View from the Phoenix Hall at gardens and pond, at Byodoin Temple in Kyoto, Japan. "In front of the Phoenix Hall lies a garden with a pond, intended to represent the Judo (Pure Land Paradise). This garden is unique in incorporating the surrounding natural scenery, and is known as the "Jodo garden." The Byodo-in garden served as the prototype for the temple garden built around a central Amida Buddha hall,"--Preservation of Cultural Properties Section, City of Kyoto website.
View from the Phoenix Hall at pond and garden at Byodoin Temple in Kyoto, Japan. "In front of the Phoenix Hall lies a garden with a pond, intended to represent the Judo (Pure Land Paradise). This garden is unique in incorporating the surrounding natural scenery, and is known as the "Jodo garden." The Byodo-in garden served as the prototype for the temple garden built around a central Amida Buddha hall,"--Preservation of Cultural Properties Section, City of Kyoto website.
View from the Phoenix Hall at gardens and pond, at Byodoin Temple in Kyoto, Japan. "In front of the Phoenix Hall lies a garden with a pond, intended to represent the Judo (Pure Land Paradise). This garden is unique in incorporating the surrounding natural scenery, and is known as the "Jodo garden." The Byodo-in garden served as the prototype for the temple garden built around a central Amida Buddha hall,"--Preservation of Cultural Properties Section, City of Kyoto website.
View from the Phoenix Temple at pond and garden at Byodoin Temple in Kyoto, Japan. "In front of the Phoenix Hall lies a garden with a pond, intended to represent the Judo (Pure Land Paradise). This garden is unique in incorporating the surrounding natural scenery, and is known as the "Jodo garden." The Byodo-in garden served as the prototype for the temple garden built around a central Amida Buddha hall,"--Preservation of Cultural Properties Section, City of Kyoto website.
View of garden at Byodoin Temple in Kyoto, Japan. "In 1052, Byodoin Temple was built by the Regent, Fujiwara no Yorimichi by rebuilding the villa, given by his father, Michinaga,"--Byodoin website.
View of pond and gardens at Kinkakuji (the golden pavilion) from across a body of water in Kyoto, Japan. "Nowhere is the union of Chinese and Japanese building styles better seen than in Yoshimitsu's retirement complex, constructed between 1397 and 1407 ... The formal name of the Golden Pavilion is Shariden (Relic Hall). The first two floors are rectangular and based on earlier, native designs. Its verandas contribute to the blending of interior and exterior that is characteristic of the best traditional Japanese architecture. All sides but the north have pond vistas ... The first story, called the Chamber of Dharma Waters (dharma being the ancient Sanskrit term for Buddhist law), is built in the residential style of courtiers. The second story, called the Tower of the Sound of Waves, is built in the style of warrior residences, with sliding doors rather than shutters like the level beneath. It is topped with cypress eaves. The third story, square and covered with gold leaf, is named the Cupola of the Ultimate. It is surmounted by an elegant cypress roof with upswept eaves, topped by a phoenix,"--from “Kinkakuji: the Temple of the Golden Pavilion: ‘there is nothing on earth as beautiful as the Golden Pavilion.’” by Horton, H. Mack.
View of pond and garden at Kinkakuji (the golden pavilion) from across a body of water in Kyoto, Japan. "Nowhere is the union of Chinese and Japanese building styles better seen than in Yoshimitsu's retirement complex, constructed between 1397 and 1407 ... The formal name of the Golden Pavilion is Shariden (Relic Hall). The first two floors are rectangular and based on earlier, native designs. Its verandas contribute to the blending of interior and exterior that is characteristic of the best traditional Japanese architecture. All sides but the north have pond vistas ... The first story, called the Chamber of Dharma Waters (dharma being the ancient Sanskrit term for Buddhist law), is built in the residential style of courtiers. The second story, called the Tower of the Sound of Waves, is built in the style of warrior residences, with sliding doors rather than shutters like the level beneath. It is topped with cypress eaves. The third story, square and covered with gold leaf, is named the Cupola of the Ultimate. It is surmounted by an elegant cypress roof with upswept eaves, topped by a phoenix,"--from “Kinkakuji: the Temple of the Golden Pavilion: ‘there is nothing on earth as beautiful as the Golden Pavilion.’” by Horton, H. Mack.
View of footbridge and other wooden structures across a body of water at one of the gardens at Shugakuin Imperial Villa in Kyoto, Japan. "The retired emperor Gomizuno-o (後水尾天皇) built the gardens between 1653 and 1655 with the financial support of the shogun ... It is therefore believed that most of the design was his own work. He has already participated in the design process of his official retirement residence Sentō Gosho in 1629, whose main designer was garden master Kobori Enshū. Enshū passed away in 1647, but his influence on emperor Gomizuno-o is still visible in the design of the Shūgaku-in Rikyū gardens,"--Real Japanese Gardens website.
View of winding river running through one of the gardens at Shugakuin Imperial Villa in Kyoto, Japan. "The retired emperor Gomizuno-o (後水尾天皇) built the gardens between 1653 and 1655 with the financial support of the shogun ... It is therefore believed that most of the design was his own work. He has already participated in the design process of his official retirement residence Sentō Gosho in 1629, whose main designer was garden master Kobori Enshū. Enshū passed away in 1647, but his influence on emperor Gomizuno-o is still visible in the design of the Shūgaku-in Rikyū gardens,"--Real Japanese Gardens website.