Travel Asia

Ryoanji Temple is also known as the Temple of the Peaceful Dragon. This temple is a Zen temple that belongs to the Myoshin-ji school of the Rinzai branch of Zen Buddhism. It is a historic monument of ancient Kyoto as well as a UNESCO world heritage site. The site of the temple is located in the estate of the Fujiwara family which came to the hands of the Hosokawa clan branch of the family. Hosokawa Katsumoto inherited the land and after his death, it was converted into a Zen sect temple complex. The Hosokawa emperors were buried here in what is now known as the Seven Imperial Tombs. The seven emperors that were buried here were Uda, Kazan, Ichijo, Go-Suzaku, Go-Reizei, Go-Sanjo, and Horikawa. The burial site was restored in the 19th century through the order of Emperor Meiji.

Near the monks’ quarters is a carved stone receptacle wherein water is flowing for purification ritual. This is called the Ryoan-ji tsukubai. The basin is located at a low elevation so that the user will have to bend in order to reach the water in the basin. The basin is inscribed with kanji writings on it which when read together will mean “what one has is all one needs” and is meant to reinforce the basic anti-materialistic teachings of Buddhism.

The temple is made famous by its karesansui rock garden that has been built in the late 1400s. The garden is made up of raked gravel and fifteen boulders which are placed strategically so that when you look at the garden from an angle other than from above, you can only see fourteen of the boulders. It is traditionally said that only through attaining enlightenment would one be able to view the fifteenth boulder. The garden is meticously tended by the monks and is raked into different forms every day.

Ryoanji is a 5 minute bus ride or 15 minute walk west of Kinkakuji, the Golden Pavilion. Ryoanji can also be reached by the Keifuku Kitano Line, a small train that runs through the calm residential areas of northwestern Kyoto and offers a connection to Arashiyama. To access Ryoanji, get off at Ryoanji-michi Station from where it is a 5 minute walk to the temple.