3) Ryōan-ji (竜安寺)

Just across the road from our teahouse (and office) is Japan's most famous zen garden...a riddle written in gravel and rocks.
Intended to focus the mind, over the years many have tried to unravel the garden's meaning.

14) NOTHING
The garden historian Gunter Nitschke wrote: "The garden at Ryōan-ji does not symbolise anything...I consider it to be an abstract composition of 'natural' objects in space, a composition whose function is to incite meditation."

10) THE DRAGON (龍)
Some say it's possible to trace the outline of a dragon, starting with the rock at the most easterly point.
Follow the curving body through the central garden to the NW group, then on to the SW group, finishing at the tail (the low rock from Shikoku 四国).

This may seem like a pretty far out there idea, but the temple's name 'Ryōan-ji' (竜安寺/龍安寺) translates as 'The Temple of the Dragon at Peace' so...

9) THE TSUKUBAI
Some have hinted that the garden might in some way visualize the proverb featured on the temple's famed wash-basin (蹲踞 'tsukubai') beside Zōroku-an (蔵六庵)...
吾 唯 足 知 'what one has is all one needs' or 'I learn only to be contented'.

The wash-basin on display at Ryōan-ji is actually a replica. The original, out of sight, was donated by Tokugawa Mitsukuni (徳川光圀 1628-1701) in 1660 and belongs to 'Zōroku-an' teahouse.

Ryōan-ji is actually our neighbour, just across the road from Garden Teahouse.
Why not come and have tea in-between all that temple hopping...

Nao-san's 'how to find us' videos

https://x.com/camelliakyoto/status/1515877168316043264

Online reservation
https://tea-kyoto.com/garden-general-information

Other tricks are used to bring depth...

the west wall is constructed 7 inches higher nearer the hōjō (方丈) to give the impression of distance

the 2 rocks at the rear of the garden are shallower

even colour is manipulated (closer rocks are reddish, farther rocks blueish)

Forced perspective is cleverly used to give the garden depth and make it appear larger.

25m east-west and 10m north-south, the space is actually not level. The S.E. corner is 70cm lower than the highest point, the garden gently sloping down from the N.W. (this helps with drainage).

The 'karesansui' garden is a 248 square metre rectangle of carefully raked gravel and 15 rocks.
Some of the rocks sit on small islands of moss, the only greenery to be seen.

The rocks are gathered into 5 groupings (5 / 3 / 3 / 2 / 2)