Gardens of Japan

To understand Japanese gardens it is necessary to know that the Oriental concept of a garden began over 1000 years ago, many centuries before the landscape school of Western Europe was developed. It is closely interwoven with the philosophical heritage of the Orient, and the Japanese styles which surpass their early Chinese prototypes express a racial feeling and reverence for nature.

Around the world millions of people recall the image of a familiar scene - the gabled house nestled in plum trees, the gate, the willow tree and the arched bridge to a picturesque island. Willowware, which is familiar to many of us, is perhaps the best known of all pottery patterns.

It is less well known that this idyllic picture of a Japanese garden we are familiar with has a historical background. For the scene is an accurate illustration of ancient gardens of Hangchow which, under the Sung dynasty in the twelfth century, became a cultural and artistic center of China. Among the travelers who carried away tales of its extraordinary splendor were Marco Polo and, later, the Japanese painter, Sesshu.

Inspired by Chinese Landscape Painting

As Japan grew in cultural maturity, she adapted many Chinese things, and gardens along the sumptuous lines of gardens of Chinese antiquity began to be developed in Japan. Then, inspired by the monochromic paintings of the Chinese landscape, some of the Japanese gardeners began to imitate the paintings in an effort not so much to reproduce nature but to capture her feeling. The gardens were impressionistic.

Japanese noblemen of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries planned their gardens as works of art, and to supply their material needs, gardening specialists appeared. Tree brokers searched the countryside for naturally misshapen trees which were then sold and skillfully moved to new locations. Stones, too, were moved great distances ‘by stone merchants, some of whose descendants are still conducting the family business. They painstakingly bring their great boulder finds to the cities and towns, often splitting large ones and reassembling them on the new site. The moss that is growing on them is always carefully protected in transit, of course, so that the stone does not decline in value.

The gardens the noblemen built were esteemed for certain features, some of which were designed to be viewed from boats, while others were to be seen from paths or from a pagoda or veranda.

Over the years these features were named. A pond became the “Brocade Mirror,” a cascade was affectionately known as a “Moon Washing Spring,” and there was a “Bridge to the Gods.”

Careful Planning Over a Century

Obviously, classic Japanese gardens were carefully planned and developed. They were sometimes a century in the making.

Definite types of gardens developed, and today there are several classic forms of gardens to be seen. In one, the glorification of nature, expressed with rocks and water and trees, stems from the Taoist tradition of harmony with nature, and in the small stone garden of the Ryoanji Palace the object is to express the mystery of beauty. The entire garden consists of fifteen boulders perfectly arranged on a rectangle of combed sand. To the occidental, who is inclined to think of gardens in an entirely different vein, it hardly seems a garden at all.

Today golden carp swim in ponds and streams in traditional gardens on large estates and in the famous temple gardens which are open to the public. Carved stone lanterns, miniature decorative pagodas, stone water basins and bridges are standard garden ornaments. The half-circle bridge, called a full-moon bridge, was designed to make the most of its reflection possibilities which were many. It is still quite popular.

Space is always at a premium in Japan, and small home owners have learned to use what little space they have for great effects. An entire garden may be concentrated outside a living room “shoji” or sliding screen. Upon opening the screen, the effect is similar to the revelation of a stage setting when a theater curtain rises. Within his own means and the limits of his artistic ability, the Japanese draws on a long garden heritage in developing his garden into a backdrop for living rather than merely creating a place in which to live.

Create the Illusion of Great Space

In a small area the Japanese have learned to create the illusion of great space by, for example, grading a level area so it slopes up and away from the viewer and by placing stepping stones which seem to lead somewhere but which in fact are only a token.

The Japanese are masters of make believe. What appears to be a deep bamboo thicket may actually be only seven bamboo stalks that are used to screen a wall and neighbor’s property, In the foreground, perhaps, will be a few selected rocks and plants arranged in an interesting fashion. A suburban or city garden may only be 5 feet in depth, yet it provides a real garden vista worth admiring through the seasons so skillfully has it been made.

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