Nanzenji Temple and Aqueduct

The Keage Incline is a five-hundred-eighty-two-meter stretch of rusting iron railway tracks that climbs a gentle slope. Built in eighteen ninety-one as part of the Lake Biwa Canal system, this path once served as an ingenious solution to a…

The Lake Biwa Canal Museum is recognized by the lighting at its entrance, which is designed to mimic the shimmering movement of water. Built in nineteen eighty-nine to mark the one hundredth anniversary of the Lake Biwa Canal, the facility…

Konchi-in Temple is a sub-temple of the larger Nanzen-ji complex, distinguished by a stark, formal dry landscape garden that centers on symbolic stone islands representing a crane and a turtle. Founded in the fifteenth century by shogun…

Tenjuan is a sub-temple of Nanzen-ji, recognizable by the contrast between its two distinct gardens. Founded in thirteen thirty-six by the priest Kokan Shiren, it was established to honor Mukan Fumon, the founding monk of the greater…

The Sanmon Gate at Nanzen-ji stands twenty-two meters high, its massive timber pillars and heavy, expansive roof rising well above the surrounding treetops. As the primary entrance to one of Japan’s most important Zen Buddhist temples, the…

The Hojo Garden is a dry landscape garden, or karesansui, distinguished by its vast expanse of white gravel punctuated by precisely placed dark stones. It sits on the south side of the Ohojo, or large abbot’s hall, which is a designated…

The Suirokaku, or Waterway Pavilion, is a striking row of red-brick arches stretching ninety-three meters through the grounds of Nanzen-ji Temple. Built in eighteen ninety during the Meiji era, this structure was designed by engineer…