Jan 1, 2014 - 1 min read

Kyoto Manshu-in Temple

Enjoy the garden from inside

By Tomoko Kamishima

Community writer

Outside corridors around the garden

Water basin with owl decoration

View from a sitting position on the tatami mat

The outside corridors and the rooms are loosely connected

Red seeds and droplets

Special entrance of Manshu-in Temple

Snowy mountains near Manshu-in Temple

Beauty of the shadows

Moss coated rocks and grounds

Manshu-in’s dry garden

Beautiful moss green

Sand garden expressing water streams

Manshu-in Temple, located on a hillside in the north suburbs of Kyoto, was established by Priest Saicho (the founder of the Japanese Tendai Sect who also established the famous Enryaku-ji Temple) around 782-806. The temple buildings and the gardens are quite similar to the Katsura detached palace, and Manshu-in is sometimes called a small Katsura. The reason is that a father and son of the Imperial Family designed both of them in the 17th Century. The gardens were carefully planned to be seen from outside corridors, and also from a sitting position on tatami mats.

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Tomoko Kamishima

By Tomoko Kamishima

Community writer

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