Rock gardens were often built alongside hojo buildings (the head priest's former living quarters,) but the gardens at Tofukuji's Hojo are unique for surrounding the building on all sides. Each garden has a different character, employing pebbles, large rocks, moss, trees and checkered patterns. The Hojo was most recently reconstructed in 1890 while the gardens are relatively modern creations dating from the late 1930s.
This garden in the front of Hojo is the most contrived work among the four gardens and is composed of four rock-composites symbolizing Elysian islands - from the east to the west named "Eiju, Horai, Koryo, and Hojo" - placed on the sand garden-floor "Hakkai" (meaning the eight rough seas) and five moss-covered sacred mountains at the right corner, the west side.