Ryōan-ji｜龍安寺

Like many Buddhist temples, Ryōan-ji began its life as a private estate.  Belonging to the Fujiwara family, one of the most influential political clans in the Heian period, the first temple to be built on the site was founded in 983 and called Enyū-ji for the memorial tomb of Emperor En’yū. 

Over time Enyū-ji fell into ruin and in the 12^th century the land came under the stewardship of Fujiwara Saneyoshi, who built a villa on the property.  This eventually passed into the hands of Hosokawa Katsumoto (1430-1473), a powerful deputy to the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa, in 1450.  Hosokawa converted the villa into the Zen temple Ryōan-ji, and the 5^th abbot of nearby Myōshin-ji, Giten Genshō, was invited to be the temple’s founder. 

Unfortunately, Hosokawa later became embroiled in conflict with Yamana Sōzen over the issue of the succession of the Ashikaga Shogunate.  The Ōnin War engulfed Kyoto in 1467, taking with it Ryōan-ji and many other temples and shrines destroyed by fire and conflict.  Ryōan-ji lay in ruins until Hosokawa’s son, Hosokawa Masamoto, rebuilt it.  Ryōan-ji’s cemetery contains the graves of Hosokawa Katsumoto, his wife, his son, and the founder’s. 

Ryōan-ji is also the location of the “Seven Imperial Tombs”, home to the mausoleums of seven imperial family members: Emperors En’yū, Ichijō, Go-Suzaku, Go-Reizei, Go-Sanjō, and Horikawa, as well as Imperial Princess Teishi.  Though these were modest plots in the past, they became larger as of the 19^th century restoration of imperial sepulchers (misasagi) undertaken by Emperor Meiji.  1797 saw fire destroy parts of Ryōan-ji once more, but the damaged Abbot’s Quarters were soon replaced with a building transferred in. 

When it comes to the temple’s garden history, however, things are much less clear.  Some say it was built by one of the Hosokawa, while others claim that it was the work of the famous monk Sōami.  Others claim the work was done by professional gardeners of the kawaramono class rather than monks.  As for the date of construction, more recent thought tends towards believing the garden was placed in the 17^th century, as no mention of a garden can be found in records before that time.  Akisato Ritō, poet, writer, and garden designer of the 18^th century, featured Ryōan-ji’s garden in his 1799 book Celebrated Gardens and Sights of Kyoto, which has been used to prove that there has been no change to the garden’s design since that time. 

These days this Zen style garden is one of the most famous in Kyoto, even Japan, and draws large amounts of visitors who wish to take a seat and look over the raked sand searching for meaning within the design.