Five Seasons of Scenic Beauty Chapter 2

Green Moss

It was about 15 years ago that I had the opportunity to photograph the garden of Saihoji for the first time, and I can still recall the scene clearly. It was in the middle of the rainy season in June, and I was there for about two hours in the morning.

At dawn that day, I awoke to the sound of heavy rain. Under a gloomy sky, I drove my car toward western Kyoto. By the time I arrived at the Shumyo Gate of Saihoji, the rain had eased, and I stepped into the garden feeling as if I was heading to another world. The moss garden that appeared in front of me at that moment seemed to ooze water even when I just touched it with my fingers, and I still vividly remember the fresh color of the moss.

In recent years, I have had many opportunities to visit the garden throughout the five seasons (spring, rainy season, summer, fall and winter) for the publication of a book of my photographs (“SAIHOJI SHIN JYUKKYO”), and I have realized the wonder of life in the form of moss many times. Moss is said to be the first plant that was able to live on land 470 million years ago, long before the birth of our ancestors, apes, about 7 million years ago. It absorbs water not from its roots but from its entire body, and survives through photosynthesis.

The garden of Saihoji created by Muso Kokushi (a high priest and master gardener) in the 14th century, began to be covered with moss about 300 years ago (during the Edo period) after being devastated by natural disasters and wars. Since then, the garden has not resisted nature, and as a result of helping the mosses grow by sweeping over them with a bamboo broom to remove dead leaves, the entire garden is covered with more than 120 varieties of moss, preserving the beautiful wabi-sabi atmosphere.

Reference: “Listening to the Moss” written by Yoshitaka Oishi (Saihokai Association)

Nakata Akira

Born 1951 in Kyoto.
A  member of the Japan Professional Photographers Society (J.P.S). He is a famous photographer of landscapes, gardens and festivals on the theme of “Kyoto culture”, and has published several books.
His main publications are
“SAIHOJI SHIN JYUKKYO” (Saihokai Association),
“Going through the Tale of Genji”, “Kyoto's Festival Calendar” (Shogakukan),
“KYOTO IMPERIAL PALACE, OMIYA / SENTO IMPERIAL PALACE”,
“KATSURA IMPERIAL VILLA / SHUGAKUIN IMPERIAL VILLA”,
“Kyoto Gion Festival”,
“Kyo Shun Kan” (Kyoto Shimbun Publishing Center),“Japanese Gardens: Kyoto” (PIE INTERNATIONAL), and more

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