Chishaku-in is a temple of the Chizan School of Shingon Buddhism. Erected by Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1598 over the site of an earlier temple founded by Hideyoshi, it is most famous for its screens of cherry and maple trees painted by Hasegawa Tohaku. Although the design of the original garden has been attributed to the tea master Sen no Rikyu, most of the garden dates from the 17th century and was designed by Zuio Hakunyo, Chishaku-in's chief priest. It required extensive reconstruction after a fire destroyed the temple in 1947. The garden takes the form of a long narrow pond bordered on the east by a steeply sloping hill. Designed to be viewed from a number of points on the veranda of the shoin, as well as from a small adjacent tea house, the garden evokes a mountain landscape complete with cascade, mountain bridge, and azaleas pruned to simulate rolling hills.

This is the view of the building from across the pond.