The negative, female part is the rock element in myriad shapes and sizes. Rock, decomposing and being pulverized into soil becomes the mother earth. And earth, through countless ages, is pressed again into rock—a never-ending process of decomposition and composition.
Fig. 2. These are the shapes which formed the gorin-no-to, or sacred stone tower, from which both the five-storied pagoda and the stone lantern were to develop. The five parts symbolize the five elements of the universe in ancient Japanese cosmology—sky, wind, fire, water, and earth. A simplified version symbolizes spirituality, consisting of heaven (the triangle) and earth (the rectangle), with man (the circle) between them.
Although as compared with plant life, rock and earth would seem the stronger and more substantial, its life is of an inner quality and strength, a typical female characteristic. Trees and shrubs and grass and flowers show an active, exuberant vitality and growth. Rock and soil embody the waiting, receiving element, while plants show their impatience, spurting ahead, reaching out, externally vital.
Is it because Yin and Yang meet in a Japanese garden that it seems settled, more complete, rounded out, more stabile and solid? The two opposites are balanced so that neither one is in excess; just so does nature automatically achieve its own balance if left to itself without the interference of men. The Japanese garden artist seeks to discover this balance and to make his garden freely in whatever design or style he chooses, with rock and plant life happily wed in his composition. (See Plates 14, 37, and 56.)
Garden builders in the West must also assume this task if they desire to make gardens in this spirit. They may achieve this result through pure intuition. But they are more likely to be successful if they follow the example of their Japanese brothers, who, from childhood, and from the advantages of an ancient and noble tradition, have studied nature in all its forms and moods. The modern garden builder can learn more from a walk in the woods, fields, and mountains than from all the home and garden magazines and manuals. Interest, love of nature, patience, open eyes, and curiosity are the only tools he needs. For more than a thousand years of Japanese gardens this has been the lesson taught by Buddhist priest, artist, tea master, and garden designer.
Something of Symbolism. Working with rock, gravelly sand, plant material, and ceramic, stone, metal, and wooden artifacts, Japanese garden builders from earliest times have made use of certain conventional forms which have represented to them both artistic truths as well as symbols in Buddhism and Shintoism (see Plates 7-9). The triangle, circle, and rectangle have been considered the fundamental shapes in all design as well as geometric abstractions symbolizing the basic elements composing the universe. The triangle represents heaven or fire; the circle, water; and the rectangle, the earth (see Fig. 2). In a religious context the triangle symbolizes the hands of man, pressed together, pointing heavenward in prayer; the circle represents man or the mirror, one of the three most sacred Shinto symbols. To these three basic forms are added the half circle or the half moon, an abstraction denoting the wind; and a persimmon-shaped, bulbous globe for the sky. These five forms are the parts of the Japanese stone lantern.
To discover in a garden the rectangle, triangle, and circle we must think in abstract terms. One day I went with my teacher to see the famous rock, moss, and sand garden of Ryoan-ji in Kyoto (Plate 10). I reasoned that the rectangle was the outline of the garden itself, the area of sand enclosed by a low, earthen plaster wall. I then saw that a series of triangles were suggested by imaginary lines one might draw between the rocks within each group and between the rock groups themselves. But I searched in vain for the circle. Finally I turned to my teacher. "Where is the circle?" I asked. My teacher smiled and said: "Stay here for a few hours. Relax, Quietly look at the garden and you will soon become a part of it. The circle is you."
4. Conventional
Classifications
SCHOLARS of the Japanese garden—in contradistinction to those who actually design and build the gardens—have been inclined to an academic, conventional formalism in their analyses. They say that a garden must fit into a certain category and classification in order to be a valid work of art. The result has been that those who build gardens, both in Japan as well as abroad, have tended rigidly to follow rules laid down by the writers and classifiers. They have ended up copying the outer form of the garden without penetrating to the heart of the matter. This slavish copying of forms classified by scholars may be the result of the awe and respect shown in the Orient to the teacher and scholar. But it is an unquestioning subservience without any real analysis or criticism on the part of the artisan and pupil.
The classification of gardens into types and the enunciation and compilation of conventional rules came in the later years of the feudal Edo period. Previous to that time there was much greater freedom and flexibility in garden making. The garden artist-builder. designed according to his own artistic judgment, without caring whether the finished product would or would not fit into any particular category. This is how it should always be. The over-conventionalization and standardization of garden design led in later years to a stultification and discouragement of originality of design. The modern garden builder, with an eye to the needs of the people who will use the garden, certainly will not want to be tied down to outworn rules and patterns. He can build his garden and achieve that wonderful unity with nature without being hemmed in by the academic restrictions of garden scholars who have done a painstaking job in classifying gardens, but have never wrestled with the problem of creating one.
The pitfalls of blindly following standard conventional patterns and rigid classifications are unmistakable. Yet for the purpose of orientation, we may benefit by knowing what these standard conventions and classifications are.
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.
