Maizurugaike, the Dancing Crane Pond

The Dancing Crane Pond (Maizurugaike) is a unique highlight and key component of the Kanjizaioin Temple garden. When viewed from above, the pond resembles a crane with outstretched wings, a rare feature of twelfth-century Japanese garden architecture. Both the name and the design of Maizurugaike correspond to instructions written in the Sakuteiki, a Heian period (794–1185) treatise on Japanese garden design that states that ponds should resemble the shape of either a turtle or a crane. The Dancing Crane Pond was restored according to information discovered through research excavations. It measures 90 meters wide from east to west, with stonework using large rocks along the western bank, and a central island (Nakajima) that stands at the center of the pond.