Ryotanji Temple

Since coming to Japan I have visited many temples and shrines. They all seem to have something unique to recommend them. Enryakuji, located on top of Mount Hieizan, in the southern part of Shiga prefecture, has a wonderful view and is a fairly large temple complex. Fushimi Inari Taisha, in Kyoto, has wonderful mountain paths framed by torii gates. I think my favorite temple, though, is Ryotanji, located in Shiga Prefecture in the small city of Hikone.

Ryotanji is at the base of Sawayama Mountain. One thing I especially like is that it is not filled with tourists. The setting is very peaceful. When entering the temple grounds, one walks up a long path bordered by bushes. The temple grounds themselves are surrounded by what seems to be a wall of trees. It feels almost like entering a different world. If you follow the path that goes around the back of the building, you come to a cemetery that goes up the side of the mountain. With the peace created by the setting of the cemetery and the trees, you sense how old this place is.

The main temple building itself is another wonderful place. When you enter the building, you immediately go right. There are display cases holding many ancient treasures. If you look out the doors to the right, you see a great rock garden . This garden consists of small white stones which are raked to form a very elaborate pattern. In the middle is a large rock. The smaller rocks are raked in a pattern around this rock. I cannot imagine how difficult it must be to maintain this pattern.

As you continue to walk around the temple building, you see many ornately painted, very old screens. This building is built in such a way that if all the screens are removed it becomes one large room. With the screens in place, it appears to be a series of smaller rooms. Many of the screens are now a little faded and worn. But, if you use your imagination, you can imagine how ornate they once must have been.

Off the east side of the main temple building lies the temple abbott's living quarters. This room is my favorite spot in the temple building. If you look through the doors on one side of the room, you see the South Garden. This garden has a small pond. On the other side of the pond, the mountain rears up like a wall coming up out of the pond. This garden is supposed to have a dry waterfall, but I could not figure out exactly where. If you look through the doors on the other side of the room, you see the North Garden. This tea garden is level, very green and melts away into the trees. These two gardens and the contrast between them makes the view from the Abbott's Quarters unique.

The best part about Ryotanji is its atmosphere. The peace and sense of time that I felt when visiting is what impressed me most. If you are ever in Japan near Hikone, I highly recommend a visit.