Shuonanikkyuji Temple

Shuon-an, better known as Ikkyu-ji, was restored by the famously quick-witted Zen master Ikkyu at the age of 63. Its abbot's garden is a designated place of scenic beauty and the main hall an Important Cultural Property. The garden was made jointly by Shokado Shojo, Sagawada Juroku and Ishikawa Jozan, which earned it the name 'garden of three hands.' It wraps three sides of the hall: the north a Horai garden evoking a dry waterfall, the east suggesting the sixteen arhats at play, the south clipped azaleas against white sand — early Edo Zen dry landscape at its most confident. You can eat shojin vegetarian cuisine here, and the natto pickled by successive head priests makes the local souvenir.