebbles (modest, advisedly selected polished river rocks) raked into linear patterns that facilitate meditation. The temple and its gardens are listed every bit one of the Celebrated Monuments of Ancient Kyoto, and every bit a UNESCO Globe Heritage Site.

History [edit]

The site of the temple was an estate of the Fujiwara clan in the 11th century. The beginning temple, the Daiju-in, and the still existing big pond were built in that century by Fujiwara Saneyoshi. In 1450, Hosokawa Katsumoto, another powerful warlord, acquired the land where the temple stood. He built his residence in that location, and founded a Zen temple, Ryōan-ji. During the Ōnin War between the clans, the temple was destroyed. Hosokawa Katsumoto died in 1473, and in 1488 his son, Hosokawa Masamoto, rebuilt the temple.

The temple served every bit a mausoleum for several emperors. Their tombs are grouped together in what are today known as the "7 Imperial Tombs" at Ryōan-ji. The burial places of these emperors—Uda, Kazan, Ichijō, Go-Suzaku, Go-Reizei, Go-Sanjō, and Horikawa—would accept been comparatively humble in the menstruation after their deaths. These tombs reached their present state as a upshot of the 19th century restoration of imperial sepulchers (misasagi) which were ordered by Emperor Meiji.^[two]

At that place is controversy over who built the garden and when. Near sources engagement it to the second half of the 15th century.^[3] According to some sources, information technology was built by Hosokawa Katsumoto, the creator of the first temple of Ryōan-ji, betwixt 1450 and 1473. Other sources say information technology was built by his son, Hosokawa Masamoto, in or effectually 1488.^[iv] Some say that the garden was built by the famous landscape painter and monk, Sōami (died 1525),^[5] but this is disputed by other authors.^[6] Some sources say the garden was built in the first half of the 16th century,^[vii] others reckon subsequently, during the Edo period, between 1618 and 1680.^[half-dozen] There is also controversy over whether the garden was built past monks, or past professional person gardeners, chosen kawaramono, or a combination of the ii. One stone in the garden has the name of two kawaramono carved into it, Hirokojirō and Kotarō.

The conclusive history, though, based on documentary sources, is as follows: Hosokawa Katsumoto (1430–1473), deputy to the shōgun, founded in 1450 the Ryōan-ji temple, but the circuitous was burnt downwardly during the Ōnin War. His son Masamoto rebuilt the temple at the very finish of the aforementioned century. It is not articulate whether any garden was constructed at that time facing the chief hall. First descriptions of a garden, clearly describing ane in front of the master hall, date from 1680–1682. It is described as a composition of nine large stones laid out to stand for Tiger Cubs Crossing the Water. As the garden has fifteen stones at present, it was conspicuously different from the garden that we come across today. A great burn down destroyed the buildings in 1779, and rubble of the burnt buildings was dumped in the garden. Garden writer and specialist Akisato Rito (died c. 1830) redid the garden completely on top of the rubble at the finish of the eighteenth century and published a picture of his garden in his Historic Gardens and Sights of Kyoto (Miyako rinsen meisho zue) of 1799, showing the garden equally it looks today. I big stone at the dorsum was buried partly; it has ii first names carved in it, probably names of untouchable stone workers, and then chosen kawaramono.^[8] There is no evidence of Zen monks having worked on the garden, apart from the raking of the sand.

Zen garden [edit]

Ryōan-ji dry garden.The clay wall, which is stained past age with subtle brown and orangish tones, reflects "sabi" and the rock garden "wabi", together reflecting the Japanese worldview or artful of "wabi-sabi".^[9]

The temple'southward name is synonymous with the temple's famous Zen garden, the karesansui (dry landscape) stone garden, thought to have been congenital in the late 15th century.

The garden is a rectangle of 248 square meters (2,670 square feet), twenty-5 meters past ten meters. Placed within it are 15 stones of different sizes, carefully composed in five groups; one group of v stones, two groups of 3, and two groups of two stones. The stones are surrounded by white gravel, which is carefully raked each day by the monks. The only vegetation in the garden is some moss around the stones.

The garden is meant to exist viewed from a seated position on the veranda of the hōjō, the residence of the abbot of the monastery.^[x] The stones are placed so that the unabridged composition cannot be seen at one time from the veranda. They are besides arranged then that when looking at the garden from whatever bending (other than from in a higher place) only xiv of the boulders are visible at one fourth dimension. Information technology is traditionally said that just through attaining enlightenment would one be able to view the fifteenth bedrock.

The wall behind the garden is an important element of the garden. It is made of clay, which has been stained past historic period with subtle brown and orange tones. In 1977, the tile roof of the wall was restored with tree bark to its original appearance.^[6] When the garden was rebuilt in 1799, it came up higher than before and a view over the wall to the mountain scenery behind came about. At present this view is blocked by trees.^[11]

The garden had particular significance for the composer John Cage, who composed a series of works and made visual art works based on it.^[12]

Significant of the garden [edit]

Like whatsoever work of fine art, the artistic garden of Ryōan-ji is also open to interpretation or inquiry into possible meanings. Many different theories have been put forrard inside and outside Nippon about what the garden is supposed to represent, from islands in a stream, a tiger family crossing a river,^[13] mountain peaks, to theories almost secrets of geometry or the rules of equilibrium of odd numbers. Garden historian Gunter Nitschke wrote: "The garden at Ryōan-ji does non symbolize anything, or more precisely, to avoid whatsoever misunderstanding, the garden of Ryōan-ji does not symbolize, nor does it take the value of reproducing a natural beauty that one can notice in the real or mythical earth. I consider it to be an abstract composition of 'natural' objects in space, a limerick whose function is to incite meditation."^[fourteen]

Scientific analysis of the garden [edit]

In an commodity published past the science periodical Nature, Gert van Tonder and Michael Lyons analyze the rock garden by generating a model of shape analysis (medial axis) in early on visual processing.

Using this model, they show that the empty space of the garden is implicitly structured, and is aligned with the temple's compages. According to the researchers, one disquisitional centrality of symmetry passes close to the centre of the main hall, which is the traditionally preferred viewing point. In essence, viewing the placement of the stones from a sightline along this point brings a shape from nature (a dichotomously branched tree with a hateful branch length decreasing monotonically from the body to the third level) in relief.

The researchers propose that the implicit structure of the garden is designed to appeal to the viewer'southward unconscious visual sensitivity to axial-symmetry skeletons of stimulus shapes. In support of their findings, they institute that imposing a random perturbation of the locations of individual rock features destroyed the special characteristics.^[fifteen]

Centuries later on its creation, the influences of the dry out elements at Ryōan-ji continue to exist reflected and re-examined in garden design—for example, in the Japangarten at the Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg in Germany.^[16]

Other gardens [edit]

Ryōan-ji'southward tsukubai, the bowl provided for ritual washing of the hands and oral fissure

While the rock garden is the best-known garden of Ryōan-ji, the temple also has a water garden; the Kyoyochi Pond, built in the twelfth century every bit part of the Fujiwara estate. Cherry trees have recently been planted northwest of the pond.^{[ citation needed ]}

Ryōan-ji also has a teahouse and tea garden, dating to the 17th century. Near the teahouse is a famous stone water bowl, with water continually flowing for ritual purification. This is the Ryōan-ji tsukubai, which translates as "crouch"; because of the low tiptop of the bowl, the user must bend over to use it, in a sign of reverence and humility.^[17] The kanji written on the surface of the rock basin, 五, 隹, 止, 矢, are without significance when read solitary. Though the h2o basin's frame is circular, the opening in the round face is itself a square (口). If each of the iv kanji is read in combination with 口 (the square-shaped radical is pronounced kuchi, meaning "mouth" or "aperture"), which the square opening is meant to represent, and so the characters go 吾, 唯, 足, 知. This is read as "ware, tada taru (wo) shiru", which translates literally equally "I simply sufficiency know" (吾 = ware = I, 唯 = tada = only, but, 足 = taru = exist sufficient, suffice, exist enough, exist worth, deserve, 知 = shiru = know)^[17] or, more poetically, as "I know just satisfaction". Intended to reinforce Buddhist teachings regarding humility and the abundance within one's soul, the meaning is unproblematic and clear: "one already has all one needs". Meanwhile, the positioning of the tsukubai, lower than the veranda on which one stands to view information technology, compels ane to bow respectfully (while listening to the endless trickle of replenishing h2o from the bamboo pipe) to fully appreciate its deeper philosophical significance.^{[ citation needed ]} The tsukubai also embodies a subtle course of Zen education using ironic juxtaposition: while the shape mimics an aboriginal Chinese money, the sentiment is the opposite of materialism. Thus, over many centuries, the tsukubai has also served as a humorous visual koan for endless monks residing at the temple, gently reminding them daily of their vow of poverty.^{[ citation needed ]} Withal the exquisite kare sansui rock garden on the reverse side of the building, the less-photographed Ryōan-ji tea garden is 1 of the virtually sublime and valued cultural treasures the temple offers to the earth.^{[ citation needed ]}

Images [edit]

• 

  Archway to the Temple territory

• 

  Cherry blossom at the rock garden of Ryōan-ji Temple in Kyoto, Japan

• 

  Close up of the zen garden

• 

  Grounds

• 

  Kyoyochi Swimming, created in the 12th century equally a water garden

• 

• 

  Temple bong at Ryōan-ji

• 

  Interior of the Kuri, the principal temple building

• 

  The garden outside the teahouse (wintertime)

• 

  Lake and bridge outside the Kuri, the main hall (summertime)

Run into also [edit]

• List of Special Places of Scenic Beauty, Special Celebrated Sites and Special Natural Monuments
• Higashiyama culture in Muromachi period
• Japanese garden
• For an explanation of terms apropos Japanese Buddhism, Japanese Buddhist art, and Japanese Buddhist temple architecture, come across the Glossary of Japanese Buddhism.
• Tourism in Japan
• List of compositions by John Cage

Notes [edit]

Wikimedia Eatables has media related to Ryōan-ji.

1. ^ Nitschke, Le Jardin japonais, pg. 88–89
2. ^ Moscher, G. (1978). Kyoto: A Contemplative Guide, pp. 277–278.
3. ^ See, for example, Michel Baridon, Les Jardins, Nitschke, Le Jardin Japonais, and Eliseeff. Jardins Japonais
4. ^ Nitschke, Le Jardin Japonais, pg. 89
5. ^ Danielle Elisseeff, Jardins japonais, pg. 61.
6. ^ ^{a b c} Young and Young, The Art of the Japanese Garden, pp. 108–109.
7. ^ Miyeko Murase, L'Fine art du Japon, pg. 183.
8. ^ Kuitert, Themes, Scenes, and Taste, in the History of Japanese Garden Art, pp. 114–124 and 293–295.
9. ^ 森神逍遥 『侘び然び幽玄のこころ』桜の花出版、2015年 Morigami Shouyo, "Wabi sabi yugen no kokoro: seiyo tetsugaku o koeru joi ishiki" (Japanese) ISBN 978-4434201424
10. ^ Nitschke, Le Jardin Japonais, pg. 90.
11. ^ Kuitert, Themes, Scenes, and Taste, in the History of Japanese Garden Art, pp. 122, 124
12. ^ Whittington, Stephen. "Earthworks in John Muzzle'southward Garden – Cage and Ryoanji". Malaysian Music Journal. Retrieved 12 Nov 2015.
13. ^ Goto, Seiko; Naka, Takahiro (2015). Japanese Gardens: Symbolism and Design. Routledge. p. 20. ISBN9781317411642.
14. ^ Nitschke, Le jardin Japonais", pg. 92. Translation of this citation from French by D. R. Siefkin.
15. ^ Van Tonder, Gert J.; Michael J. Lyons; Yoshimichi Ejima (September 23, 2002). "Perception psychology: Visual structure of a Japanese Zen garden". Nature. 419 (6905): 359–360. Bibcode:2002Natur.419..359V. doi:10.1038/419359a. PMID 12353024. S2CID 4415892.
16. ^ Japanese garden Archived 2011-07-18 at the Wayback Machine; Kazuhisa Kawamura, "Japangarten im Hof des Kunstmuseums Wolfsburg" (Japanese garden in the courtyard of the Museum of Fine art at Wolfsburg); excerpt, "Die Proportion, die Dimension und die Art der Gestaltung beider Gärten sind fast identisch." (The proportion, the dimension and nature of the design of both gardens are nigh identical).
17. ^ ^{a b} Gustafson, Herb 50. (1999). The Fine art of Japanese Gardens: Designing & Making Your Own Peaceful Space, p. 78.

References [edit]

• Baridon, Michel (1998). Les Jardins – Paysagistes, Jardiniers, Poetes. , Éditions Robert Lafont, Paris, (ISBN 2-221-06707-Ten)
• Elisseeff, Danielle, (2010), Jardins japonais, Ḗditions Scala, Paris, (ISBN 978-two-35988-029-8)
• Gustafson, Herb L. (1999). The Art of Japanese Gardens: Designing & Making Your Own Peaceful Space. Newton Abbot, Devon: David & Charles. ISBN 978-0-7153-0986-5
• Kenkyusha's New Japanese–English Lexicon, Kenkyusha Express, Tokyo 1991, ISBN 4-7674-2015-6
• Kuitert, Wybe, (1988) Themes, Scenes, and Taste in the History of Japanese Garden Art, Japonica Neerlandica, Amsterdam, (ISBN 90-5063-0219)[i]
• Kuitert, Wybe, (2002) Themes in the History of Japanese Garden Fine art, Hawaii University Press, Honolulu, (ISBN 0-8248-2312-five)
• Moscher, Gouvernor. (1978). Kyoto: A Contemplative Guide. Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing. ISBN 978-0-8048-1294-viii
• Murase, Miyeko, (1996), Fifty'Art du Japon, La Pochothḕque, Paris, (ISBN 2-253-13054-0)
• Nitschke, Gunter, (1999) Le Jardin japonais – Angle droit et forme naturelle, Taschen publishers, Paris (translated from High german into French by Wolf Fruhtrunk), (ISBN 978-3-8228-3034-5)
• Ritchie, Donald. (1995). The Temples of Kyoto. Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing. ISBN 978-0-8048-2032-5
• The Compact Nelson Japanese–English language Character Dictionary, Charles E. Tuttle Company, Tokyo 1999, ISBN 4-8053-0574-6
• Whittington, Stephen. (2013). [2] Excavation in John Cage's Garden – John Cage and Ryoanji. Malaysian Music Journal, Vol. 2 No. two. Tanjong Malim: UPSI Press. ISSN 2232-1020
• Immature, David and Michiko, (2005), The Fine art of the Japanese Garden, Tuttle Publishing, Vermont and Singapore, (ISBN 978-0-8048-3598-5)

Further reading [edit]

• Kawaguchi, Yoko (2014). Japanese Zen Gardens (Hardback). London: Francis Lincoln. ISBN978-0-7112-3447-5.

External links [edit]

• Official website
• Yamasa Establish's Ryoan-ji: History & Impressions
• 360 degree view (Google Cultural Institute)

ratchfordginge1989.blogspot.com

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ry%C5%8Dan-ji

Share this post