10/30/2026
I recently visited Eikan-do in Kyoto. I’ve always felt a gentle sense of contradiction when seeing such magnificent ponds at Buddhist temples—after all, constructing a pond has historically been an enormously expensive undertaking.
While there are no surviving records detailing exactly when the pond was built, my theory is rooted in the site's history: it was originally the country villa of the aristocrat Fujiwara no Sekio. In 853, the monk Shinshō Sōzu purchased the estate. Wealthy aristocrats of that era viewed gardens as places of recreation and pleasure, where grand pond features were central.
A similar pattern can be seen at Tenryu-ji, a famous Zen temple in Kyoto with an extraordinary pond garden. It, too, was originally built as a powerful ruler's private villa before being converted into a temple. The reason behind its pond is likely much the same as Eikan-do's.
