# Tenryuji, The Heavenly Dragon Temple



## KyushuCalanthe (Oct 1, 2009)

Next stop, Tenryuji, "the heavenly dragon temple". This temple complex is large in all respects: in area, the number and size of buildings, and the extent of the gardens; in fact it is the largest temple in the Arashiyama area. Some pics.

This is a large dry rock garden at the front of the main building. Such gardens were developed for meditation practice, but good luck with this one unless you can ignore the large crowds around you!







Here is the famous Sougen Pond around the backside of the main temple building. You can sit here and enjoy the view as long as you wish. The pond and garden are at the base of Mt. Ogura and were created using a technique called _shakkei_, meaning "borrowed scenery". This technique strives to incorporate the larger scenery into the garden itself such that the resulting view is a seamless landscape. This garden is an excellent example.






A rooftop in the dying light of dusk. Such scenes abound in Kyoto!






The mountainside along the back edge of the temple grounds has a nice grove of _moso_, _Phyllostachys pubescens_. This bamboo was brought to Japan centuries ago from China no doubt for practical purposes - it is eaten, used for crafts and making implements, and was also traditionally used in construction. It is a running species, so unless you've got a lot of space, it makes a poor choice for the garden.






Finally, I have to show you a couple shots of dwarfed red pines that graced the temple grounds. The species is _Pinus densiflora_, a common tree throughout Japan that is an aggressive colonizer of dry hillsides after disturbance, for example landslides and fires. While they can grow to over a hundred feet in nature, these temple specimens are kept below 20 feet by constant pruning. I loved their red trunks in the mellow sunlight just before dusk.


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## streetmorrisart (Oct 1, 2009)

Everything you've been posting has been too beautiful, but it was the fifth image here that made me log in. So lovely. 

Do you have plans to attend JGP next year?


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## smartie2000 (Oct 1, 2009)

thanks! I love those gardens. Asian gardens are one of the most beautiful things in this world


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## KyushuCalanthe (Oct 1, 2009)

streetmorrisart said:


> Everything you've been posting has been too beautiful, but it was the fifth image here that made me log in. So lovely.
> 
> Do you have plans to attend JGP next year?



Thanks! Yup, I plan to, money willing! Better make reservations soon....


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## Yoyo_Jo (Oct 1, 2009)

Your photos are absolutely breathtaking! What a wonderful tour. :clap:


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## Hera (Oct 2, 2009)

Thank you so much for sharing your trip.


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## NYEric (Oct 2, 2009)

Thanx for sharing.


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## SlipperFan (Oct 2, 2009)

Yoyo_Jo said:


> Your photos are absolutely breathtaking! What a wonderful tour. :clap:



Ditto!


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## JeanLux (Oct 4, 2009)

too cool !!!! the rock garden , the pond , bamboos and pine absolutely beautiful!!!! Jean


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## biothanasis (Oct 6, 2009)

Great pictures! Great scenery!!!


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