Thursday, October 28, 2010

Saiho-ji Temple Gardens, Japan

This Zen Buddhist temple is located in Kyoto, Japan. Some of its features are the Golden Pond which is a pond with borders shaped into the Chinese figure for "heart" and/or "mind" and three islands within it. The moss gardens on the premises are also one of the most well-known facets of the gardens. Soft and natural, these gardens aim to leave guests with the feelings of serenity and peace.
Saiho-ji Moss Gardens
Unlike the gardens of Versailles, these gardens are not completely geometrically laid out. Everything is not linear and sculpted, but instead close to scenes you would actually find in nature. The concentration is completely on nature instead of on the aim of human perfection of nature.

A path of stepping stones in the Saiho-ji Gardens, evidence to the natural way in which the Japanese designed their gardens contrary to the European tradition. These stepping stones are not pointing completely straight in one direction. They look as though they have been dropped there in a haphazard fashion. 


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