Fudarakusan Kannon-in Temple

This Tendai Buddhist temple is said to have been founded in Kan’ei 9 (1632), when Ikeda Mitsunaka, the lord of the Tottori Domain at the time, was transferred to the area. Its main attraction is Kannon-in Garden, which is designated a National Place of Scenic Beauty. Believed to have taken approximately 10 years to complete beginning in Keian 3 (1650), it is considered an outstanding example of an early Edo-period pond garden designed for viewing.

One of the garden’s key features is that it was designed to be viewed from the shoin reception hall. It skillfully incorporates the natural slope and uses the surrounding landscape as borrowed scenery, making the garden appear to extend toward the distant mountains. In the large pond in front of the shoin, the shapes of the islands and stone arrangements symbolically depict Turtle Island and Crane Island, both representing wishes for longevity. The garden also features stone arrangements representing a waterfall’s source and cascades, with the suggestion of flowing water creating a mountain-and-water landscape.

Sitting in the shoin’s tatami room and gazing out over the garden while leisurely enjoying matcha and a sweet offers a refreshing escape from everyday life. The garden takes on a different character with each season: delicate cherry blossoms in spring, lush lawns and trees in summer, vivid foliage adding depth to the scenery in fall, and a quiet, almost monochrome landscape in winter.