Our spirit of craftmanship faceing the construction of Aizen-do

The landscape created by Ito Zouen: The design and intent of the garden surrounding Aizen-doCongratulations on the completion of Aizen-do. We at Ito Zouen Co., Ltd. are honored to be entrusted with the upkeep and maintenance of the Hattasan Sonei-ji's grounds.We were very honored to be chosen to create the gardens around the Aizen-do, and at the same time, we were filled with a tremendous sense of responsibility and a sense of the importance of our task.In order to plan the gardens around the Aizen-do, we spent many days racking our brains, looking back on our past experience, re-reading related materials on gardens, tea rooms, and roji (paths through a garden), and visiting the Yumedono at Horyu-ji to see the real thing, which would serve as a reference for the design of the garden construction.

We were able to celebrate the completion of the construction without problems, thanks to the help of the gardeners and craftsmen we have a relationship with.As we progressed with the work, I reflected on the fact thatit is not possible to carry out the work successfully based on the thoughts and ideas of a single person.We thought it was important to take into account the thoughts and ideas of the chief priest of Hattasan Sonei-ji, as the client, toward the construction of their Aizen-do. We also thought that by imagining what the people who visit the temple will think and feel when they see the completed Aizen-do, we could use this in the garden construction.

With the construction of the Aizen-do, we set the image color of the Tenkyū-Aizen-Myō-ō, the principal image of the Buddha of Aizen-do, as Red and Pink. Becuase the deity has strong power of love. Then we started to develop the area around the hall with the aim of making it a place where many worshippers visit and people love, and a precinct full of dreams and hopes, thoughts about the construction of the temple, and light, and brightening the current social situation. First, we set the concept of a garden where you can feel the four seasons, and

March - April: Gardens in full bloom with a variety of flowers, including Japanese apricot and cherry blossomsMay - August: May - August: Gardens with vivid scenery of moss phlox and fresh green foliageSeptember to November: The garden is bright with the autumn colors of maple and ginkgo leaves.

The trees were arranged to match the scenery of the Hattasan Sonei-ji temple grounds, and the surrounding mountains were used as borrowed scenery, with the planting planned and constructed to blend in with the garden and nature. As the back of the main hall is surrounded by a hillside, we used a variety of garden stones of different sizes and origins, and created a natural-looking stone wall using both technical and artistic Japanese garden techniques, while also taking safety into consideration. We planted cherry blossoms and maple trees in the upper part of the garden, and arranged them so that they would harmonize with the mountains in the background.

Many maple trees have been transplanted from various parts of the temple grounds to the slopes of the mountain, and during the season for autumn leaves, the red of the maple leaves will be particularly vivid.There are moss phlox planted on both sides of the front stairs, and in the southwest corner there are red and white weeping Japanese apricots, so I think they will add a brilliant touch to the arrival of spring.As part of landscaping the Aizen-do area, we have tried using old roof tiles as a new technique within the precincts of the temple. The use of old roof tiles has long been used in gardens and around tea rooms. In recent years, the use of roof tiles has decreased, so we tried using tiles of various shapes for the purpose of reusing them and creating an atmosphere of traditional Japan. We also spent a lot of time on the fence, considering safety and the appearance of the area, we made kinkakuji-gaki（金閣寺垣） using madake bamboo from the temple grounds, modifying shape of some parts to create a shape that has a sense of profundity.

The area around the storage and rest area, which looks like a tea ceremony room, was landscaped using the techniques of roji and tsuboniwawe have carried out planting and maintenance work to create a sense of peace and calm. Originally, this area was home to a variety of cherry trees and other trees, but as the temple was built, some of the trees had to be cut down and some were transplanted. For this reason, we are planning and carrying out a project to increase the number of trees of the same varieties that were here before, as well as introducing new varieties, with the aim of restoring the area to its former beauty in the future.

I hope that the people who visit Hattasan Sonei-ji will find peace of mind in the fusion of Aizen-do and the surrounding trees, and that they will be able to temporarily leave their daily lives behind and play a role in passing on to future generations the Aizen-do and Tenkyū-Aizen-Myō-ō, which are the compilations of wonderful traditional techniques.In the world of landscaping, which is our line of work, we carry out planting and maintenance work, but there is no such thing as “completion” in this work, and we approach our daily tasks as beginnings.We feel truly honored to have been involved in the memorable work associated with the construction of Aizen-do, including the planting work this time. We believe that we were able to accomplish our work thanks to the cooperation of many craftsmen and other people involved, as well as the cheif preist and staffs of Hattasan Sonei-ji.

We would like to continue to work hard, including day-to-day maintenance, so that we can grow together with the future growth of all the trees in the precincts, and so that Hattasan Sonei-ji can continue to be a place that heals people's hearts.Thank you very much for allowing us to be involved in the construction of Aizen-do. We will continue to strive to be involved in the maintenance and management of Hattasan Sonei-ji, even though we are still inexperienced.

Ito Zouen Co., Ltd.