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| "Keyaki" (Japanese tree of the genus Zelkova.) leaves on the moss |
Yoshiki-en
Garden is one of the two Japanese gardens in Nara City along with Isui-en
Garden. Both gardens stand side by side with the Yoshiki River in between. An old picture inherited by the nearby Kofukuji Temple
shows that Manishuin, the branch temple, was located at the place of the
present Yoshikien Garden. After Meiji
Restoration (1868), it became a privately owned site. After the construction of the present buildings
and garden in 1919, ownership was transferred to Nara Prefecture. Since April 1st, 1989, the garden consisting of Pond Garden, Moss Garden, and a garden for tea ceremony flowers, has been opened to the public. As to the inside of the house, however, it is not open to the public. The house was introduced in the TV program by BS Asahi 百年名家 which features distinguished traditional antique houses of one hundred years or more.
First of all, this is a
Stroll-around-the-pond Garden.
The slopes and curves since the Edo Period
(1603-1867) is incorporated skillfully
into the garden construction.
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| Bronze lantern on the eave of the entrance to the tea-house |
Gradually you are moving into the Moss Garden.
Going up the steps to the higher ground, ....
.... here you are at the Moss Garden. The whole area is covered with hair moss (Polytrichum). With the single-story thatch roof tea-house, the garden creates a quiet, secluded atmosphere. The tea-house becomes one with nature especially when all the sliding doors are open. You can see the opposite side of the garden through the open windows.
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| Different perspective from the first photo so that you can see the curving path |
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| Japanese maple leaves |
How did you like the gardens?
No entrance fee for foreign tourists when you show a passport.
Linked to Through my Lens.
Thank you, Mersad, for hosting.
Absolutely gorgeous !!!!! This garden is a peace of paradise !!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing with your beautiful pictures !!!
Have a lovely day !
Anna
I wished, we have one of your wonderful Japaenese gardens here in the vicinity where I live! Doesn't matter if it's spring, summer, autum or winter time, these parks delight people in all seasons!
ReplyDelete秋の吉城園は、とりわけ美しい。これほどきれいな時期なのに、人が見えませんね。落ち葉の中のくねくねとした道、とても詩的な感じがします。今年も色々有難う。来週からブログ冬休みに入ります。今日も早かったでしょ,コメント。ニヤニヤ、にこにこしてこのコメント書いてますヨ！Have a good day!
ReplyDeletesuch beautiful sprinkling of maple leaves.
ReplyDeleteVery, VERY beautiful, Ypko!!
ReplyDeleteSo beautiful it takes my breath away! I would love to see the moss garden.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI love to look at your garden, they have their specific wonderful climate and vegetation. Shown is beautiful, even now they fall. Regards .
ReplyDeleteWhat a fabulous place, and as usual, your photos are to die for! Thank you for this tour so filled with light and color and beauty! I'm guessing one could spend many hours or days at this place just drinking in all that it offers.
ReplyDeleteI like the scene where the man is taking a picture of all the autumn beauty that surrounds him. He becomes part of environment like a squirrel or a deer in the forest. In your part of the world, I see a great appreciation for the artistry that makes up the natural world … the paths, buildings and plants go with the flow of what nature created.
ReplyDeleteYoko....... Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, calling home to his wife Constanze. Photo taken outside the Vienna Opera House. Many young men dress in the costume of the 18th Century to sell tickets to musical concerts in Vienna. Thank you for your comment!!
ReplyDeleteVery beautiful, especially with all the fall colors.
ReplyDeleteThe leaves on the small wooden walkway look like little golden stars - what a magical place, and how beautifully the moss has been incorporated into the garden scheme to give it a fairyland like quality.
ReplyDeleteA bow to you for giving us these sublime photos! The scarlet leaves against the fresh wet green moss - such a beautiful pairing. I love the stone lantern photo - second to last - with the red of the leaves glowing through its opening. A fire within.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for taking us to this wonderful place. I yearn to see it myself some November day.
Mary
Thank you, Mary, for the lovely comment. I wish your dream come true and witness the fairytale of Nara Park with your eyes. Have happy days ahead.
DeleteYoko
Wow!!! what a lovely Place...Really beautiful...
ReplyDeletebeautiful form and colors! Gorgeous place!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful garden, with the magic of autumn. Wonder colors that gives us every year.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comments ;)
Good Thursday.
Besos.
Hi, Yoko!
ReplyDeleteAre the above pictures recently made? Is there a chance that we see the remnants of that natural luxury? And the tea house, does it host ceremonies? This is one of my dreams - to be present and buy authentic tea. I bought Japanese tea in Gallery Lafayette, Paris.)))
I treat your wonderful posts more personally now, you know. Thank you very much, for the address too! I did as you asked, don't worry.
Have an enjoyable week end, Yoko!
Irina
The pictures of Isuien Garden were taken in the middle of November last year. I’m not sure if you can see the remnants of colored leaves, but usually deciduous trees get bare till year-end. This year, unusually warm weather delayed the process of changing colors, so maybe in the first week of January, it’d be possible to see some colors…., or maybe not. Tea Ceremony is held at that teahouse sometimes but not open to the public most of the time as special tea school uses the house for their practice. There are some places in Kyoto and a few in Nara where you can relax viewing Japanese garden while enjoying a bowl of Japanese powdered green tea with a sweet in a Japanese style room.
DeleteA wonderful tour Yoko! Everything so softly colored with autumn at its end. A friend of mine returned with her husband last week from Japan. She was here for two weeks, and visited Tokyo, Kyoto, and also Nara. I was fascinated by her stories and fantastic photos. Her tales of wonderful tasty food, of aesthetic art everywhere, of beautiful gardens, parks and landscapes, of kind and mannered people made me even more wish to see and experience by myself your very special homeland.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this lovely post! :-)
No entry fee if you show your passport? Here it's the opposite; if they think you're a tourist they charge you extra! Such beautiful gardens though, one wouldn't mind paying or the privilege of seeing them.
ReplyDeleteThis Japanese traditional house and the beautiful pictures you took, reminded me of an old story I read.
ReplyDeleteIt is said that there was a great Zen Master who was also a great gardener. Even the Emperor used to learn from him how to arrange his flowers. One day, the Master told the Emperor: make a garden inside your palace and in three years’ time from now I will come and see it. If I like it you will pass the test. If not, you'll have another three years to learn. The three years passed and the Master went to visit the Emperor. He meditatively looked around him and said nothing. The Emperor started to worry seeing him so focused, not the slightest smile on his face... Finally, he heard him say: you have failed my test, for there is not a single dead leaf in your garden. How can there be life without death? How can there be so many trees without falling leaves? Because it lacks the fallen leaves, your garden is dead.
The king had asked his garden to be cleaned exactly that morning...
The Master than went outside where he found the dead leaves which had been removed in the morning, took a handful of them and scattered them all around the gardens alleys. Suddenly the wind stared playing with them and the garden became alive. Their lisp was like music to the ears, talking about Life. In the end, the Master said: now everything is perfect. Life cannot exist in the absence of death. You've failed the test so you will need another three years to practice.
I like the garden very much and the old house which fits in perfectly. The way it's been taken cared of gives you an incredible feeling of serenity and equilibrium! I can only imagine the way you must feel standing there in person...
Have happy days ahead my dear Yoko, stay well and healthy!
I’m happy to know you enjoyed the garden, roxana. Thank you for the story. I didn’t know it but now I understand the story is the reason why fallen leaves are not raked thoroughly but some of them are left intentionally in teahouse gardens and Japanese gardens. I had thought it for aesthetic meaning, but now I’ve learned deeper meaning to make the garden alive including dead leaves.
DeleteThat is a beautiful story i was just looking at my garden here in Cumbria UK thinking what a mess it was but now looking at it again it is beautiful in the way things grow and then die and then regenerate. it does need tidying up a bit which i will do so i can appreciate it.
DeleteI see that it was a great trip! I love to visit gardens! I would love to visit the traditional Japanese garden !
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your photos !
Have z nice Sunday !
Dear Yoko,
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for your comments on Ocala. I especially appreciated the one about the rainbow and dragon. I'm hoping that you are right. We'll know in a couple of weeks. Hope that you are well and wishing you good health, happiness and prosperity.
Lowell
Hello dearest Yoko! Your photos are gorgeous, such a lovely place! I feel as though I am right there! Very soothing and beautiful!
ReplyDeleteHow beautiful to see your photographs of this garden in a different year, Yoko. I love the way you have got a low perspective in the first one, to convey the impression of the leaves all over the ground. I had not really appreciated what a moss garden was like till I visited this one, and realised that moss (which to us can be a garden problem) can also be seen in this entirely different and very charming way. By the way, reading your post made me go back and look at my own photos again :)
ReplyDeleteWow - so many magical shots!
ReplyDeleteこんばんは。 古風で閑静で美しくて、申し分ないですね。 こういう所を大切にして行きたいですね。
ReplyDelete外国の方にこのような場所を案内したいです。 誇りに思える日本の美と慎ましさ。 写真の数々がこの場所を正当化していて、大変素晴らしい絵になっていると思います。 機会があれば、ぜひ、訪れたいです。
ReplyDeleteお久しぶりです。ブログに優しいコメントをいただいて、本当にありがとうございます。
Beautiful Photos.
ReplyDeleteAffordable Garden Design In West London. We Are Professional Bespoke Garden Designers & Offer All Landscaping Services. Call Us On 020 3828 7161... london landscaper
ReplyDelete