Summary

Chapter XXIII, describes how the monastery occupies the “four great prescriptions” for where to locate a it: “that it be protected by a mountain to the north, a lake to the south, paths to the west, and a river to the east” (48). The narration returns to the construction of the monastery and the decades that passed in the process of selecting the correct location with correct trees to be used in the construction. The miya daiku spent years living with the hinoki cypress trees, observing them. Many involved in the planning of the monastery were baffled by how long it was taking. The miya daiku told them: “it had to be this way, and the reason why was it could not be otherwise” (49). Eventually he announced it was time to fell the trees. When construction began, specific trees were used for specific...