Location Sakyō-ku, Kyoto Completed 1641 Phone +81 75-781-2954 Affiliation Sōtō | Country Japan Opened 1641 Founder Ishikawa Jōzan | |
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Address Japan, 〒606-8154 Kyoto Prefecture, Kyoto, Sakyo Ward, Ichijoji Monguchicho, 27番地 Similar Manshu‑in, Enkō‑ji, Konpuku‑ji, Ichijōji Station, Shugakuin Imperial Villa | ||
shisen d temple in autumn kyoto 2013 11
Shisen-dō (詩仙堂) is a Buddhist temple of the Sōtō Zen sect in Sakyō-ku, Kyoto, Japan. It is registered as a historic site of Japan. It stands on the grounds of its founder, the Edo period intellectual Ishikawa Jōzan (1583–1672), who established the temple in 1641.
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A room in the main temple displays portraits of thirty-six Chinese poets. The selection of the poets was based on the opinion of Hayashi Razan. The portraits were executed by Kanō Tan'yū. This and some other parts of the building date to the time of Ishikawa Jōzan.
The temple's gardens are considered masterworks of Japanese gardens. One of them includes a device called a sōzu, a type of shishi-odoshi designed to scare away wild animals such as deer by making a loud noise. Water trickles into a bamboo tube, and when it reaches a certain level, it upsets the balance of the tube. The tube tips over on a pivot, discharging the water, and turns upright, striking a rock and emitting a loud clapping noise. This link plays a recording of the sōzu at Shisen-dō.