Tofukuji North Garden
garden
東福寺方丈北庭
The garden on the north side of the Shinden Hall is intended to promote a sense of calm.
The north garden at Tofukuji's Shinden Hall was designed to settle the mind. A spring-fed pond shaped like the character for heart or mind anchors the space, joined by a small waterfall and a forested hill where the Hitotei teahouse sits. When viewed from the Shinden, the teahouse lines up precisely with the Central Gate and Five-Story Pagoda beyond the garden walls, creating a receding sequence of structures that garden architect Ogawa Jihei VII planned deliberately during the 1914 rebuilding. The garden traces its origins to the late 1600s but was nearly destroyed in an 1887 fire.
Morning visits catch the dew on the moss and the gardeners at work. The light through the trees is most beautiful before 10 AM.
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