Kyoto Garden of Fine Art

A must-see in Kyoto for modern architecture fans! The place was designed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando. The garden displays reproductions of famous masterpieces on ceramic tiles: “The Last Judgement” by Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper”, Renoir's “Two Sisters” and other. I visited it on a grey day, and I imagine that the blue skies would change the experience considerably, but I liked it as it was.

Calling this place a garden is a wee bit misleading. My mental image of a garden is a place filled with vegetation, but here you will find only water plants growing on the cascade wall and a view of the trees from the adjacent Botanical Gardens, which, I guess, falls under the Japanese concept of shakkei 借景, or "borrowed scenery" (making use of the surrounding landscape as a part of the design of a garden). Also, the sounds of water add to the experience an interesting dimension.

kyoto-toban-hp.or.jp (Japanese only)