The Grave, the Cave, and Still More Gardens

Our third and last temple visit in Kamakura was Zuisenji, famous for the gardens created by landscaper and founder of the temple, Muso-kokushi. The temple was built in the early 14th c, and lies in Momijigayatsu valley, surrounded by mountains which serve as a visual "hedge" for these gardens.

Here, in the wall of rock just behind the temple, is a large cave, Tennyodo, which is used as a meditation all. Inside at night, you can meditate with the moon reflected in the surface of this pond, called Choseichi. Though this part of the garden was carefully excavated, the pond's source is a natural waterfall behind the bridge there, which is hard to discern from this angle.

 

Landscaping, for Muso-kokushi, was meditation. He carefully constructed these gardens, surrounding and in harmony with the intrinsic poetry of the natural rock at hand. In this sense, it is said that we can share his thoughts and ponderings simply through consideration and contemplation of the gardens he left behind.

 

And a few pictoral after-thoughts leaving Zuisenji

 

And we can't leave out the continuing series of fascinating manhole covers