Shisen-dō

Most travellers to Kyoto don’t venture beyond Ginkaku-ji when exploring the northern reaches of Higashiyama, but there are several other worthwhile temples in this part of town, including Shisen-dō and Manshu-in. These two temples make a nice combination and are usually ignored by the masses who descend on Kyoto’s more popular temples. Note that it’s too far to walk here from Ginkaku-ji; consider a taxi or the bus. With a name meaning ‘house of poet-hermits’, Shisen-dō was built in 1641 by Ishikawa Jōzan, a scholar of Chinese classics and a landscape architect who wanted a place to retire to. Formerly a samurai, Jōzan abandoned his warrior status after a rift with Tokugawa Ieyasu and became a recluse, living here until his death in 1672 at the age of 90. The hermitage is noted for its display of poems and portraits of 36 ancient Chinese poets, which can be found in the Shisen-no-ma room. The karesansui white-sand garden is lined with azaleas, which are said to represent islands in the sea. The garden also reflects Jōzan’s distinct taste for Chinese aesthetics. It’s a tranquil place to relax. In the garden, water flows from a small waterfall to the shishi-odoshi, or sōzu, a device designed to scare away wild boar and deer. It’s made from a bamboo pipe into which water slowly trickles, fills up and swings down to empty. On the upswing to its original position the bamboo strikes a stone with a ‘thwack’ – just loud enough to interrupt your snooze – before starting to refill.