Mar 9, 2016 - 1 min read

Tenryu-ji

A Kyoto temple founded by Takauji Ashikaga

By Shozo Fujii

Community writer

Translated by Illaura Rossiter

Community writer

A Japanese pine sits in the temple gardens

Verdant mossy grounds can be seen in the gardens

In the third month of the lunar calendar, when Buddhist services are held, warm winds start to blow, and in the distant view seen through the patchwork of dead branches on trees you can see the flower petals trying to burst out.

Near the Togetsu-kyo bridge in Kyoto's Sagano ward is the ancient temple Tenryu-ji. The most sacred temple on Go Mountain, it was founded by Takauji Ashikaga, the first shogun, or lord, of the Ashikaga shogunate.

From the Buddhist abbot's chambers, you can look out over the gardens and the Sougen Pond, that were created by Musō Soseki. The afternoon sun descending behind the nearby Arashi-yama district's mountain ridge line throws a warm glow over the the gardens.

"If all the cherry blossoms were to go extinct, I wonder if spring would still be so gentle and calm." - Arihara Nonarihira