I continue my documentation of gardens we visited during our recent trip to Japan… Saiho-ji Moss Temple and Garden (also called Koke-Dera or Moss Temple) was one of two Kyoto properties we visited that required advanced reservations. It was our first garden visit and ended up being a real highlight of our trip.
Located in western Kyoto, the roughly 9 acre property is currently listed among the Historic Sites and Places of Scenic Beauty of Japan and was registered in 1994 with UNESCO’s World Cultural Heritage as a Historic Monument of Ancient Kyoto.
Visiting this garden is a multi-faceted experience – not just a garden and temple viewing. One needs at least 90 minutes to fully enjoy all that this destination had to offer.
The main hall with desks for copying the Heart Sutra
When you arrive, you are guided to a waiting area along with 30-35 other visitors. Once all of the guests have arrived, a monk greets you and takes you into the main hall to participate in copying the Heart Sutra, which is a fun exercise. You choose a desk, are given an ink brush and are asked to copy a series of Japanese characters or “kanji” on paper. (You are copying over the characters on a separate piece of paper below your paper – it’s not hard!).
The Heart Kanji
The room of fellow visitors is silent during this traditional zen meditative exercise. Once you are finished, you write your name and address down on the paper and are invited to pray for something as you put your sheet of paper in the front of the room. I recommend taking your time with this exercise (about an hour), despite the fact that it’s a little uncomfortable sitting on the floor. It is a special experience which calms your mind before experiencing the garden.
You’re then free to visit the garden at your own pace. Because everyone enters the garden at different times, you never feel like the garden is crowded. I felt we had lots of private time and space to experience the garden.
What makes this property special is that the Zen temple and garden are about 1200 years old – much older than most of the sites we visited. The temple is considered a prototype of two temples which were built more than 700 years after this temple – the Golden Pavilion and the Silver Pavilion!
The temple and garden have a rich history of stewardship which is too long to mention for purposes of this blog, but it opened to the public for the first time in 1928. The property experienced an incredible boon in tourism which over the years caused stress on this small property. So in 1977 they instituted a restricted access program that remains today and has helped maintain the integrity and condition of the property.
The magnificent two-tiered garden is considered by some to be the most beautiful garden in Kyoto. It is famous for its green carpeting of about 120 varieties of moss. Interestingly, it is thought that when the garden was in decline during the Edo period (1600s – 1800s), the moss started taking over the garden and this may be when the many varieties of moss were introduced. The upper garden is a classic rock garden while the lower garden is a more classic Japanese garden with a path around a heart-shaped pond.
The oldest Karesansui (a type of garden using only stones and rocks to express landscapes) in Japan, made by Musō Kokushi in 1339, which was originally intended to be his own grave.
The famous monk, teacher, garden designer, artist, calligrapher and poet Musō Kokushi revived this temple as a Zen temple and restored the garden in 1339 as part of his zen meditation practice. Saiho-ji is considered his masterpiece.
Musō Kokushi, also known as Musō Soseki
When should one visit this garden? I mention this because we were there in April which is NOT the ideal time, even though we caught the tail end of cherry blossom season. The moss hadn’t reached the green that it will have after the rainy season, hence my yellow-green photos in this post. The two best times to visit are 1) during/after the rainy season mid-June through mid-July or 2) in November when the fall leaves provide a beautiful contrast to the green.
Saiho-ji Moss Garden during the rainy season
Saiho-ji Moss Garden in the fall
Reservations are available two months in advance and they quickly sell out, so go to their gorgeous photo-rich site and click on “Reservations” and “for those living abroad” to learn what’s required to make a reservation. My hotel concierge was able to make the reservation for us, so it’s worth asking your hotel if they can help you.
Shōnantei – the tea house which is registered as a National Treasure
While I was personally a little disappointed to see the garden at a suboptimal time of the year, I was able to appreciate the lovely architecture of the structures and the beauty of the garden. I can only imagine how amazing Saiho-ji must be in all of its green splendor during the rainy season. I would love to see this garden in the summer and fall.
