Kinkaku-ji (金閣寺, Temple of the Golden Pavilion) in Kyōto, Japan includes much more than the Golden Pavilion itself. The grounds include shrines and gardens, including one very impressive Japanese white pine (Pinus parviflora ‘Glauca’) that began life as a bonsai and is now an impressive tree sculpted in the shape of a ship. Held up by scaffolding, this 600-year-old tree, called Rikushū-no-matsu (陸舟の松, pine land boat) no longer really evokes the image of a ship, but the observer can still see an upright portion resembling the ship’s mast, and a more horizontal portion resembling the ship’s deck.
SOURCE: Rikushū-no-matsu (陸舟の松) Pine Land Boat – 1 (Kyōto, Kyōto Prefecture, Honshu, Japan); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 25 April 2019.
SOURCE: Rikushū-no-matsu (陸舟の松) Pine Land Boat – 2 (Kyōto, Kyōto Prefecture, Honshu, Japan); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 25 April 2019.
SOURCE: Kinkaku-ji Stairs (Kyōto, Kyōto Prefecture, Honshu, Japan); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 25 April 2019.
SOURCE: White Snake Pagoda at Kinkaku-ji (Kyōto, Kyōto Prefecture, Honshu, Japan); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 25 April 2019.
SOURCE: Kinkaku-ji Woods (Kyōto, Kyōto Prefecture, Honshu, Japan); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 25 April 2019.
SOURCE: Kinkaku-ji Shrine (Kyōto, Kyōto Prefecture, Honshu, Japan); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 25 April 2019.
SOURCE: Kinkaku-ji Spring (Kyōto, Kyōto Prefecture, Honshu, Japan); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 25 April 2019.
Copyright © 2019 by Stephen J. Danko
