page_title: Zuisen-ji
section_title: The temple
hierarchical_section_title: Zuisen-ji / Features / The temple
caption_attribution_description: Stele in the garden of Zuisen-ji, Kamakura. It says "Muso Kokushi's Old Road"
context_page_description: Kinbyōzan Zuisen-ji is a Buddhist temple of the Rinzai sect in Nikaidō's Momijigayatsu Valley in Kamakura, Japan. During the Muromachi period it was the family temple of the Ashikaga rulers of Kamakura: four of the five kubō are buried there in a private cemetery closed to the public and first kubō Ashikaga Motouji's is also known by the name Zuisen-ji-den. Designed by prominent Zen religious figure, poet and Zen garden designer Musō Soseki, the temple lies on top of an isolated hill and is famous for both its garden and its Zen rock garden. The beauty and the quantity of its plants have gained it since antiquity the nickname "Temple of Flowers". The main object of worship is Jizō Bosatsu. Zuisen-ji is an Historic Site and contains numerous objects classified as Important Cultural Properties and Places of Scenic Beauty.
context_section_description: The path to the temple then starts to climb the hill and divides in two. The path to the right is the original one built by Musō Soseki, and at its beginning stands a brown stone stele that remembers the fact (see photo).
  The temple's compound is now relatively small and its buildings are all new, with the exception of the kyakuden (客殿 reception hall), which was built during the early Edo period and was brought here from Yokohama's Kinzō-in (金蔵院) in 1963. The Henkai Ichirantei, the belvedere originally built by Musō Soseki from where one can see Mount Fuji, is out of sight in the back, beyond the Zen rock garden, and is closed to visitors.
  Behind the temple there's a group of about 80 yagura, which are tombs typical of Kamakura consisting in caves dug in the rock. The group is known as the Zuisen-ji Yagura Group (瑞泉寺やぐら群).
  Behind the main hall, the Zen rock garden was designed by Musō Soseki and consists of a pond with an arched bridge, a waterfall, a small island and a cave. It used to be surrounded by plants, but they were removed in 1969 to create the present landscape, which is faithful to the original blueprints. The stairs visible in its background go to the Ichirantei. The garden is a nationally designated Place of Scenic Beauty. The extreme simplicity of the Zen garden contrasts with the garden in front of the main hall, which is considered the most beautiful in Kamakura.
  The temple's cemetery houses the tombs of many famous men of letters and intellectuals.
caption: The stele at the beginning of Musō Soseki's old road
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