Shisendo Enters the 21st Century

Yes! It finally happened. Shisendo has launched an official website and does it ever look good. No longer will Internet users need to rely on unofficial sites like mine to get information about Shisendo and Ishikawa Jozan. I hope they still visit of course, but there's nothing like the real thing now is there?

The opening English page looks slick, with four photos showing Shisendo at its best with the red maples in autumn and the azaleas blooming in May. The about us page features a nice selection of photos along with a brief biography of Jozan and a description of Shisendo.

The promenade is the most interesting English page by far, featuring a basic blueprint of the grounds, along with a gallery that presents 33 labelled photographs and plenty of room for more.

The most curious element is the links page. No, not because it doesn't feature a link to my page (what would a lowly peon like me expect anyway?), but because the links don't lead to any supplementary material directly related to Ishikawa Jozan or Shisendo. Sure, Shisendo is now run by a Soto Zen temple, but does that really justify four links about Zen Buddhism? When I followed the link to the Kyoto National Museum then searched their website for "Shisendo" and "Ishikawa Jozan" in English and "詩仙堂" and "石川丈山" in Japanese, it returned no results, so what purpose does the link serve?

I found the page load times slow at first, but once the photos were cached, it was easy to navigate. The only thing missing now is up to date information on hours, opening times, admission fees, and directions. While you can still find them here in English or from them in Japanese, I would appreciate having the best available information on the official website.

Finally, there is a Japanese section with more information than you'll find on the English half, such as a useful chronology. Even if you can't read much Japanese, you're just a cut and paste away from translating it at a site like rikai.com. If all else fails, there's always Google translate.

Travis Belrose is the author of The Samurai Poet, a work of historical fiction based on the life of Ishikawa Jozan. Learn more here.