Genko-an
Zen temple famed for two garden windows, round and square, each framing enlightenment or confusion.
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About this audio guide
This guide to Genko-an in Kyoto starts with two garden windows, one round and one square, that Zen monks have used for centuries to test how you see the same small garden. It then leads you beneath a dark, stained ceiling built from floorboards taken from Fushimi Castle, and tells of Torii Mototada, a samurai who held that castle in 1600 against overwhelming odds to buy his lord time elsewhere. Look up as you listen: the boards still show the outline of hands, feet and armor.
This audio guide was created using AI.
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