Rozan-ji temple was originally built in 938 on Mt Hiei, in the northern hills of Kyoto, and moved to its present location only in 1571. Interestingly, the temple is a lot less famous than the grounds it was build on, for here was located the mansion of lord Fujiwara Kanesuke, great grandfather of lady Murasaki Shikibu (紫式部), author of the famous "Tale of Genji" (Genji Monotari 源氏物語). Lady Murasaki wrote this classic masterpiece of Japanese literature while she lived in this mansion, thereby giving an aura to this temple that I suspect it could not have achieved by itself. The Tale of Genji is sometimes considered the world's first novel, and is a thousand pages thick. It spread quickly across Japan within years of its completion, an impressive fact for a thick book written before the printing press was invented!
The original mansion where the book was written is long gone, and only a few artefacts remain. Today Rozan-ji occupies the grounds. The temple garden is unique in its use of flowers and the shape of its moss "islands". Wikipedia uses the word "eccentric" when describing this garden, and I personally don't feel the harmony in its design so it's not on the top of my favourite gardens list. But then again I've only been there twice, and not at the right season ;-) Which by the way is early autumn (November). Recommended for: Access: 500 円 Nearby: Nashinoki-jinja 梨木神社 (140m), the State Guest House 京都迎賓館 (240m), the Sento Imperial Palace 仙洞御所 (380m), the Jidai Festival 時代祭 (510m), the Imperial Garden 京都御苑 (520m), the Imperial Palace Goshō 京都御所 (540m), Aoi Festival 葵祭 (630m), Shirakumo-jinja 白雲神社 (730m), Honman-ji 本満寺 (840m), the Mitsui-Shimogamo Villa 旧三井家下鴨別邸 (860m),... External links: Website, ウィキペディア, Kyoto Navi, Trip Advisor, Kyoto Design, 京都風光, Marutake, そうだ京都, Satellite view, Map Keywords: Japan, 日本, Japon, Kyoto, 京都, 下京, 中京, 上京, 廬山寺, Rozan-ji, temple, 寺院, 仏閣 Statistics: visited on 3 occasions, id 222, 18 photos (11 extra photos can be found in the archive). |
