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Jun 22, 2018 · Here is the low down on 5 of the most important types of traditional Japanese garden design and the elements that you will find in each. A little background to these styles will really enhance your understanding next time you visit a Japanese garden!
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- Kimono Designs
- Make an Entrance. Use a simple bamboo fence to block views of the world outside your garden and make the entrance clear with a gate and attractive arbor.
- Create Mystery. A key element in the Japanese garden style is creating vignettes that can't be viewed all at once. Here, a winding path leads your eye past the stone pagoda and invites you to speculate about what's around the next corner.
- Grow Evergreens. Low-maintenance Japanese garden design often relies on subtle differences in color and texture. Here, conifers provide soothing shades of green for year-round interest.
- Encourage Moss. Moss makes a serene-looking groundcover in moist, shady areas. Because moss doesn't tolerate foot traffic well, place a stepping stone walkway among the moss to allow passage without damaging its soft surface.
- Overview
- Types of gardens
- Characteristic features
Japanese garden, in landscape design, a type of garden whose major design aesthetic is a simple, minimalist natural setting designed to inspire reflection and meditation.
The art of garden making was probably imported into Japan from China or Korea. Records show that the imperial palaces had gardens by the 5th century ce, their chief characteristic being a pond with an islet connected to the shore by bridges—as is shown by later references to these precedents in Emperor Shōmu’s (724–756) three gardens in Nara. During the Heian period (794–1185), when the symmetrical shinden style of architecture prevailed, the main garden was laid out on the southern side of the house. With the change of domestic architecture in the Kamakura period (1192–1333), however, came modifications of the garden. Learned Zen priests, who assiduously studied the art of garden making, gave Buddhistic names to different rocks in the design and linked religio-philosophic principles with landscape lore. Other beliefs further complicated garden design. With the Muromachi period (1338–1573) came popularization of gardens, which were designed to be enjoyed not only as views to contemplate but as microcosms to explore. The subjective mood became dominant and the gardens reflected individuality. People demanded shibumi in their gardens—an unassuming quality in which refinement underlies a commonplace appearance, perceptible only to a cultivated taste. Aesthetic priests, “tea men,” and connoisseurs created new forms of gardens for cha-shitsu, the little pavilions or rooms built for the chanoyu (tea ceremony), and a special style developed which revolutionized Japanese garden art.
Japanese gardens are generally classified according to the nature of the terrain, either tsuki-yama (“artificial hills”) or hira-niwa (“level ground”), each having particular features. Tsuki-yama consists of hills and ponds, and hira-niwa consists of flat ground designed to represent a valley or moor; tsuki-yama may include a portion laid out as hira-niwa. Each type may, furthermore, be treated in any one of the three degrees of elaboration mentioned. Hill gardens as a rule include a stream and a pond of real water, but there is a special variation, the kare-sansui (dried-up landscape) style, in which rocks are composed to suggest a waterfall and its basin and, for a winding stream or a pond, gravel or sand is used to symbolize water or to suggest seasonally dried-up terrain.
There are other styles: sen-tei (“water garden”); rin-sen (“forest and water”); and, in level gardens, bunjin (“literary scholar”), a simple and small style typically integrating bonsai. The tea garden, or roji (“dewy ground or lane”), is another distinct garden style evolved to meet the requirements of the tea ceremony. Genkansaki (“front of entrance”) have always claimed special treatment—a simple curve in the path is used whenever possible, partly to conceal the door to the house and partly to give character to its front aspect.
Japanese gardens are characterized by: the waterfall, of which there are ten or more different arrangements; the spring and stream to which it gives rise; the lake; hills, built up from earth excavated from the basin for the lake; islands; bridges of many varieties; and the natural guardian stones. The selection and effective distribution of the stones are a prime consideration in garden design. After endless experiments and deep pondering, the best and most subtle compositions were handed down by means of drawings. A studied irregularity in the arrangement of stepping stones is a noteworthy feature of the chanoyu garden, where beauty and use are combined.
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In modern Japanese gardens, flowers are few and evergreens popular. Simplicity, restraint, and consistency are sought rather than gaiety, showiness, or the obvious variations of the seasons. Evergreen foliage is preferred to the changing aspect of deciduous trees, although maples and a few others are used. As in the case of stones, trees must be distributed in the garden in harmony with their natural origin and habit of growth. Wells, decorative and useful alike, stone water basins in endless variety, stone lanterns and figures, pagodas, arbours, and summer houses are the most characteristic garden furnishings. Together with gateways and fences—particularly the widely varying sode-gaki (“sleeve fences”) attached to the side of a house to screen certain portions—these elements harmonize the natural beauty of the garden with the architectural features of the house.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Build a Miniature Garden. Here are all the aspects of a Japanese garden, but in a small space! Combining several Japanese garden ideas in one place we have running water, rocks, decorative sands and a statue, combining to make a small but perfectly formed Japanese garden.
- Take Advantage of Corners. Small Japanese gardens are an eye-catching feature in any outdoor space. Here they’ve chosen a corner of the garden and added a bamboo water feature, a Japanese lantern, stones, and ferns.
- Incorporate Bold Landscaping. Here is a unique Japanese landscaped garden with no grass to mow! It’s one of the bolder Japanese garden ideas, with the large red Japanese archway, but there’s plenty of inspiration to be taken.
- Choose a Stone Lantern Centrepiece. Japanese gardens need the main elements of water, stone, clipped evergreens and a main focal point (such as the lantern in the garden above).
Immerse yourself in the art of Japanese garden design and discover the basics of creating a serene oasis of tranquility and beauty. Learn key concepts and ideas for beginners.
Mar 2, 2021 · Japanese gardens are organic and natural in design. They provide a fine blend of creativity with austerity to create a remarkable, timeless look. Essential in achieving this Japanese style garden is to include the principles and elements which are everywhere in Japanese culture.
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Feb 13, 2021 · In this post, we’ll look at the principles behind Japanese garden design, and how you can incorporate some Japanese garden ideas into your outdoor space – even if it’s just a balcony or small courtyard. We’ll go through plants, colours, materials and traditional elements that can all evoke the calm serenity of nature in Japan.
