Shinsen'en
The Shinsen'en (神泉 苑) is a small garden in Kyoto that houses a temple and small shrines. It is registered as a "National History Trail" (国 史跡, Kuni shiseki).
history
When the capital was moved here in 794, the Shinsen'en was laid out immediately south of the Daidairi as a garden inaccessible to the people. Originally it had a considerable extension in north-south direction of 4 chō (516 m) and an east-west extension of 2 chō (252 m). The extensive gardens had a large pond with the palatial Kenrankaku (乾 臨 閣), pavilions (楼閣, Rōkaku), fishing spots (釣 殿, Tsuri-dono), covered waterfalls 滝 殿 (Taki-dono) and other buildings. There the Tennō enjoyed himself with his ministers.
The area was originally marshland, which was drained on the one hand and converted to water on the other. Occasionally, ceremonies to ask for rain (祈雨, kiu) were held there. We know from Konjaku Monogatarishū that in the year 824 priest Shubin (守 守) from Sai-ji and priest Kūkai from Tō-ji performed this ceremony.
In the Middle Ages, the garden fell into disrepair, and when Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu had his residence, Nijo Castle , built there in 1603 , the northern part of the garden was lost, and the southern part was largely used as a residential area. In 1607 part of the garden was restored by monk Kaiga (快 雅) and a temple was laid out in the Shingon direction of Buddhism.
When the Tōsai line of the subway was laid on the northern edge of the garden in 1990, major investigations were carried out. Pond banks and building remains have been found there, suggesting bridges and landing areas for boats. Originally there were various temples in the garden in which Kyogens , the loosely designed interlude between Nō performances, were performed. Today take place annually from May 1st to 4th in the Kyōgen Hall (K in the drawing).
The attachment
Most of the park is taken up by a pond, which contains a round island (中 im) in the north and another small island in the south. On the left edge there is a temple (A in the drawing) with the abbot's quarters (方丈, B) and the hall called "平安 殿" (Heian-den), which houses a restaurant. - On the small island, which is accessible through two bridges, there is a shrine with the name “善 女 竜 王 社” (Zenjo ryūō sha, D) and a very small shrine “恵 方 社” (Ehō-sha, E), which stands on a round stone base. The Kyōgen Hall (K) is located on the right edge.
Web links
literature
- Kyoto-fu rekishi isan kenkyukai (Ed.): Shinsen'en . In: Kyoto-fu no rekishi sampo (jo). Yamakawa Shuppan, 2011. ISBN 978-4-634-24626-3 . P. 75.
Coordinates: 35 ° 0 ′ 41.1 ″ N , 135 ° 44 ′ 45.3 ″ E