and graveledContoured and planted
Though there are exceptions, gardens that evoke religious feelings and philosophical insights tend to be towards the austere end of the continuum, whereas gardens that stimulate a sensual aesthetic response are towards the secular end. Many of Japan’s finest gardens lie in the middle of the continuum.
Karesansui (dry landscape) garden at Zuihōin, the smallest of the Daitokuji subtemples open to the public.
BASIC ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLES
Japanese gardening, like other art forms, is a skill in which the artist, to use a linguistic analogy, employs a grammar to express an idea in tangible form. The basic building blocks (or “words”) of this gardening grammar are elements such as rocks, vegetation, water and stone lanterns; and the syntax (rules for combining basic units into a meaningful expression) are principles governing the use of different shapes, sizes and colors to create a balanced and pleasing composition.
Just as languages have dialects, Japanese gardening is not a uniform body of techniques and practices. The grammar employed depends upon the style of gardening. For example, the designer of a stroll garden has access to the full range of basic elements whereas the designer of a dry landscape garden is much more limited in the vocabulary used. This does not mean that the stroll garden is any more highly developed than the dry landscape garden but it is different in terms of the resulting “feeling tone.” Moreover, like languages, gardening grammars and styles change over time depending partly upon internal trends, such as a trend towards increasing complexity, and partly upon external cultural, social and political factors.
This section explores the grammar of Japanese gardening in preparation for a description of specific gardens in the following section.
Basic Elements
The most important elements are structural features. Rocks are arranged into compositions that represent mountains, waterfalls and rugged seascapes. Contrasts between mountain slopes, meadows and valleys are indicated by different species of trees and shrubs that are pruned, clipped and trained into a variety of shapes. Trees and shrubs also are used to connect and provide transitions between the different scenes in a garden. Soil is piled up to create artificial hills and water is channeled to feed streams, ponds and waterfalls.
Additional structural features are the frames provided by fences and walls as well as the paths and bridges that are used in “entry-style” gardens to guide the visitor along a predetermined course.
A magi-sterial view of the South Pond and its surroundings at Ritsurin Kōen, a large stroll garden in Takamatsu, Shikoku—one of the three most famous stroll gardens in Japan.
Next in terms of importance are more decorative elements such as stone lanterns, water basins, flowers, carp and the occasional boat. The function of such features is to augment and fill out the basic design as well as to provide color and interest.
Some large gardens also include small buildings such as teahouses, pavilions and shrines. Sometimes there is a transitional device between a main building and its garden, such as a deck where one can sit to contemplate the garden rather than wandering through it.
Basic Principles
A basic principle of Japanese gardening is miniaturization in which elements such as rocks and ponds are used to represent large-scale landscapes. Related to miniaturization is the use of various techniques to make spaces appear larger than they really are. One of these techniques is altered perspective. For example, if rocks and trees in the foreground are larger than those in the background, the result is an illusion of distance.
A second technique is miegakure (hide-and-reveal)—arranging the garden in such a way that not everything can be seen at once. For example, in entry-style gardens, vegetation, fences and structures are employed to block long-range views.
A third technique is shakkei (borrowed scenery) in which mountains and buildings such as castles that lie outside the garden are incorporated into the design of the garden.
Another basic principle is asymmetry. In asymmetric forms and compositions, no single element is dominant. If there is a focal point, it should be off-center. For example, rocks and trees usually are arranged into triangular compositions that balance horizontal, vertical and diagonal forces. Another example is to arrange the rooms of the main building such as a villa to which the garden is attached in a diagonal, overlapping pattern, sometimes referred to as “geese in flight.” This staggered arrangement creates interesting garden spaces and helps integrate a building into its natural surroundings.
Not all gardens are designed to be entered. Some are to be viewed from inside a building or from a deck, in which case the entire composition may be seen at once. This requires a different set of principles involving the need to create a balance between structural stability and a type of dynamism in which the eye is enticed to trace an interesting route as it moves from one element to another, thereby drawing the viewer into the creative process.
At the root of all such basic principles is the understanding that a garden is a work of art. Though inspired by nature, it is an interpretation rather than a copy; it should appear to be natural but it is not wild. A primary challenge to the designer is to bring out the intrinsic nature of a landscape scene in such a way that it is beautiful in all seasons of the year.
Basic Themes
Basic elements and principles vary depending upon the type of garden. There are certain themes, however, that are found in many different types of gardens. A large rock, sometimes placed on an islet, often symbolizes Buddhism’s Mount Sumeru or Taoism’s legendary mountain peak of the immortals, known as Mount Hōrai. Another frequently occurring theme is a pair of basic elements such as rocks, islets or trees to represent the tortoise and crane—traditional symbols of longevity. The crane is always the higher of the two elements in the dyad. Other common themes are natural landmarks such as Mount Fuji or famous landscape scenes in China or Japan.
Many of the basic elements of a Japanese garden are shown in this 1735 edition of the gardening manual Tsukiyama Teizōden (Building Mountains and Making Gardens) by Kitamura Enkin.
Landscape Manuals
The basic elements, principles and themes of Japanese landscape gardening were described in early gardening manuals. The first of these was Sakuteiki (Notes on Garden Making). Written in the middle of the Heian Period (794–1185), the Sakuteiki attempted to adapt Chinese gardening principles to Japanese conditions and tastes. Later manuals included the fifteenth-century Senzui Narabi ni Yagyō no Zu (Illustrations for Designing Mountain, Water and Hillside Field Landscapes) and the eighteenth-century Tsukiyama Teizōden (Building Mountains and Making Gardens) (see above). Manuals such as these are still studied today.
ROCKS, SAND AND GRAVEL
Variables to be considered in the selection of rocks, sand and gravel include shape, size, color and texture. Rocks are among the most important structural elements of a garden since they can be used to represent mountains, rugged shorelines and waterfalls. Sand and gravel also are important as they can be raked into patterns that are suggestive of flowing elements such as clouds and streams.
Types
