Chishaku-in Temple Treasure House and Garden

Highlight

The splendidness of a vividly depicted trunk of a maple shares the canvas with delicately portrayed autumn grasses in this screen painting

A temple where the arts of the Momoyama period can be feasted upon

This was founded as a sub temple of Negoroji (that existed in Wakayama). In later years, Ieyasu Tokugawa eventually donated another temple (Shounzen-ji Temple, built in memory of Tsurumatsu, the son of Hideyoshi, who died aged three) to the monks of Chishaku-in, so that it was rebuilt on its present site.
The treasure house is home to National Treasures painted on folding screens and sliding doors by artists of the Tohaku Hasegawa school of painting. They were painted for the original temple on this site, Shounzen-ji Temple, and thus they are gorgeous works of art, typical of the Momoyama period.
A pond spreads out in front of the main room surrounded by a beautiful garden noted for its azaleas. The garden is famous for being popular with Sen no Rikyu, the tea master. Rocks also are used to decorate the garden in simulation of a remote mountain vista. This is a garden to be enjoyed from the vantage point of the main room. And, part of the garden dates back to when the site belonged to Shounzen-ji Temple.