Byakko-ike Pond

Fed by water from the Lake Biwa Canal, an engineering project begun in 1885, this pond at the edge of Heian Jingu's gardens is home to nearly 200 varieties of iris that bloom in June alongside water lilies, including the East Asian yellow water-lily native to Japan and Korea. The pond also supports an endangered species of ray-finned fish, the striped bitterling, transplanted here from Lake Biwa. The name comes from the White Tiger of the West, one of the four celestial guardians in Chinese astronomy, which also gives its name to the nearby Byakkoro Tower at the garden entrance. Fish, freshwater clams, and aquatic plants from Lake Biwa form a small but complete ecosystem in the pond.