Isuien Garden As Your Serene GetawayIsuien Garden is probably the best example of privately owned gardens in Nara. At one time it was a garden in the Manishu-in temple, which was part of the larger Kofukuji temple. It is in the strolling garden (kaiyushiki teien) style, and you can explore it in the following video I made in the summer. My shakuhachi song "Taima Renzo" is in the background and is off of the CD "Mahoroba". The gardens have been preserved since the Meiji era, which were actually two separate gardens, but were purchased by a wealthy local merchant in 1939 and combined so he could display his pottery collection in what he called the Neiraku Museum. The back garden was redesigned by a garden designer from the Urasenke Tea Ceremony school in 1899. Even today tea ceremony and ikebana flower arrangement displays are often held here. In Fall I have even performed the shakuhachi in a highly publicized live performance event featuring a collaboration with a famous Japanese calligrapher. The garden has a completely different atmosphere in the fall season:
Using the "borrowed scenery" technique called shakkei, from the Hyoshintei House and the main pond you can see Todaiji Temple's (The Great Buddha) Southern Gate as well as the mountains Wakakusa, Kasuga, and Mikasa. The pond forms the character for water (Mizu) and flows from the Yoshiki river which lies between Isuien and the Yoshiki-en Garden right next door. If you are in the area, definitely check out that garden as well, it is free for foreign tourists. The gardens are near Nara Park and Todaiji Temple, slightly off the beaten path but very close. Kyoto steals the show when it comes to Japanese Gardens, however I believe there are definitely great gardens scattered throughout Nara and other areas outside of Kyoto. Kyoto has the largest amount of scenic gardens due in part to the money and culture that fosters that tradition. However, at times I feel too much attention is only given to the Kyoto gardens. I will try to show you around some other gardens which can both let you just relax with my music in the background as well as give you some garden design ideas that you could apply to your serene garden. If you are in the Nara area I highly recommend Isuien Gardens as a travel destination.
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