traditional Chinese Song-Dynasty Temples; the upper floors of the Golden Pavilion were covered with gold leaf, and they were surrounded by traditional water gardens. The most notable garden style invented in this period was the Zen garden, dry garden, or Japanese rock garden. One of the finest examples, and one of the best-known of all Japanese gardens is Ryōan-ji in Kyoto. This garden is just wide and long, composed of white sand carefully raked to suggest water, and fifteen rocks carefully arranged, like small islands. It is meant to be seen from a seated position on the porch of the residence the abbot of the monastery. There have been many debates about what the rocks are supposed to represent, but, as garden historian Gunter Nitschke wrote, "The garden at Ryōan-ji does not symbolize. It does not have the value of representing any natural beauty that can be found in the world, real or mythical. I consider it as an abstract composition of "natural" objects in space, a composition whose function is to incite mediation." Several of the famous Zen gardens of Kyoto were the work of one man, Musō Soseki (1275–1351). He was a monk, a ninth-generation descendant of the Emperor Uda and a formidable court politician, writer and organizer, who armed and financed ships to open trade with China, and founded an organization called the Five Mountains, made up of the most powerful Zen monasteries in Kyoto. He was responsible for the building of the zen gardens of Nanzen-ji, Saihō-ji (the Moss Garden), and Tenryū-ji. Notable gardens of the Kamakura and Muromachi periods include: Kinkaku-ji (the Golden Pavilion) Ginkaku-ji (the Silver Pavilion) Nanzen-ji Saihō-ji (the Moss Garden) Tenryū-ji Daisen-in Momoyama period (1568–1600) The Momoyama period was short, just 32 years, and was largely occupied with the wars between the , the leaders of the feudal Japanese clans. The new centers of power and culture in Japan were the fortified castles of the , around which new cities and gardens appeared. The characteristic garden of the period featured one or more ponds or lakes next to the main residence, or , not far from the castle. These gardens were meant to be seen from above, from the castle or residence. The had developed the skills of cutting and lifting large rocks to build their castles, and they had armies of soldiers to move them. The artificial lakes were surrounded by