Nanzen-in (南禅院)

Nanzen-in (南禅院)Nanzen-in (南禅院)Nanzen-in (南禅院)Nanzen-in (南禅院)Nanzen-in (南禅院)Nanzen-in (南禅院)Nanzen-in (南禅院)

Being a sub-temple of Nanzen-ji, Nanzen-in (南禅院) shares part of its history and was also founded when emperor Kameyama converted a palace into a temple at this location. The current temple buildings were built in 1703 after the previous construction was destroyed in the Onin war.

Nanzen-in's name is very close to its "mother temple" Nanzen-ji, and as both "-in" and "-ji" mean "temple" the meanings are very similar too. In fact, "ji-in" (寺院) is used as a generic name for temples in Japan, even though the "ji" (寺) is sufficient. "-in" (院) is used in many other words though, such as hospital "byou-in" (病院), simply because the original meaning of "-in" was "tall wall/fence surrounding a group of building". Anyway...

To reach this sub-temple, simply take the stairs that climb behind the aqueduct. The garden consists in three parts: a moss surface in front of the temple hall, a pond in the back of the garden and a path that circles the pond. The garden is simple and minimalist, and is also quiet for most tourists go see Nanzen-ji and the more popular sub-temples. Adding to this feeling is the fact that the temple is closely surrounded by the forest, which makes its precinct visually shrink.

Recommended for: Access: 300 円

Nearby: Saishō-in 最勝院 (120m), Tenju-an 天授庵 (120m), Nanyō-in 南陽院 (210m), Dainei-ken 大寧軒 (270m), Konchi-in 金地院 (290m), Seiryu-tei 清流亭 (420m), Eikan-dō 永観堂 (450m), Himukai Daijingu 日向大神宮 (470m), Murin-an 無鄰菴 (610m), Kōun-ji 光雲寺 (750m),...

External links: ウィキペディア, Kyoto Navi, Trip Advisor, 京都風光, そうだ京都, Satellite view, Map

Keywords: Japan, 日本, Japon, Kyoto, 京都, 南左京, Sakyo-ku, Nanzen-ji, 南禅寺, temple, 寺院, 仏閣, 南禅院, Nanzen-in, subtemple, 塔頭

Statistics: visited on 7 occasions, id 422, 18 photos (17 extra photos can be found in the archive).

Photos of Nanzen-in:

Terrace and moss garden, Nanzen-in temple
Woman with a pink umbrella in Nanzen-in temple, Kyoto, Japan
Nanzen-in temple garden
Nanzen-in temple garden
Moss garden and autumn colors, Nanzen-in temple, Kyoto, Japan
Susuki grass and red autumn colors around the pond of Nanzen-in temple, Kyoto, Japan
Yellow maple tree leaning over pond, Nanzen-ji temple zen garden, Kyoto, Japan
Blue and pink flowers around the pond of Nanzen-in temple garden, Kyoto, Japan
Red dragonfly on rope, Nanzen-in temple garden, Kyoto, Japan
Small white flowers on garden pond, Nanzen-ji temple, Kyoto, Japan
Woman strolling in the garden of Nanzen-in temple, Kyoto, Japan
Multi-colored autumn leaves near the pond of Nanzen-in temple, Kyoto, Japan
Autumn colors in a darker corner of the Nanzen-in pond garden, Kyoto, Japan
Snow covered garden of Nanzen-in temple, Kyoto, Japan
Zen garden completely covered in snow, Nanzen-in temple, Kyoto, Japan