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Garden said to have been designed by the great artist Sesshu.
Sesshu was one of ink-wash painters and a zen monk in the Muromachi Period. Sponsored by the Ouchi Family, he moved to Suwa, then Ming (China) and learned how to paint with ink. He became a renowned master, and six of his paintings are designated as national treasures, such as Amano-hashidate and Shiki Sansui. He is a giant in the history of Japanese painting.
Joei Temple’s Sesshu-tei is a garden which Ouchi Masahiro commissioned Sesshu to build as a retreat. Located at north of Joei Temple’s main hall, surrounded by mountains on three sides, the large ground is turned into a strolling garden around the pond. The spacious rock garden is likened to Mt. Fuji and many Chinese mountains by water. Beyond the garden, there are Shinji Pond, a rock garden depicting a waterfall, and graceful boulders. As the epitome of Japanese garden in zen influence, it is designated as a national historical site and scenery.
Looking out from the main hall, it looks like a dignified piece of painting. Take a quiet moment and contemplate cherry blossoms, fresh green, fall colors and snowy scape.
The composition and skills of Sesshu’s landscape paintings are reflected here
Sesshu-tei viewed from the main hall. The front part is the rock garden
Nanmei-tei by Mirei Shigemori is on the south of the main hall
Sesshu’s statue at the entrance of Joeiji Temple
Joeiji offers hands-on Zen meditation and sutra copying experiences.
Some reviews are AI-translated.
The garden pond is so calm, like a mirror. The dry landscape and the way the stones are arranged in the pond look random but actually feel very intentional. It really has that Zen vibe you see in ink paintings!
The garden looks simple and modest, but you can sense the deeper meaning the designer wanted to express.
