Manshu-in (曼殊院) is a Buddhist temple located near the Shugakuin Imperial Villa, Sakyō-ku, in northeast Kyoto, Japan. Manshu-in was founded by Dengyō Daishi (伝教大師) in the 8th century.
The “Karesansui Gardens” of Manshu-in are a nationally designated Place of Scenic Beauty. Karesansui (枯山水) is a Garden with a waterless pond and this one is constructed in the Enshū style (遠州好み).
The brochure states the following: “ There is a waterfall rock at the vital spot of the garden, from which a stream of white sand flows out, spreading onto both sides of the rock in front of the waterless waterfall. There are two islets, “Crane” and “Tortoise”. Upon the former is a Japanese white pine (Pinus pentaphylla) shaped in the form of a crane. This tree is 400 years old and below the pine tree is a stone lantern popularly called “Christian doro or Kurusu doro or Manshuin doro”. The other islets has a pine tree in the shape of a tortoise”.
