Kyoto Tofuku-ji Zen garden, the Elysian islands

The first major project of Mirei Shigemori, one of the most famed Japanese landscape architects, were the four gardens of Tofuku-ji, the Zen temple from Higashiyama, Kyoto.

In today's photo you can see the main garden, located to the South, in front of the Hojo building. Unlike the temple's modern gardens (the checkered pattern Northern garden and the Ursa Major themed East garden), this is a Zen garden with a classical design: the rocks are symbolizing the 4 Elysian islands, mythical land inhabited by immortals...