 Japanese
garden (日本庭園, nihon teien) - Gardens in
traditional Japanese style, can be found at private homes,
in neighborhood or city parks, and at historical landmarks
such as Buddhist temples and old castles.
Some of the Japanese gardens most famous in the West, and
within Japan as well, are dry gardens or rock gardens,
karesansui. The tradition of the Tea masters has produced
highly refined Japanese gardens of quite another style,
evoking rural simplicity. In Japanese culture, garden-making
is a high art, intimately related to the linked arts of
calligraphy and ink painting. Since the end of the 19th
century, Japanese gardens have also been adapted to Western
settings.
Of great interest for the historical development of the
Japanese garden, bonseki, bonsai and related arts is the c.
1300 Zen monk Kokan Shiren and his rhymeprose essay
Rhymeprose on a Miniature Landscape Garden.
The tradition of Japanese gardening was historically passed
down from sensei to apprentice. In recent decades this has
been supplemented by various trade schools known as senmon
gakkoh. The opening words of Zōen's Illustrations for
designing mountain, water and hillside field landscapes
(1466) are "If you have not received the oral transmissions,
you must not make gardens" and its closing admonition is
"You must never show this writing to outsiders. You must
keep it secret".
A catalogue of features "typical" of the Japanese garden may
be drawn up without inquiring deeply into the aesthetic
underlying Japanese practice. Typical Japanese gardens have
at their center a home from which the garden is viewed. In
addition to residential architecture, Japanese gardens often
contain several of these elements:
Water, real or symbolic.
Rocks.
A lantern, typically of stone.
A teahouse or pavilion.
A enclosure device such as a hedge, fence, or wall of
traditional character.
A bridge to the island, or stepping stones.
Japanese gardens might fall into one of these styles:
Kanshoh-style gardens which are viewed from a residence.
Pond gardens, for viewing from a boat.
Tea gardens, for viewing from a path which leads to a tea
ceremony hut.
Strolling gardens (kaiyū-shiki), for viewing a sequence of
effects from a path which circumnavigates the garden. The
17th-century Katsura garden in Kyoto is a famous exemplar.
The dry landscape style known as karesansui. These have no
water and few plants, but typically evoke a feeling of water
using pebbles and meticulously raked gravel or sand. Rocks
chosen for their intriguing shapes and patterns, mosses, and
low shrubs typify the karesansui style. The gardens at
Ryōan-ji, a temple in Kyoto, and Daisen-in, created in 1513,
are particularly renowned.
Other gardens also use similar rocks for decoration, some of
which come from distant parts of Japan. In addition, bamboos
and related plants, evergreens including Japanese black
pine, and such deciduous trees as maples grow above a carpet
of ferns and mosses.
 Though
often thought of as tranquil sanctuaries that allow
individuals to escape from the stresses of daily life,
Japanese gardens are designed for a variety of purposes.
Some gardens invite quiet contemplation, but may have also
been intended for recreation, the display of rare plant
specimens, or the exhibition of unusual rocks.
Kaiyu-shiki or Strolling Gardens require the observer to
walk through the garden to fully appreciate it. A
premeditated path takes observers through each unique area
of a Japanese garden. Uneven surfaces are placed in specific
spaces to prompt people to look down at particular points.
When the observer looks up, they will see an eye-catching
ornamentation which is intended to enlighten and revive the
spirit of the observer. This type of design is known as the
Japanese landscape principle of "hide and reveal".
Stones are used to construct the garden's paths, bridges,
and walkways. Stones can also represent a geological
presence where actual mountains are not viewable or present.
They are sometimes placed in odd numbers and a majority of
the groupings reflect triangular shapes, which often are the
mountains of China.
A water source in a Japanese garden should appear to be part
of the natural surroundings; this is why one will not find
fountains in traditional gardens. Man-made streams are built
with curves and irregularities to create a serene and
natural appearance. Lanterns are often placed beside some of
the most prominent water basins (either a pond or a stream)
in a garden. In some gardens one will find a dry pond or
stream. Dry ponds and streams have as much impact as do the
ones filled with water.
Green plants are another element of Japanese gardens.
Japanese traditions prefer subtle green tones, but flowering
trees and shrubs are also used. Many plants in imitated
Japanese gardens of the West are indigenous to Japan, though
some sacrifices must be made to account for the
differentiating climates. Some plants, such as sugar maple
and firebush, give the garden a broader palette of seasonal
color.
Information source: “Japanese garden.” wikipedia.org.
Article date: 4 Feb. 2008. Retrieved: Wikipedia. 12 Feb.
2008 <Japanese garden>.
Video - The following is of a Japanese
Garden on the Noto Peninsula of Japan. |
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