When you step into the grounds of Akishino-dera temple in Nara, the first thing that catches your eye is the stone pavement underfoot. Tiny patches of green that began in the cracks between the stones have slowly crept across roots and corners until, without anyone noticing, they cover the garden in a quiet carpet of moss.

Get down close and you see each individual plant is no thicker than a thread. Yet thousands upon thousands of them have layered together to make the soft, green expanse you see today. No one can say how many years that took.