Ryoan-ji

Rank: Top 1000

Wonder Type: Cultural

Country: Japan

Best of: Garden, Rock Art, Temple, Buddhism

Ryoan-ji (The Temple of the Dragon at Peace) is a Zen temple located in northwest Kyoto, Japan. It belongs to the Myoshin-ji school of the Rinzai branch of Zen Buddhism. The Ryoan-ji garden is considered one of the finest surviving examples of kare-sansui ("dry landscape"), a refined type of Japanese Zen temple garden design generally featuring distinctive larger rock formations arranged amidst a sweep of smooth pebbles (small, carefully selected polished river rocks) raked into linear patterns that facilitate meditation. [More Details]