JAANUS / houraibune　蓬莱舟

houraibune　蓬莱舟

KEY WORD :　architecture / gardens

Also called a boat stone funa-ishi 舟石 or treasure-boat stone takarabune-ishi 宝舟石. Lit. Penglai boat. A garden stone in the shape of a boat. The houraibune represents a boat that travels to and from Mt. Penglai *Houranisan 蓬莱山 where, according to legend, ships landed to gather secret treasures and the elixir of immortality. Penglai boat stones are often shown in close proximity to stones or planted islands representing Mt. Penglai, *houraiseki 蓬莱石, *hourai gantou 蓬莱岩島. They are usually placed in ponds, but are sometimes used in dry landscape *karesansui 枯山水 gardens such as that at Daitokuji Daisen-in 大徳寺大仙院 in Kyoto. Stones chosen as houraibune usually have the distinctively curved shape of old ships: they are flat in the middle, sharply upturned at the front, and upturned less dramatically at the rear. Ships on their way to Penglai are represented with thicker stones suggesting empty boats riding high in the water; boats coming back are represented with thinner stones suggesting they are weighed down with goods. In older gardens most of the houraibune stones are thick and thus show outgoing boats, while Edo period gardens usually show thinner returning ships. Good examples of houranibune in pond gardens can be seen in the gardens at Toukouji 東光寺 in Yamanashi prefecture, Joueiji 常栄寺 in Yamaguchi prefecture, Senshuukaku 千秋閣 in Tokushima prefecture, and Rengeji 蓮華寺 in Kyoto.

Toukouji 東光寺 (Yamanashi)

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