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 Japanese gardens are a unique and extraordinarily beautiful phenomenon. Reproducing the natural scenery on relatively small sites by miniaturization of their proportions, gardens create a captivating atmosphere of contemplation and serenity. Bonsai trees, whimsically crooked against the backdrop of tiny rocks, delicate bridges, like soaring in the air - are precisely the features that make the romantic and mystique of all Japanese gardens.
And the curves of the artificially grown tree branches and ornate
garden paths, as hieroglyphs from the ancient manuscripts, ingeniously
tell their visitors the story revealing the idea behind the creation of
the wonderful garden.
An important feature of the Japanese park is that
by the use of evergreen plants, the park always looks attractive,
allowing its visitors to enjoy the scene throughout the year.
Mountainous landscape with many waterfalls and streams often becomes a
favorite subject for such a garden. In a sense it recreates the natural
landscape in miniature, where a dwarf umbrella pine is the most
favorite tree. It is usually placed among stones brought from distant
mountains, mossy in various shades and shapes. Thus, with the help of
these simple at a first glance compositions, an extraordinary diversity
is created in the park.
A few stones in the Japanese garden, a handful
of sand or a rock fragment from the sea coast often symbolize the
greatness of nature, as stones in the Japanese philosophy are
traditionally considered the top of creation. And some lake, pond,
stream or waterfall is introduced to bring the garden to a natural
landscape. Many ancient parks of Japan, which are a place of pilgrimage
for numerous tourists as well as indigenous population, for many
centuries remained the masterpieces and models of Japanese landscape
design. These gardens provide a source of inspiration for the modern
landscape designers and amaze its visitors with their original
structure and composition.
The designer plans are implemented in the
ancient gardens in a very interesting way. For example, if the pond was
meant for boating, then the arched bridges were created over the pond,
sometimes even in the Chinese style, with a small tower. Natural bridges were constructed in the manner that small wooden or stone
decks were thrown across the streams. Or just a large flat rock, very
similar to the real boulder, was placed. And in order to increase the
length of the route on a very small garden area, zigzag decks were
built over the water. In such a way, in the famous Heiyan Jingu Shrine
garden a trail of round stone piles was laid through the scenic haven,
to maximize the park promenade area. Waterfalls, where the stones
location and the sound of falling water harmonize with the landscape,
were and are a very important part of the landscape garden.
The cave or
waterfall in the garden is often associated with the legend of a
dragon, who lives nearby, and whose sculpture might decorate the
garden. In landscape gardens it was customary to reproduce the
individual and unique flavor and microclimate of the area where they
are located. The wonderful garden of mosses in the Sayhodzi temple
located in the lowlands, with lengthy moss and surrounded by giant
bamboo thickets, is an example. The wall of its ten-meter shoots not
only absorbs sunlight, and makes the twilight, but also gives the
garden a special mystique that is unique only to this place. But the
Japanese garden can be without water as well. Such a park is also known
as dry landscape. In it the stones, pebbles and gravel simulate water,
inspiring the imagination of its visitors. Boulders at this dry
reservoir depict the islands and smaller stones - coastline. Moss
around the same large pieces of rocks symbolically represents the tidal
line.
The Fifteen Stones garden at the Rlandzi temple in Kyoto is one
of the most famous flat gardens in Japan, where all the principles of
dry landscape artistry are most vividly expressed. From the temple
terrace one can see the mossy group of stones, arranged in a level
gravel field, symbolizing the smooth surface of water. People say, that
the central group of stones represents the family of a tiger, swimming
across the sea. Though to an inexperienced in the Japanese philosophy
visitor these boulders would resemble the mountainous islands in the
tide of a vast ocean. Only fourteen stones are clearly visible at the
same time. But, according to an ancient legend, only a man of
enlightened consciousness can see all the fifteen stones at once.
Flat
Japanese gardens are usually decorated with stone bridges, sculptures
of amazing animals or gods. And curved or clipped low trees and shrubs
increase the symbolic resonance of the stony gardens' miniature world.
Another type of Japanese garden is a tea house garden, which is
exquisitely ornamental and elegant and serves as an attribute to the
tea ceremony. The garden of this type usually consists of two parts,
where its external part prepares the people that come towards the tea
house for a tea ceremony, the philosophical meaning of which lies in
understanding and experiencing beauty. Here, all the looks are
attracted to the path decoration, which is one of the key design
elements of the external garden. The path is laid with intricate mosaic
stones. This sets the rhythm of walking through the garden to the pool,
decorated with two boulders, a lantern and a bowl of hot water. All of
these items make harmony with the landscape and their simple shape
stresses the beauty of the surrounding world. From the tea house
terrace the second part of the tea landscape opens - the internal
garden which usually combines the elements of mountainous garden and
dry landscape. The dominant shades of green, smooth shapes of objects
are deliberately simple and designed to appease the soul and attune the
mind to a philosophical mood. The world of Japanese gardens is very
subtle and contradictory. Here, the rules are elevated to laws, to be
refuted then by other dogmas. For the Japanese philosophy teaches us
that one can never blindly and thoughtlessly follow the established
models. Everything in the world must be original and unique.
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