This is the garden in the south of Raikyu-ji’s study. It uses Mt. Atago, which is far away in the frontal direction from the garden, as its borrowed scenery. There are stone arrangements on the crane and turtle islands and white sand covers the entire surface. Raikyu-ji burnt down in a great fire in the Tenpo Era and the garden has also been renovated repeatedly, but the methods from the beginning of the Edo Period can still be seen in the main portion and visitors can enjoy its exquisite design.
cultural property : historic sites and places of scenic beauty as natural monuments
type : places of scenic beauty
18 Raikyūjichō, Takahashi-shi, Okayama-ken 716-0016
Tel：0866-22-3516
Home page :raikyuji.com/
This garden is created in the south of the study in Raikyu-ji, a Zen temple originally founded as Ankoku-ji by Ashikaga Takauji in 1339. It is a Horai-style dry landscape garden and it is believed to be an early landscaping work of Kobori Enshu, who was a famous landscaper.
There are stone arrangements on the crane and turtle islands and the white sand covers the entire surface. It uses Mt. Atago, which is far away in the frontal direction from the garden, as its borrowed scenery. A large dwarf azalea bush is planted at the bottom of the mountain on the left of the study and it adds a unique appearance to the garden. The pruning method used for this dwarf azalea is unique to the Enshu style and it represents big waves of the ocean in this garden. All Buddhist temples in Raikyu-ji were burnt down in the great fire of the Tenpo Era. The temple estate was confiscated during the anti-Buddhist movement in the Meiji Era and most parts of the precincts were lost. The garden has also been renovated repeatedly since then, but the methods from the beginning of the Edo Period can still be seen in the main portion and visitors can enjoy its exquisite design.