MYOSHIN-JI
Like Daitoku-ji, Myoshin-ji is a complex of some fifty temples, most of which are not accessible. You can stroll along the winding paths inside.
This temple of the Rinzai sect was built in 1337 for Emperor Hanazono (1297-1348). Burnt down several times, it wasn't until the 17th century that it took on its definitive form, with a maze of secondary temples scattered around various gardens. To the south is the San-mon gate (1599) and its Garan. This includes the hattō (reading room) famous for its ceiling where Tany Kanō (1602-1674) painted a huge dragon. A bell, said to date back to 698, making it the oldest bell in Japan, is located in the bell tower.
Daishin-in. Founded by Hosokawa in 1492, this peaceful temple boasts a lovely new stone garden designed by Kinsaku Nakane, as well as a peony garden conducive to meditation.
Taizo-in. This temple, to the west of San-mon Gate, is the best-known of the complex, as much for its Japanese garden with pond as for the dry garden designed by Motonobu Kanō in the 15th century. It contains, among other things, Chinese ink paintings and a famous work by Zen Josetsu, Catfish Caught with a Gourd.
Keishun-in. A temple of interest for its quiet tea room from which you can contemplate the garden.
Shunko-in. Founded in 1590, this temple has been an important center of contemporary Buddhism. You can visit it for an introduction to Zen meditation, the tea ceremony or calligraphy.
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