Heian Shrine Garden

Author: Richard Perkins
Photos/Videos Taken: 2020/12/29
Address: 97 Okazaki Nishitennocho, Sakyo-ku,
Kyoto-shi, Kyoto,【606-8341】
Entrance Fee: ¥600

The Heian Shrine Garden is (as its name implies) a garden attached to Heian Shrine—a Shintō shrine built in 1895 to commemorate the 1100th anniversary of Kyoto becoming the capital of Japan—in the city of Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture. The Heian Shrine Garden was built by a seventh-generation landscaper named Ogawa Jihē. With a ¥600 entrance fee, this beautiful garden took around twenty years to complete.

The Heian Shrine Garden comprises of four gardens (the South Garden, the West Garden, the Middle Garden, and the East Garden), all surrounding the main shrine at Heian Jingu. At a total of 33,000 square meters, this is a vast Japanese garden in the 池泉回遊 (chisenkaiyū) style. This is a style of landscape which encompasses a footpath around a pond. Below is a brief description of the four gardens and what makes them unique.

East Garden
The East Garden encircles the 栖鳳池 (seihō-ike) lake—which was added after initial construction—from the end of the Meiji period (1868-1912) to the Taishō period (1912-1926). The 泰平閣 (taiheikaku) bridge built over the Seihō-ike lake, was originally from the Imperial Palace in Kyoto and was relocated and reconstructed here in 1913.

Middle Garden
The Middle Garden encircles the 蒼龍池 (sōryū-ike) lake and is well-known for the purple 杜若 (kaki-tsubata—a rabbit-ear iris) that blooms at the beginning of May. The 臥龍橋 (garyūkyō) stepping stones on the Sōryū-ike lake are symbolic, not just of the middle garden, but of the entire garden itself.

West Garden
The West Garden encircles the 白虎池 (byakko-ike) lake and is famous for the 花菖蒲 (hanashōbu—Japanese iris) that blossom in the early summer.

South Garden
The South Garden is also known as the “Heian Garden” and is most notable for the weeping cherry trees that bloom beautifully in the spring. This garden was made based on plants and vegetation that were written about in books from the Heian period.

For those who enjoy Western movies, there’s a chance that you’ve seen the Heian Shrine Garden before. The American movie "Lost in Translation” (a movie shot in Japan that received several awards) shows off several of the best-known locations in Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture. In this movie, there’s a scene where the Heian Shrine garden appears, and American actress Scarlett Johansson walks across several of the garyūkyō stepping stones across the Seihō-ike lake.