My Encounter with Japanese Garden

Karesansui garden at Ryōan-ji in Kyoto

Introduction:

Once not long back in the recent past I was faced with the task of preparation of a scope of work for a Japanese Garden. Not being a landscape designer it was a rather daunting task to define the scope and review the design there after. Since then, I had no idea that Japanese garden could be such a vast subject. And to be honest I did not expect that it would be such a difficult thing only to figure out what a Japanese garden ought to look like.

The more I tried to get a grip on this subject the more lost I found myself. As I started my research I got inundated with detailed information. It took lot of efforts before I could make some basic understanding. In the few paragraphs that will follow, I have documented what I learnt about Japanese Gardens. I would have loved to call this post “Japanese Garden for the Dummies” but decided otherwise as this is not be as comprehensive as the title would suggest.

The Japanese garden embodies native values, their cultural beliefs and religious principles of the Japanese people. Just like there is no one native philosophy or aesthetic principle, there is no one prototype for Japanese gardens. There has been constant influence on Japanese culture and art from mainland China and this has made all forms of Japanese art forms to constantly evolve. Another factor that contributed to the evolution of different styles of Japanese gardens is the changing tastes and financial conditions of the patrons.

Design Philosophy and Concept:

In a well designed and authentic Japanese garden, it may be difficult to establish that this has in fact been designed, as it would look completely natural. The Principles of design is so deep rooted in life, philosophy and traditions that each element is perfectly suited for and belongs to where it is placed.  Traditionally the Garden is planned to symbolise the “Life of Man”.

There are two misconceptions about Japanese gardens.

The first one is that Japanese Gardens follows certain ground rules. This is not correct although we know that every architect likes to follow certain rules to express his creativity.

The second one is that Japanese Garden is primarily miniature gardens.  This is not correct either as Japanese Gardens is designed for full scale adults. The use of Bonsai use may sometime create an illusion of miniature.

All gardens are representations of nature. The purpose is to capture nature in the outmost natural way and to do it with a touch of artistic feeling. The gardens have an ancient history, which is influenced by Shinto, Buddhist and Taoist philosophies. The use of these philosophies in creating these gardens brings a spiritual sense to them. The gardens are mostly created to be a quiet place where people can sit and reflect upon themselves and life or meditate. This quality is attributed to the Buddhist influence. The design concept is developed by striking the right balance between nature and man-made beauty.

The line between the garden and the surrounding landscape is rather blurred making one an integral part of the other. There is no real distinction between the garden and the elements of nature and architecture around it.

Brief history:

The art of Japanese gardens dates back to the reign of Empress Suiko around 592 AD though there is some evidence which suggests that it existed even before. Themost significant boost came during the period of Nara in 646-794 AD. During that era trade and relation with Mainland China thrived and that started to make subtle changes to the Japanese culture. But at the same time it ushered in more complex changes to the taste and lifestyle of the elites. The gardens started to include animals, birds and fish and were used as popular spots for private feast and parties.

The foreign cultural influence weaned off during the Heian period between 794 – 1185 AD and the Japanese went back to creating gardens based on traditional values and customs particularly the ones with depleted resources. There was already a strong influence of Chinese culture and that made it a rich and elegant mix. The layouts of the gardens were then dictated by myths and legends from both sides of the border.

Next change came during the Kamkura period of 1185 to 1392 AD. This was then that monks of the Zen school of Buddhism started to create their own gardens for meditation. This was a significant shift from what was earlier purely used for pleasure and entertainment. With the change of use decorativeness gave way to more subtle beauty and a minimalistic theory was born. Meditative qualities were achieved by the use of stones, water and evergreen trees and this kept the scenery constant throughout the year. The evergreen trees symbolized eternity.

This was taken to its purist extreme during the Muromachi and Higashiyama periods of 1392 – 1573 AD. During that period the gardens were being created only with stones and devoid it of colour by making the whole creation in monochrome.  The stones were handpicked based on the shape and size as they were inserted in the gardens as metaphors for elements of nature. The Hira-niwa style or the flat gardens were also developed during that era.

As reaction to the ultra conservativeness and simplicity of the Zen gardens the lush and vibrant gardens were reborn and reintroduced to the Japanese life by the royals. Strolling pond garden style was at its height during the Edo period (1603–1867) and were attached to the estates of aristocrats and feudal lords. An earlier style of pond garden was called chisen senyu shiki and was popular during the Heian period (794–1185). During Edo times the larger scale and grand style of the Strolling Pond Garden served to showcase aristocrats’ interest in luxury and as an instrument to display the wealth.

Essential Elements of Japanese Gardens:

Water: The body of water or Ike is a fundamental element in the Japanese gardens. It represents the sea, lake, pond or river in nature.  It does not follow any geometrical shape to preserve the natural appearance.

Plants/ Trees: Plant types used in the Japanese gardens are such. Japanese Maple; Acer palmatum; Amur maple; Acer ginnala; Service berry ( June berry); Amerlanchier laevis; Japanese Cedar; Cryptomeria japonica; Ginkgo; Ginkgo biloba (Autumn Gold); Yellow Grrobe Bamboo; Japanese Black Pine; Pinus thunbergiana; Weeping Yoshino Cherry; Rhododendron (Evening Song); Rhododendron (Delaware) and the like.

Building: The buildings are the temples, Monasteries, Pagodas or the Tea Ceremony house, which non-intrusively becomes a part of the garden or acts as a borrowed backdrop.

Bridges: The existence of a bridge is both functional and ornamental. It is used to promote spiritual and intellectual meditation.

Walls: Walls are used to disassociate the garden from the outer world and confine the spaces. Wall could be made of stone or even by using trees or bamboo grooves.

Lighting: Traditionally stone lanterns were used for lighting but lanterns are also used as symbol. There are many of these throughout the various gardens and each one is made in its own unique way.

Stones/ Rocks: stones are used in a variety of ways. The larger stones are selected carefully to recreate metaphors of natural elements and are usually used in groups of three or five.  Other utilization is in walkways or walls or lanterns or bridges. Stone in general signifies strength.

Waterfalls: The passage of water from the falls to the water body symbolizes the journey of human life from birth to death.

Fish: The type of fish used in Japanese gardens is called koi. They are placed in the ponds of the Gardens as decorative element.

Lion: Statues of Lions are placed at each of garden entrances. There is a pair of male and a female lion at each entrance meant to protect the garden from intruders. The male lion has his foot on a ball to signify power. These two statues represent the two opposing forces: yin and yang/ fire and water.

Types/ Styles of Japanese Gardens: 

A. Zen Rock Garden Style: Precise and Meditative

B. Tsukiyama Style: natural landscape captured

C. Hiranaiwa Style: Simple, Open and Flat garden

D. Chaniwa Tea Gardens Style: Hidden in nature

E. Chisen Kaiyon Shiki Style: Strolling pond garden

Brief Description of Each Garden Types:

Zen Rock Garden Style: Precise and Meditative.

This type of garden which is mostly found in Monasteries represents Zen spiritualism and is also known as sand and stone garden. The garden is confined within a definite boundary isolating it from external visual distractions. Usually this type of garden does not include plants and trees and water is substituted with carefully Raked Sand. The stones and rocks are artistically placed at symbolic locations and have deeper spiritual interpretation.

One of the most famous examples of Zen garden is Ryojin in Kyoto.  This is a rectangular garden with white walls on three sides and on the fourth side is a verandah used as the place for meditation.  It has carefully raked white sand with rocks arranged in a simple but artistic manner. The sand is meant to disconnect the visitors mind from the outside world allowing him to make his own interpretation and meditation. There are 15 stones arranged in clusters of two, three and five. Only fourteen stones are visible from any point in the verandah. It is said that when the viewer achieves enlightenment, the fifteenth stone will be visible.

Tsukiyama Style: natural landscape captured.

The literal meaning of the word Tsuikiyama refers to creation of artificial hills. These gardens vary in sizes and that determines how it should be viewed. It is viewed from a fixed point like a verandah when it is smaller in size and experienced by following a winding strolling path when the garden is larger. Hills, waterfalls, streams, ponds, trees, flowering plants, bridges and walkways are used to create a miniature reproduction of natural scenery which is often a famous landscape in Japan or China. This is accomplished by utilizing. Shrubs are utilized to block views of surrounding buildings and the garden is usually structured is such a way that it tries to make onlookers focus on nearby mountains as a backdrop. Tenryuji Temple in Kyoto features a beautiful Tsukiyama garden.

Hiranaiwa Style: Simple, Open and Flat gardens.

This style of garden falls in between Zen gardens and natural Gardens. The most prominent visible characteristics are the raking of sea sand in circular shape which symbolizes enlightenment and happiness. Similar to the Zen gardens water is not use to represent water bodies but artistically substituted with raked sand. Other elements used in this garden are white sand, evergreen plantings, moss, grass and flowering plants. Rocks are grouped together into formation to resemble tortoise or cranes as they signify longevity.

Chaniwa Tea Gardens Style: Hidden in nature.

The tea garden is intertwined with the Japanese Tea Ceremony. The designer of the Chaniwa garden wants to invoke to his guests a feeling of peace, solitude and enlightenment with this design. The garden is usually attached to a ceremonial tea house and has an inner section and an outer section. Essential elements for this style are stones, stone lanterns and traditional stone water basin and all of these have a symbolic inter- relationship. Each element is placed with outmost care. The outer section is used as a waiting area for the guest and is provided with a wooden bench with straw cushion and a pail of water and a heater if the temperature is low. The guest uses the water to wash their hands and rinse their mouth for symbolic purification before entering the tea house as a ritual.

The inner garden encompasses the teahouse and is only visible from inside. The path leading from the outside to the Teahouse is done artistically selecting each element based on their appearance. The garden is broken into fragments using small clusters of trees with the intent to restrict the view within one segment at a time.

Chisen Kaiyon Shiki Style: Strolling pond garden

Chisen Kaiyon Shiki Style saw its rebirth as the strolling pond garden. These were created to be attached to the estates of aristocrats and feudal lords and were intended as recreational sites.  These gardens were sometimes designed to be reflections of a landscape of one’s birth or some distant place once visited or even a famous place in China. An earlier style of pond garden called chisen senyu shiki was popular during the Heian period. The earlier gardens were typically viewed from boats floating on ponds rather than strolling along pathways near the water.  In addition to a pond, a strolling garden also has other water bodies and features like waterfalls and streams. Stone or wooden bridges connect the islands while pagodas and other elements were used generously around the garden. These gardens have served as inspiration for poetry and art over the ages.

The 25 acre Kenroku-en garden in Kanazawa is one of the most well known examples of this style. The garden is located outside the gates of Kanazawa Castle where it originally formed the outer garden spread over an area of 114,436.65 m². Kenroku-en contains roughly 8,750 trees, and 183 species of plants in total. Among the garden's points of special interest are:

The oldest fountain in Japan which operates by natural water pressure

Yūgao-tei, a teahouse, the oldest building in the garden, built 1774

Shigure-tei, a rest House that was originally built by the 5th lord Tsunanori, reconstructed at its present location in 2000

Karasaki Pine planted from seed by the 13th lord Nariyasu from Karasaki, near Lake Biwa.

Kotoji-tōrō, a stone lantern with two legs is said to resemble the bridge on a koto. This lantern is emblematic of Kenroku-en and Kanazawa.

Flying Geese Bridge (Gankō-bashi), made of eleven red stones, laid out to resemble geese in a flying formation

Kaiseki Pagoda, said to have been donated to the Maeda by Toyotomi Hideyoshi

Photos of Elements:

Photos of Gardens:

 A kaiyu-shiki or strolling garden at Ritsurin Garden in Takamatsu, Kagawa

 Garden of the Adachi Museum of Art near Masue

  

 Karesansui garden at Ryōan-ji in Kyoto

 Kōraku-en in Okayama

 Tea Garden (Kotoin Temple in Kyoto)

 Tenryū-ji Garden in Kyoto

Famous-kyoto-Tsukiyama garden

Conclusion:

Designing a Japanese Garden requires both artistic and spiritual understanding as it is based on deep rooted philosophy. It most certainly would not be possible to design a Japanese garden after reading this blog. But definitely one would have a much clearer understanding of one than it was before reading this.

I would like to express my gratitude to the web sites that I had researched to put together this piece for both contents and imagery. I would particularly mention wikipedia.org, japan-guide.com, Japanese Gardens by Gunter Nitschke and book preview of Jayne Miller.