- Karesansui and Cemetery -

There is a phrase, “Heizei Goujo” in Buddhism in Japan.

It's concept by Shinran, who says that the work of rebirth will be completed in normal life. Life is the present moment in which we are alive, the rising and setting of the sun, the turning red of the leaves and the falling of the leaves. Myohoji Temple of the Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji sect, which has been in Kure City, Hiroshima Prefecture for 400 years. In the “Karesansui” garden in the precincts, we built a joint grave that can be visited on a daily basis. “The grave is not for the deceased, but for those left behind.” These are the words, the chief priest of Myohouji Temple. Therefore, it was decided to build a roof on a dry landscape garden as a grave for those who were left behind to feel normal life and obtain a Buddhist connection. The roof structure is a three-dimensional interlocking joint that can resist disturbances with only a lattice grid without unnecessary diagonal members, creating various gaps and shadows in the three-dimensional lattice. The bones gathered here were not suddenly buried in the ground, but were temporarily enshrined in the shadow (gap) of the structure. The curved roof, which is reminiscent of the history of Kure shipbuilding, echoes with the roofscape of the precincts, and changes its appearance as you walk around the garden and its expression as time passes. A roof that shines in the morning sun and is dyed in the evening. Maple dyed red and falling. Every phenomenon in this garden accepts various thoughts that people remember there. This roof is not a place to bury ashes, but a symbol that can be visited on a daily basis to remember the deceased, and this garden is a place for visitors to get a new connection to the Buddha. I hope that the small universe of Karesansui will become a new form of grave.