"I can imagine a garden superimposed over the image of an orchestra.
A garden is composed of various different elements and sophisticated details that converge to form a harmonious whole.
Each element does not exert its individuality, but achieves a state of anonymity...and that is the kind of music that I would like to create."
T. Takemitsu
Gardens of the Shinden-Zukuri
Style In addition to trees and shrubs, the Japanese garden
makes artistic use of rocks, sand, artificial hills, ponds,
and flowing water.In contrast to the geometrically arranged
trees and rocks of a Western-stvle garden, the Japanese
garden traditionally creates a scenic composition that, as
artlessly as possible, mimics nature. Garden designers followed 3 basic principles when
composing scenes. They are reduced scale, symbolisation, and
"borrowed views". The first refers to the miniaturisation of
natural views of mountains and rivers so as to reunite them
in a confined area. This could mean the creation of
idealised scenes of a mountain village, even within a city.
Symbolisation involves abstraction, an example being the use
of white sand to suggest the sea. Designers "borrowed views"
when they used background views that were outside and beyond
the garden, such as a mountain or the ocean, and had them
become an integral part of the scenic composition. The basic framework of the Japanese garden, according to
one school of thought, is provided by rocks and the way they
are grouped. Ancient Japanese, we know, believed that a
place surrounded by rocks was inhabited by gods, thus naming
it amatsu iwasaka (heavenly barrier) or amatsu iwakura
(heavenly seat). Likewise, a dense cluster of trees was
called himorogi (divine hedge); moats and streams, thought
to enclose sacred ground, were referred to as mizugaki
(water fences). Japanese gardens can be classified into 2 general types:
the tsukiyama (hill garden), which is composed of hills and
ponds, and the hiraniwa l (flat garden), a flat area without
hills and ponds. At first, it was common to employ the hill
style for the main garden or a mansion and the flat style
for limited spaces. The latter type, however, became more
popular with the introduction of the tea ceremony and the
chashitsu (tea-ceremony room). The earliest known gardens date back to the Asuka period
(593-710) and the Nara period (710-794). In the Yamato area
(now in Nara Prefecture), designers of imperial family
gardens and those of powerful clans created imitations of
ocean scenes that featured large ponds dotted with islands
and skirted with "seashores". It was at this time that
Buddhism was brought to Japan from the continent by way of
the Korean peninsula. Immigrants from there added
continental influences to Japanese gardens, such as stone
fountains and bridges of Chinese origin. The capital of the Japanese state was moved from Nara to
Kyoto in 794, and with this the Heian period (794-1185)
began. As the noble family of Fujiwara consolidated its grip
on power, an aristocratic, natively inspired art and culture
developed. These aristocrats lived in luxurious mansions
built in the shinden-zukuri style. The gardens of this age
were also magnificent. Several rivers came together in Kyoto and channels were
dug to let water flow through various parts of the city.
Summers in Kyoto are hot and humid, so people fashioned
ponds and waterfalls in order to bring a sense of coolness.
Streams called yarimizu were made to flow between buildings
and through the gardens of mansions. In this funa asobi
(pleasure boat) style, the often oval-shaped ponds were
large enough to allow boating; and fishing was made
convenient by putting up fishing pavilions that projected
out over the water and were connected by covered corridors
to the mansion's other structures. Between the main
buildings and the pod was an extensive area covered with
white sand, a picturesque site for the holding of formal
ceremonies. Another style of garden, the shuyu (stroll) style, had a
path that allowed strollers to proceed from one vantage
point to another, enjoying a different view from each one.
Such gardens were frequently found in temples and grand
houses in the Heian. The garden of the Saihoji Temple in
Kyoto, laid out by the priest Muso Soseki in the Muromachi
period, is well known as a typical "stroll" garden. It is
designed o give the impression that the pond blends
naturally with the mountain in the background. In the tenth century Japan's aristocracy became
increasingly devout in its practice of Buddhism. As faith in
the concept of a paradise known as Joudo (Pure Land) spread,
the garden came to be modelled on images of Juodo as
described in scripture and religious tracts. It represented
a crystallisation of some extremely ancient Japanese garden
motifs. In this type of garden, the focal point is the pond,
with an arched bridge reaching to a central island. The
garden of the Byodoin, a temple at Uji (near Kyoto), is a
good example of the juodo-style garden. This temple was
originally the country home of a powerful man of the time,
Fujiwara no Michinaga. Because elite members of society took
great interest in gardens they are the subject of numerous
excellent critical works, the oldest being Sakuteiki
(Treatise on Garden Making), by Tachibana no Toshitsuna
(1028-1094).
Characteristics of Japanese Gardens
Gardens in Ancient Times
Gardens of the Shinden-zukuri Style
The Joudo-Style Gardens
Ryoanji (Kyoto) The temples celebrated Zen-style dry landscape garden The Kamakura period (1185-1333) that followed, saw the
rise of a warrior class and the influence of Zen priests
from China, bringing about changes in the style of
residential buildings and gardens. It was not the custom of
the military elite to hold splendid ceremonies in their
gardens. Instead, they preferred to enjoy their gardens from
inside the house, and gardens were designed to be
appreciated primarily for their visual appeal. In this
period, priest-designers or ishitateso (literally, rock
placing monks), came to the fore. It is said that the golden age of Japanese gardens
occurred in the Muromachi period (l333-I568). Groups of
skilled craftsmen called senzui kawaramono (mountain,
stream, and riverbed people) were responsible for creating a
new style of garden, known as karesansui (dry mountain
stream). Heavily influenced by Zen Buddhism, these gardens
are characterised by extreme abstraction: groups of rocks
represent mountains or waterfalls, and white sand is used to
replace flowing water. This form of garden, not seen in any
other part of the world, was probably influenced by Chinese
ink-painted landscapes of barren mountains and dry
riverbeds. Examples include the rock garden at the temples
of Ryoanji and Daitokuji, both in Kyoto. The former, created
with just 15 rocks and white sand on a flat piece of ground,
is also typical of flat-style gardens, whose motif was taken
from the sea, lakes and ponds, and are formed by stones,
trees, stone lanterns, water basins and wells. In addition, gardens of this period received much
influence from the style of architecture known as
shoin-zukuri, which included the tokonoma (alcove),
chigaidana (staggered shelves), and fusuma (paper sliding
doors), and still serves as the prototype for today's
traditional-style Japanese house. In this kansho or zakan,
(contemplation) style, the viewer is situated in a shoin, a
room in a shoin-zukuri building that is composed so as to
resemble a picture and, like a fine painting, invites
careful and extended viewing. The tea garden, imbued with a quiet spirituality, was
developed in conjunction with the tea Ceremony, as taught by
Sen no Rikyu. It was through the tea garden, which avoided
artificiality and was created so as to retain a highly
natural appearance, that one approached the teahouse.
Today's Japanese garden incorporates a number or elements
inherited from the tea garden, such as stepping stones,
stone lanterns, and clusters of trees. The simply designed
gazebos in which guests are served tea also have their
origin in the tea garden. The various forms that gardens took on over the centuries
were synthesised in the Edo period (1600-1868) in kaiyu
(many pleasure) gardens, which were created for feudal
lords. Superb stones and trees were used to create miniature
reproductions of famous scenes. People walked from one small
garden to another, appreciating the ponds in the centre. The
garden of the Katsura Detached Palace in Kyoto, a creation
of the early Edo period, is a typical kaiyu-style garden,
with a pond in the centre and several teahouses surrounding
it. This garden came to the attention of a considerably wide
audience through the writings of German architect Bruno
Taut. Another famous garden in Kyoto is the Kyoto Imperial
Palace Garden. Constructed in the seventeenth century, it is
called Oikeniwa, which means "Pond Garden." A large pond
dotted with several pine-clad islets occupies most of the
garden. The Korakuen Garden, laid out in 1626, is one of the most
magnificent kaiyu-style gardens in Tokyo. The lake in the
garden has an island with a small temple dedicated to
Benzaiten, originally an Indian goddess known in Japan as
one of the seven Deities of Good Luck. The stone bridge to
the island is called the Full-Moon Bridge because of its
half-circle shape. The reflection of the bridge in the water
completes a circle. The Hama Detached Palace Garden is
another famous kaiyu garden in Tokyo. The celebrated view of
the garden, which was constructed in the Edo period, is a
Iovely tidal pond spanned by 3 bridges. Each bridge is
shaded by wisteria vine trellises and leads to an islet. The
layout of the ponds, lawns and the riding grounds creates
the atmosphere of a villa maintained by a feudal lord in the
Edo period.
Gardens of the Zen Sect
Tea Garden
The Kaiyu-StyIe Gardens
Kenrokuen (Ishikawa
Prefecture) Within this Kaiyu (many-pleasure) garden
there are a variety of miniature landscapes
The so-called 3 most beautiful landscape gardens in Japan
- Kairakuen at Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture, Kenrokuen at
Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, and Korakuen at Okayama,
Okayama Prefecture - are also of this type. Beginning in the Meiji period (1868-1912), influence of
the west began to extend even to traditional Japanese garden
design such as incorporating large-scale spaces with
extensive Iawns. Tokyo's Shinjuku National Garden is one
example. The information on this page was produced for the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs by Kodansha International Ltd.
For further information try the following links: The
Japanese gardens Very detailed site compiled by
Johnathan Weaver with details and photos of many gardens in
Japan Yahoo
search engine: Japanese Gardens catagories
Further Information
