style="font-size:15px;"> Landscape gardens normally use natural rocks found in the mountains, at the seashore or along rivers. These can be classified into three kinds: suisei-gan (sedimentary rocks), kasei-gan (igneous rocks) and hensei-gan (metamorphic rocks). Rocks of the first type are usually smooth and round due to the action of water. They are used on the edges of ponds and as stepping stones. Rocks of the second type are produced by volcanic activity and are usually rough in shape and texture. They are used as stepping stones or to provide a highlight, such as a mountain peak. Because rocks of the third type are very hard, they are normally used around waterfalls and streams. Cut rocks (kiriishi) also have become popular in recent times. Sedimentary rocks are generally used for this purpose since they are relatively soft and easy to handle. Cut rocks are used for bridges, water basins and stone lanterns.
Yin–yang rocks placed along a stream on the outskirts of Yuishinzan Hill at Okayama Kōrakuen (pages 150–3) represent male and female sex organs. Fertility was a favorite theme of Warrior gardens during the Edo Period since the fief was repossessed by the shogun if a daimyō did not pass it on to a son.
SOME BASIC ROCK SHAPES
Rock Selection
When rocks are selected for a garden, it is particularly important to consider shape and size. Rugged mountain peaks require large rocks with sharp, angular planes, whereas weathered hills require the gentler shapes of water-worn rocks. Another consideration is the surface patina of a rock. Some compositions call for rocks covered with moss or lichens, in which case they must be collected and handled with great care. On the other hand, a recently broken rock may be suitable to represent a high mountain peak. Even so, care must be taken to not leave scratches on the surface.
Sometimes rocks are selected because of an interesting or unusual shape or because they resemble animals, birds or human artifacts. This practice has precedents in China where the mountainous dwellings of the immortals often were depicted by unusual rocks or where an entire garden, especially in the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), could consist of an elaborate assemblage of fancifully shaped stones. The Chinese emphasis on selecting rocks for their representational or fanciful qualities has long had an influence on Japanese gardens, as in the boat-shaped rock at Daisenin Temple in the great Zen monastery complex of Daitokuji in Kyoto (page 108), the rocks used to represent heads and tails in the turtle and crane islands common in large stroll gardens, or in the unusual rocks often found in Warrior gardens.
In general, however, Japanese have preferred asymmetrical, natural shapes to representational or fanciful ones, and have placed more emphasis upon the integration of rocks into the composition than upon the uniqueness of individual rocks.
Composition and Placement
Traditionally, rocks were classified according to shape: tall vertical, low vertical, arching, reclining and flat. There also are classifications for the number of rocks in a composition: two, three, five or seven. An arrangement of three rocks is the most common. There are two types of rock triads: one in which three rocks are arranged horizontally to form a triangle when viewed from above (hinbonseki), and one in which three rocks are arranged to form a triangle, with its base resting on the ground, when viewed from the side (sanzonseki). The latter, the vertical triad, probably dates back to the Nara Period when it was known as a Buddha triad, with the large rock in the center representing a Buddha and the two flanking rocks representing Bodhisattva attendants. An entire garden can often be analyzed in terms of the relationship between horizontal and vertical rock triads.
The use of three components, one large, one small and one medium, to create a dynamic balance of odd numbers is not limited to garden architecture but is a basic principle in other arts, such as flower arranging, where the tallest (vertical) element in the arrangement (such as a flower, wild grass or branch) represents heaven; the shortest (diagonal) element represents earth; and the medium-size (horizontal) element represents humanity—the bridge between heaven and earth.
Small rock garden at Ryōgenin, a subtemple of Daitokuji Zen Monastery, Kyoto, which features complementary rocks and raked gravel.
Other Design Considerations
Generally, a rock should be set into the ground far enough to provide a feeling of stability and a sense that the rock has been there for some time. The number and size of rocks included in a garden have a major impact upon the general impression created. As mentioned earlier, Warrior gardens tended to include numerous rocks of large size, suggesting power and authority. In contrast, Zen gardens generally employ few rocks to create a more austere and contemplative environment.
An important design consideration is to select rocks that vary in terms of color, shape and size. Within an individual rock, however, too much variation can be distracting. If strata or veining are evident, they should be oriented in the same direction. The same is true of color. A rock with too many strongly contrasting colors lacks subtlety.
The 2-meter (6.5 foot)-high gravel cone in the dry landscape garden of Ginkakuji (Temple of the Silver Pavilion), Kyoto, is remade every month in order to maintain its original shape.
An interesting design principle introduced at the end of the Edo Period was the seemingly random placement of one or more rocks to provide an element of spontaneity. Such rocks are referred to as suteishi—“discarded” or “nameless” rocks. This “artless” use of rocks nevertheless has to be done skill-fully if it is to achieve the desired effect.
Sand and Gravel
Sand (suna) and gravel (jari) have characterized sacred plots in the forest or on beaches since an-cient times (pages 50–1). Much later, sand from eroded granite was popular in dry landscape (karesansui) gardens because it can be raked into patterns that represent flowing water. By implying movement, sand patterns rely upon the power of suggestion to entice observers to participate in the creative process and to enter into the very fabric of the garden itself. The dynamism of sand patterns also complements the static nature of rocks. To use an organic analogy, if rocks provide the skeleton, sand patterns provide the soft tissue and blood.
Used together, rocks and sand patterns suggest various contrasts important in both continental and Japasnese cosmology, such as the contrast between yin and yang (in and yō in Japanese), or the contrast between the eternal principles of the universe and their constant manifestation in the ongoing processes of nature.
tall vertical and reclining
tall vertical, short vertical and reclining
short vertical and flat
tall vertical, flat and reclining (an example of the basic triad)
