A Year in Pictures – Komyozenji Garden

[swan_tower]

This work by http://www.swantower.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

I’m not usually a fan of Zen rock gardens, but this one, at Komyozenji in Dazaifu on the island of Kyushu, is the exception. It’s meant to mimic water, and so the gravel forms curving forms within the most amazing moss I saw anywhere in Japan. It may, in fact, be my favorite Japanese garden of all time.

Originally published at Swan Tower. You can comment here or there.

Comments

[eve-prime.livejournal.com]

Well, now, that's really something. Before I scrolled down to read your description, I thought, "There's one of those Zen gardens that's actually really pretty, even the gravel! I wonder what makes it different?" It must be the mimicking of water.

[kurayami-hime.livejournal.com]

Thought that went through my head when I first saw the picture: "Wow. That garden looks really familiar."

. . . yeah.

[swan-tower.livejournal.com]

It's the way the gravel is interspersed with the moss, yeah. Most Zen gardens are much larger expanses of gravel, which I find much less interesting.

[swan-tower.livejournal.com]

Eheheheh. You will see more things you recognize before this is done!