The design of Japanese gardens is utterly different from the
ideas of the West. Flowers, lawns and hedges as we know them
have no place. Colour is provided by the blossoms of flowering
trees and shrubs; in the rare cases where flowers are used, they
are in pots and placed carefully in appropriate positions and only
when at their best. Ground is of bare soil interspersed with mossy
tufts, carpeting plants and stones, and the winding walks are
made by stepping stones, placed with exquisite care.
Reproduction of full-sized landscapes, etc., is produced by
means of perspective common to the artist. The most distant
mountains are low, lightly "drawn" and without any trees or
pronounced vegetation. The more distant line of a river or lake
shore is set at a slightly higher level and with narrow lines that
broaden as they approach the middle distance. A fringe of
foliage outlines the middle hill and emphasizes the perspective
effect. Coniferous trees are used on the slopes of hills in the
near middle distance and make a background for the flowering
shrubs used in the foreground. Vistas are so artistically arranged
that they give suggestions of much greater depth and detail than
there actually is.
The master Japanese designers delight in planning gardens in
which the full beauties unfold only to the seeker. Wandering
paths lead to new views and concealed beauty spots. A story is
told how one famous Japanese gardener placed a water-basin in
such a position that only when the visitor raised his head from
the basin a beautiful vista came into his vision which he would
not otherwise have seen. This illustrates the immense thought
and scrupulous attention to detail which the Japanese designer
applies, and in the true bonsai or dish garden the same spirit is
followed according to the degree of elaboration which is possible.
There are three recognized degrees:
1. Shin, very elaborate; 2. Gyo, intermediate; and 3. So, the
simplest form.
TYPES OF JAPANESE GARDEN
There are many involved and subtle complexities in Japanese
garden design, much of which still remain guarded in secret
traditions. There are two main forms.
1. Hira-niwa (level lands), that typify something of plains or
moorland scenery.
One simple form of this type is called the bunjin-zukuri.
2. Tsuki-yama (artificial mountains). This is, perhaps, the
better known form, and the sacred mountain Fujiyama with its
consort Bay of Japan has had a profound influence on national
symbolism. Tama is Japanese for "mountain" ;fuji for "wistaria".
The three main modified types, which are often parts, of tsukiyama are:
(a)kare-sansui, a kind of dry garden, without trees.
(b)sen-tei, naturalistic water garden.
(c)rin-sen, naturalistic forest garden.
A cha-niwa or cha-seki (tea-garden) is often placed next to the
main garden boundaried by a fencing of bamboo or a roji (water
passage). This garden is dedicated to the traditional tea-drink-
ing ceremony (cha-no-yu), which was already well established at
the time of our Robert the Bruce.
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