Architecture & Gardens - Kyoto - page 388

tion. Ryōan-ji ( CLICK HERE ) is perhaps the most famous example of this type of garden. Al-
though various interpretations of the garden have been put forth (the rocks 'represent a ti-
ger and her cubs', for example), the garden's ultimate meaning, like that of Zen itself, can-
not be expressed in words.
Kaiyū
Lastly, the kaiyū, or varied pleasures garden, features many small gardens with one or
more tea houses surrounding a central pond. Like the stroll garden, it is meant to be ex-
plored on foot and provides the viewer with a variety of changing scenes, many with liter-
ary allusions. The imperial villa of Katsura Rikyū ( CLICK HERE ) is the classic example of
this type of garden.