Shoren-in 青蓮院
Sous la protection d’impérieux camphriers
A l’entrée, d’imposants arbres, vieux pour certains de plus de sept cents ans, gardent le temple. Derrière un paravent, une ombre file harmonieusement. Quelques cris d’oiseaux, le vent dans les feuilles, le silence.
The Shorenin temple, which was the residence of the founder of the Tendai Buddhist sect, Dengyo (767-822), is embellished with four gardens created between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries, while the current buildings, destroyed by fire in 1893, were rebuilt in 1895.
A little-visited site, its outdoor spaces include tiny ponds and fountains, alongside a strangely solemn dry garden and moss garden. Make sure you take off your shoes before entering the temple, then glide silently and lightly along the halls.