Gion-ji temple

A modern Japanese Zen garden with a square meditation seat set in the centre at the Gion-ji Temple, Mito, Japan. Design by Japanese landscape gardener Shunmyo Masuno. Under the plum tree at left, upright stones represent an audience that includes the Vice-Shogun listening to a priest explaining the meaning of the parable of the carp at the Dragon Gate, seen at right beyond the stone bridge. The pattern of raked gravel is an integral part of the design of dry-stone gardens, and is carefully preserved year after year