Inside the extended grounds of the Zen temple Myōshinji is the sub-temple Taizō-in, which has one of the loveliest gardens in Kyoto. In Hidden Buddhas, this is the place where Koji realizes he is falling in love with Nora. I really should have done something with the catch-a-catfish-with-a-gourd metaphor, which of course refers to something which is so difficult as to be essentially impossible...

Myōshinji main gate

welcoming cat

landscape

spring

winter

catfish/gourd rooftile

inside compound

garden entrance

raked pebble stream

summer

catfish/gourd painting by Jōsetsu

tea and cake

Taizō-in

sub-temple

dry stream garden

verandah

autumn

painting