Otherwise, the main attractions of Kokawadera are mostly artistic in nature.<\/p>\n
The Hondo is the largest on the route, rebuilt in 1720 by Yoshimune Tokugawa and extra-large because it needed to accommodate the large number of pilgrims as the center of a popular Kannon movement in the 18th<\/sup> century once Yoshimune became shogun. If you pay 300 yen, you can go into the Hondo and walk around behind the zushi where the main image is enshrined; back there you will see many artistic artifacts like the tiger by Hidari Jingoro, and a wooden version of the 16 arhats (seen outside at Rokkaku-do).<\/p>\n![\"This](\"http:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/P8230731.jpg\")
<\/a>Perhaps the most famous is the rock garden in front of the Hondo. Created during the Momoyama era, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an important example of the karesansui (dry arrangement) style of garden sometimes seen at Zen temples. Most Zen gardens, however, are simple in comparison to the busy and contrived nature of Kokawadera\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Teien Garden; using many rock formations and stylized shrubbery in close proximity, the garden at Kokawadera gives a rather baroque impression. The rocks come from all over Japan, and the formations are designed to tell stories from the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Eight Scenic Places of Omi\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00e2\u20ac\u201dplaces of noted scenic beauty around Lake Biwa and other famous gardens like the Katsura palace in Kyoto. The cycad plants are also striking, and are said to be the original ones brought in from Okinawa some 400 years ago.<\/p>\n<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n