Jonan-gu Shrine Sacred Garden and Suiseki-tei Gallery

Highlight

Some 100 flower varieties associated with The Tale of Genji are planted in the Shinen sacred garden reproducing the beauty of the dynastic age

A garden passing on the essence of the Heian Dynasty

With the transfer of the capital to Kyoto in the Heian period, this guardian shrine was built to keep watch over the southern part of the new capital. Said to ward against calamities related to direction “hoyoke”, people come from all over the country to pray for protection in home building, manufacture, house moving, travel and transport. In the latter half of the Heian period, the retired Emperor Shirakawa built a grand villa here to enjoy the beautiful waterside setting that was a strategic highway and use it as base to control politics from behind the scenes. Thus, Jonan-gu became a place synonymous with politics and culture. It also became a setting for the Tale of the Heike. In the grounds, there are five gardens that make up the Shinen, or sacred garden, and Rakusuien garden that spread out around the main shrine, filling the grounds with the colors of the seasons.
The Suiseki-tei Gallery features special exhibitions that take the shrines and the local area as their theme.