Japan

n the Far East gardens have always represented a “barometer” for national prosperity. The most remarkable ones appeared in peaceful and affluent times. Surprisingly, Japanese gardens are an exception from that common rule. They do not belong to the luxurious possessions which ought to convey how rich their owner was. They are an inseparable part from the Japanese house, a vital necessity and at the same time, a means of communication with nature. Actually, the garden complements the home and its most captivation views are to be contemplated through the doors and windows.

The Japanese create their art of gardening over a small area. But there is a peculiar fusion between the garden and the house. 

Pieces of the interior represent an “appendix” of the garden through the scenery images on boxes, pads, mats, screens, etc.

The Japanese use dimensionally suitable materials (sand, stones, moss, etc.) for the construction of their tiny yards. Horticulturists even grew appropriately sized trees. Japanese mastery in the art of arranging flowers evolved to a real science. All fine arts in Japan – from painting to fabric coloring and ceramics, re-create nature. 

The art of gardening was brought to Japan either from China or Korea. Only a few ancient preserved texts certify the existence of ancient gardens in Japan. However, all of these texts feature a classical image of a pond, an island and small bridges. Gardens were favorite places for literary discussions which were held among the blooming morello, cherry, peach-trees, pine-trees and willows. But tradition enjoined the new rulers to move to another place when coming into power, and therefore, horticulture in Japan couldn’t keep a permanent line of development. It was not until the proclamation of Nara as the official capital of Japan that seven consecutive rulers extended and enriched the imperial gardens with ponds and islands, typical of Japanese mastery.

This time frame marks the beginning of the first from the three distinct periods in the history of Japanese gardens which correspond to the European Middle Ages. 

The Nara period was inspired by the Chinese emperor Sui Yang Ti’s order to construct a vast imperial palace and garden with five artificial lakes, four artificial seas (13 miles in circuit) and filled with examples of all living creatures known to the Empire. A Japanese emissary who visited the site was deeply impressed. A few years later a marvelous equivalent was created near Nara. “During this period, Japanese merchants traveled to China frequently, importing many facets of Chinese culture and appreciating the rugged coastline of their own country, inspiring early garden makers to edge the lakes in the gardens of the aristocracy with rocks, pebbles and sand. This style of garden became so typical that the word shima meaning island was also used to mean garden for the next hundred years, according to Bibb"

At the end of the 8th century Heian (now Kyoto) became the capital of Japan and what is known as Japans Classical period began. The new capital was soon adorned with spacious gardens with cascades, rocks, shady pine-trees and various flowers – chrysanthemums, orchids, wisteria, etc. The country prospered, the arts flourished, the nobility devoted themselves to arts philosophy and self indulgence. Buddhism and the contemplative art of garden design obsessed the aristocrats. The trade with China was restored in 894 AD. It was an opportunity for a “uniquely Japanese interpretation to be imposed on imported Chinese ideas and perhaps added to a sense of melancholic lassitude, which was permeating Japanese nobility at that time. As the aristocracy became increasingly preoccupied with philosophical matters and employed Buddhist monks as garden designers it was no surprise that Buddhist metaphors came to be widely employed at this time.”

The geometric style in the construction of parks dominated during that period. The central garden was located in the South and, inevitably, it contained its picturesquely formed “hill” and freely outlined water area with an island. One of the two bridges connecting the island with the land was arced in order to allow the swift passage of ships. 

“Design the pond with respect to its position in the land, follow its request, when you encounter a potential site, consider its atmosphere, think of the mountains and water, of living things and reflect constantly on such settings.”   (from the Sakuteiki)

The Sakuteiki is the earliest known garden manual featuring the main principles of Classic gardening construction as well as detailed plans for the construction of ponds, paths, gravel and describes the geometric taboos against certain practices. The Japanese created their own beliefs concerning natural objects. 

The military sentiment which seized the whole country from 1186 to 1335/39 set the beginning of the third period – Kamakura. The rough way of life advocated by the newly introduced Zen Buddhism from China taught the Japanese to prefer simplicity. The newly-constructed gardens, peculiar with their unique rock arrangements, were built not just for their aesthetic value but also for the philosophic ideas they provoked. These were peaceful, contemplative gardens with restful views designed for meditation.

The laws of decorum and harmony, of active and passive, of light and shades, of male and female drives, as well as the nine spirits of the Buddhist Pantheon, all these facets of Chinese philosophy and folklore strongly influenced the very basis of Japanese garden’s ideology, and therefore, its construction.

The next, Muromachi period in Japanese garden history is characterised by the development of Zen Buddhist ideas and formalization of the Tea ceremony. Waterworks gained increasing popularity due to the moving of the government to the hilly Kyoto. On the other hand, the refining of the Zen aesthetics led to the creation of the dry landscape or Kare-sansui garden. Zen monks (Sesshu 1420-1506) designed more and more abstract gardens, even gave names to the rocks in their strife not to represent natural sights but “the inner secrets of nature and human existence.” These trends reached their zenith with the construction of the famous Royan-ji garden in Kyoto which represented a group of fifteen stones in a sea of gravel. 

About 1570 began the Momoyama period characterised by the creation of numerous splendid gardens including the Kyoto Imperial Palace. Rustic simplicity was applied to the Tea ceremony. A great garden artist from that time , Enshu, is believed to have developed the trends of clipping bushes into tight designs known as O-Karikomi and setting fixed routs for walking through the garden. 

In the next two periods, the Edo (1603-1867) and the Meiji (1868-1912), the Samurai lost their prestige and the monks were deprived of their functions of garden builders. Edo (now Tokyo) became the new seat of the government. Most gardens were small at that time, since they belonged to people from the merchant class who created gardens of its own without concern of traditional rituals and symbolism. The Meiji period brought the American influence which resulted in the construction of public parks, flower beds and lawns. 

Fortunately, these ideas tend to be merged into the rich tradition of Japanese garden design.