Konchi-in Temple

This guide to Konchi-in Temple in Kyoto opens with a garden built in 1632 for a guest who never came: Kobori Enshu's raked gravel and crane-and-turtle stones, arranged toward a hidden shrine screened by trees. It traces the shrine's purpose, honoring Tokugawa Ieyasu, the shogun who unified Japan, and Ishin Suden, the powerful abbot behind the design commissioned for the shogun's grandson. Look for the flat worship stone at the garden's center, angled toward the trees.