Learn the Art of Karesansui Dry-Garden Raking from a Kyoto Master

Hogan: a Sanctuary by the Creators of Kyoto’s Most Iconic Temple Gardens

Japanese temples and shrines are known for their majestic gardens. As ethereal as these spaces feel, it takes specialized professionals to plan, create, and maintain them. Sone Zoen is an exemplar of this important field, behind gardens throughout Japan – including the nearby UNESCO World Heritage site of Tenryu-ji and Tofuku-ji in the famed Higashiyama area.

Hogan is a renovated traditional Japanese house built approximately 45 years ago

Karesansui is one of the distinctive traditional garden styles of Japan, characterized by eschewing water features in favor of evoking vast landscape images of mountains, rivers, and the sea using sand, moss, and stones. It is also a visualization of Zen Buddhist philosophy, with its emphasis on the Japanese concept of ma, equivalent to “negative space” in Western aesthetic traditions. The blank voids created by this concept give focal points in the overall landscape room to breathe, as well as conveying a sense of freedom and ease to the viewer.

Raked sand representing flowing water and waves

The venue, called “Hogan” (a somewhat esoteric kanji construction translating to something like “The Sanctuary of Release from the Ego”), was originally built by Sone Zoen as a training ground for its gardeners, but it is now open to the public to experience this special Japanese Zen training for themselves. Considered an exercise for purifying the mind and finding stillness, sand raking is akin to meditation, ritual cleaning, or other Buddhist austerities. In this rare opportunity, you can experience using it to create a karesansui garden for yourself at a dedicated facility.

Learning the Zen Philosophy of Sand Raking from a Master

A master gardener active in the maintenance of an iconic Kyoto garden will be your instructor for this experience – such as Noriyuki Takao, who has overseen the garden of the priestly living quarters at Tofuku-ji Temple for over 35 years. The experience begins with an expert talk about these gardens.

Takao has worked as a garden landscaper for close to half a century

The placement of anchoring stones is a crucial element of the iconic art of karesansui dry gardening, outlining the shape of the garden with a sense of permanence and stability. The vegetation planted in harmony with these stones evokes the ever-changing seasons and the cycle of life. “Nothing in a Zen garden has intrinsic stand-alone meaning,” says Takao. “Meaning arises from interaction, transformation, and the emergence of a larger whole.”

The harmony of a karensansui garden’s stones, plants, and raked sand

Understanding the symbolism of a garden heightens the pleasure of contemplating it. Says Takao, “It’s my belief that a garden is only really complete once it is observed and appreciated. And usually that’s all you do when you visit a garden. But there is a whole other dimension of enjoyment in raking garden sand designs yourself, and I’d like to share that with people.”

Takao’s cordial aura is as calming as the garden itself

Mind and Body Preparations for Sand Raking

Samonbiki (literally “sand pattern drawing”) is a technique for creating patterns in sand and pebbles that evoke flowing water. It is used not only to maintain the garden, but as a form of spiritual discipline for monks. As such, a tranquil heart is paramount to the art. Before you begin, your instructor will lead you on an exercise to focus your spirit. Tranquil breathing, release of tension, and the refreshing of brain and mind come all the more easily while admiring the garden’s beauty.

Staff-led breathing exercises guide you into a state of relaxed focus

After the mental preparation comes the physical. Don a happi coat, tabi shoes, and a tenugui head towel as your initiation – literally stepping into the shoes of a temple gardener. Tightening your head-wrap, you’ll feel a lively strengthening of your body and mind. As a souvenir when it’s all done, take home the traditional socks you wore under your tabi shoes as a keepsake.

A happi coat and tenugui head wrap add to the experience of being a temple gardener

Sand Raking for Letting Go and Finding Clarity and Focus

Draw the patterns in sand using specialized rakes designed for this purpose. Your instructor will demonstrate first, in a rare opportunity to see master-level technique up close. It’s vital to maintain a firm grip and draw the rake through the sand with your whole body, not just your arms. Alternately pulling with your legs in a steady rhythm is another technique.

A master garden landscaper offers attentive instruction in the art of raking sand

Using your instructor’s lines as a guide, draw your own with care to apply equal pressure to the left and right sides of your rake. Takao says this is all about “concentrating with a clear mind.” Listen to the sound of the sand and feel the heft of the rake as you let the straight line emerge naturally. Those who get the hang of this might like to move onto a more challenging pattern, such as a whirlpool. This experience is revelatory, apt to make you appreciate sand gardens with eyes anew: what once appeared to be unremarkable patterns now reveal themselves as stunning works of art.

In the depths of serene focus, the sound of scraping sand soothes the spirit

In the event of rain, move indoors to create a miniature karesansui dry garden in a purpose-built diorama. With a view overlooking the full-size garden before you, arrange stones, vegetation, and moss to your liking on a sand base before completing it with the same line patterns using a miniature rake.

On a rainy day, create a freeform karesansui garden in miniature

Discover Yourself Gazing Back at You in the Serenity of the Garden

After the sand-raking, enjoy a relaxing tea time with matcha and sweets including seasonal wagashi from a Kyoto specialty shop. Evanescent as the moment is, sipping tea while gazing at the patterns in the sand can be a profound and even transcendent experience. Enjoy the chance to chat with your gardening instructor, sharing your thoughts and asking whatever questions come to mind.

Matcha and Hogan staff-favorite wagashi confections

In the silence of the garden, the sliding scrape of sand becomes all. In focus on its every movement, you find yourself face-to-face with your own psyche. After this period of serene contemplative quiet, you might just discover a new presence to the garden stones, a vivacity to its foliage, and a sharpening of your own senses. Pay Hogan a visit and discover the surprising self-revelations of Zen training in this inspiring garden atmosphere.