Japanese garden | teian

is peopled with pines and evergreens indicating permanence or longevity, while bamboos symbolize truth and vigor.

Besides the many elements from Onmyodo, Buddhism and Taoism touched on above, there are other aspects of the Japanese garden that can deepen the experience of the visitor. For example, certain plants are imbued with meanings. Pines and evergreens indicate permanence or longevity, while bamboos symbolize truth and vigor. (p.17)

is often designed to view and contemplate, not enter; to nudge the mind away from the mundane and to allow it to enter a higher level of consciousness.

Designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1994, the karesansui dry-landscape garden at Ryan-ji Temple is one of the best known examples of the minimalist aesthetics in Japan. No matter how often one has seen it, the simple beauty of it continues to surprise. This meditation garden is meant to facilitate contemplation while seated on the engawa covered porch of this temple. Gardens such as this were designed by Zen monks to view and contemplate, not enter. The purpose of these compositions, as in the black-and-white ink paintings or the koan questions created by Zen masters, was to nudge the mind away from the mundane and to allow it to enter a higher level of consciousness. (55)

is representative of a search for a “perfect imperfection”, achieved, for example, by raking a perfect geometric pattern and then sprinkling a few dead leaves over it.

Driven by Zen ideals that seek to look beyond temporary physical perfection, Japanese gardens seek a “perfect imperfection” by, for example, raking a perfect geometric pattern and then sprinkling a few dead leaves over it. The spirit of wabi sabi is found equally in a large tea garden or a small garden in a tray.

is constructed with a heightened sensitivity to seasonal change.

Heightened sensitivity to seasonal change is another important element of Japanese gardens, flower arrangements, tea ceremony and cooking. The colors and moods of the seasons are celebrated with enthusiasm. Kiyomori Taira, a powerful warlord from the Heian period, established a palace for each season: a flowery palace for spring, a watery palace for summer, a palace for moon viewing in fall, and a palace for snow viewing in winter. Chinese geomancy also promoted an emphasis on seasonality in gardens. According to Shijinso- theory, seasons relate to the four directions. Spring is to the east, summer to south, autumn to the west, winter to the north. Different plants thus represent these seasons in a garden.

is an answer to the problem of how to bring the beauty of the outdoors to the more heavily-populated urban areas; how to evoke the feeling of uninterrupted deep forests and shaded valleys in crowded Japan.

How do you pour eternity into a teacup? How do you evoke the feeling of uninterrupted deep forests and shaded valleys in the narrow confines of a warrior residence or an urban Zen temple? This was the real problem in historically crowded Japan, and the solutions to this constitute the real genius of Japanese garden design. Japan is a condensed country. Three-quarters of Japan is mountains, so the people have historically lived in the other one- quarter that is relatively easy to cultivate and build on, often in very close proximity to each other. This proximity has deeply influenced the society, arts, architecture and garden design in Japan. In their quest to bring the beauty of the outdoors to the more heavily-populated urban areas, Japanese gardeners studied and mimicked nature in great detail. This was not analytical study, but an empathetic journey to the essence of an old tree, a stone, or a bamboo fence.

 uses reduction in scale or miniaturized and idealized versions of nature as a scenic technique.

Japanese gardeners also use reduction in scale as a scenic technique. Stroll gardens often recreate and miniaturize natural views or scenic places of interest such as sacred mountains, rivers, or ponds. Reduction in scale is adopted in Zen gardens through the use of abstract symbols. Small mounds may represent large mountains, and wave patterns in the sand express miniaturized seas. Tea gardens, naka nina interior gardens and bonsai are miniaturized and idealized versions of nature. Miniaturization is particularly useful in the limited spaces in urban gardens.

is able to be classified broadly into two groups: those meant to be experienced by entering and walking in them, and “visual gardens” meant to be experienced mainly with the eyes and the mind.

Japanese gardens may be classified broadly into two groups: those meant to be experienced by entering and walking in them, and “visual gardens” meant to be experienced mainly with the eyes and the mind. The former category includes stroll gardens, Pure Land Jodo gardens, and tea gardens. Visual gardens were designed for contemplation and meditation and include the karesansui or dry-mountain-water gardens, and naka nina interior courtyard gardens. Visual gardens are usually viewed from one side only, from inside a shin-style room, and are composed like three- dimensional paintings depicting an ideal landscape or a complex philosophical concept. One of the best examples of this is the abbot’s rock garden at Ryan-ji temple (p.13).

is grounded in the principle of “hide and seek” to create intimate spaces so that visitors do not see all the components of a garden at once.

Japanese gardens use the principle of “hide and seek” to create intimate spaces. Gardens are designed so that the visitors do not see all the components of a garden at once. A building or a view may be high- lighted and revealed and then again hidden from view only to re- appear later, creating a sense of mystery and discovery referred to as yugen in Japanese.

japanese garden teian, n.Definitions

japanese garden teian