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Article

Exploring the four representative types of Japanese garden

Words by Mari Hashimoto

From olden times down to the present, people all around the world have cultivated a rich array of gardens. The origins of all these gardens trace back to attempts to recreate in this world the otherworldly paradises expounded by the religions of each era and region.

Japan also has a rich history when it comes to gardens. Visitors to Japan will come across gardens in a variety of places, from regular houses to temples, parks, restaurants, hotels, ryokans, and even within commercial buildings. These gardens come in all shapes and sizes, but they seem to share some commonalities and points of attraction.

Gardening in Japan is said to trace back to the arrival of a numerous cultures from China and the Korean Peninsula, including religions like Buddhism and Daoism. Extant written records recount how Soga no Umako, one of the most powerful figures in Japan in the early 7th century, dug a pond at his residence near Asuka River and erected a small “island” in the middle of it. Chinese-style gardens were the norm back then, but people began redesigning them to reflect Japanese sensibilities. The 8th century saw the emergence of gardens that incorporated elements like irregular-shaped ponds, banks resembling the winding serpentine shapes of shorelines, and arrangements of natural rocks. This transition marked the advent of “Japanese gardens.”

Four representative garden styles developed thereafter. The first were Heian period (794–1192) gardens that portrayed the Buddhist Pure Land. These gardens were particularly popular among the Kyoto nobility, who filled the grounds of their estates with expansive ponds and running water. The ponds would feature islands connected by bridges, with the ponds flanked by small buildings connected by long, thin structures. The nobles would use these buildings for moon viewing, snow viewing, and to enjoy the cool breeze on summer evenings, for example. The garden of Byodoin Temple’s Amida Hall in Kyoto provides a splendid example of how these gardens of yore once looked.

The garden of Byodoin Temple’s Amida Hall
Copyright : Byodoin

The Muromachi period (1392–1573) then saw the emergence of dry rock gardens. This style was heavily influenced by Zen Buddhism. With Zen, all daily activities are regarded as part of Buddhist training to attain enlightenment. This includes garden building, with gardens constructed within Kyoto’s Zen temples. Located in small spaces surrounded by temple buildings, these gardens use natural rocks and white river sand to symbolically represent elements such as mountains, waterfalls and vast watery expanses. Ryoanji Temple’s world-famous rock garden is a particularly abstract example of this style.

Ryoanji Temple

Amid the growing popularity of the tea ceremony from the late Muromachi period to the Momoyama period (1573–1603), a new style emerged that made effective use of the approaches to teahouses. The design of these approaches was taken very seriously, and they were adorned with stepping stones, nobedan (paved paths made of stones of varying sizes), and other features. These ceremonial gardens and their teahouses have been preserved by the Omotesenke, the Urasenke, and other schools that have passed down the wabi-cha tea ceremony traditions that first emerged 400 years ago.

A new type of garden then developed during the Edo period (1603–1868). Known as kaiyu-shiki (“strolling-style”), this comprehensive style incorporated all the different styles mentioned above, with examples including the Rikugien Gardens in Tokyo’s Komagome district and Ritsurin Garden in Takamatsu. Centered around large ponds, these expansive gardens are divided into different areas that visitors can stroll around as they admire the changing scenery. With their huge size, diverse functionality, and ability to accommodate large crowds, these gardens have an air of modernity reminiscent of present-day parks.

Rikugien Gardens
Ritsurin Garden

Of course, there are also many modern gardens that adopt these traditions and arrange them in new ways. So why not add “gardens” to your travel itinerary and find the garden that comforts and inspires you the most?

Mari Hashimoto

Director of Kankitsuzan Art Museum establishment preparation office, Odawara Art Foundation.
Former Vice-chairperson of Eisei Bunko Museum (Private Museum of Hosokawa dynasty)
Visiting Professor, Kanazawa Institute of Technology

She is a writer/editor who specializes in Japanese arts. She is known for her contributions to major newspapers/magazines and for her appearances on arts programs on NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation). Her publications include Kazaru Nihon (Decorate Japan, Iwanami Shoten); Bijutsu de tadoru Nihon no rekishi (Japanese history traced by art, 3 volumes, Chobunsha Publishing); Kyoto de Nihon bijutsu wo miru [Kyoto Kokuritsu Bijutsukan] (Appreciation of Japanese arts in Kyoto [Kyoto National Museum], Shueisha Creative Publication); Kawari Kabuto Sengoku no COOL DESIGN (Kawari Kabuto, Cool design of the Sengoku period, Shinchosha Publishing); Shungart (co-authored, Shogakukan); Gensun bijutsukan 100% Hokusai! (Full-scale museum, Hokusai 100%!, co-authored, Shogakukan); and Nihon bijutsu zenshu Vol. 20 (Complete collection of Japanese Art Vol. 20, Shogakukan, edited).