the veneration of moss as a feature in traditional japanese landscape gardening is widely-known.

possibly the most renowned example is the zen buddhist temple in the south-west of kyoto, popularly known as koke dera(simply ‘moss temple’ in english). its correct and formal name is kōinzan saihō-ji (洪隠山西芳寺). although growing in popularity with the expanding tourist boom in japan since the covid pandemic, visits are by pre-booking only, and numbers are limited.

another, often overlooked moss garden, where this post’s images were taken, is attached to the tiny temple of gio-ji (祇王寺), only a few square metres in total area, to the north-west of kyoto. it can be reached in a relatively short walk from the tourist hotspot of arashiyama. of the relatively few visitors, many only stay a few minutes. in mid-summer they will find themselves bathed in an other-worldly viridescent glow, something i found very difficult to tear myself away from. 

these photographs were made in august this year. (it was very hot)