Myorenji Temple

Founded in 1294 and settled at its current site since 1587, Myorenji is one of Kyoto's oldest Nichiren Buddhist temples. Its most distinctive feature is the Arhat rock garden, where 16 dark stones rise from meticulously raked white gravel, representing the bodhisattvas of the Lotus Sutra. The garden dates to the early 1600s and was recently restored to its original arrangement. In the Shoin building facing the garden, fusuma panels painted by Kono Yutaka in the 1980s depict the four seasons in scenes designed to look their best in the natural light of the corresponding time of year. The red maple panel, for example, is best seen in the low, angled light of a November afternoon.