- Early Japanese gardens originated from sacred Shinto places marked by pebbles and later imperial palace gardens for recreation. They were influenced by Chinese philosophy and Buddhism. - During the Heian period, aristocrats built large Shinden and Pure Land gardens. Zen Buddhism influenced simpler tearoom and rock gardens in the Kamakura period. - The Edo period saw the development of large strolling gardens. Small urban tsuboniwa also emerged. Modernization in the Meiji era incorporated Western elements. - Traditional Japanese gardens use scaled elements and symbolism. They feature water, islands, and carefully placed rocks and sand to represent nature. Buildings provide views and contemplation spaces.

1. GARYGILSON
SCHOOLOFARCHITECTURE
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3. • The idea of these unique gardens began during the
Asuka period (Inspired from the Chinese gardens)
• Japanese gardens first appeared on the island of
Honshu, the large central island of Japan.
• Influenced by the distinct characteristics of the
Honshu landscape; rugged volcanic peaks, narrow
valleys and mountain streams with waterfalls and
cascades, lakes, and beaches of small stones. They
were also influenced by the rich variety of flowers
and different species of trees, particularly
evergreen trees, on the islands, and by the four
distinct seasons in Japan, including hot,wet
summers and snowy winters

4. • Japanese gardens have their roots in Japanese
religion of Shinto,with its story of the creation of
eight perfect islands, and of the shinchi, the lakes
of the gods.
• Prehistoric Shinto shrines to the gods and spirits,
are found on beaches and in forests all over the
island.
• Sometimes they took the form of unusual rocks or
trees, which were marked with cords of rice fiber
and surrounded with white stones or pebbles, a
symbol of purity.
• The white gravel courtyard became a distinctive
feature of Shinto shrines, Imperial Palaces,
Buddhist temples, and Zen gardens

5. • Japanese gardens also were strongly influenced by the
Chinese philosophy of Daoism, and Buddhism, imported
from China.
• Daoist legends spoke of five mountainous islands inhabited
by the Eight Immortals, who lived in perfect harmony with
nature.
• Each Immortal flew from his mountain home on the back of
a crane. The islands themselves were located on the back
of an enormous sea turtle.
• In Japan, the five islands of the Chinese legend became one
island, called Mount Horai. Replicas of this legendary
mountain, the symbol of a perfect world, are a common
feature of Japanese gardens, as are rocks representing
turtles and cranes.

6. • The earliest recorded Japanese gardens were the pleasure
gardens of the Japanese Emperors and nobles. They are
mentioned in several brief passages of Nihon Shoki, the
first chronicle of Japanese history.
• The chronicle recorded: "The Emperor Keikō put a few carp
into a pond, and rejoiced to see them morning and
evening". The following year, "The Emperor launched a
double hulled boat in the pond of Ijishi at Ihare, and went
aboard with his imperial concubine, and they feasted
sumptuously together". And in 486, "The Emperor Kenzō
went into the garden and feasted at the edge of a winding
stream"

7. • The Chinese garden had a very strong influence on the
early Japanese gardens. In or around 552 AD Buddhism was
officially installed from China, via Korea, into Japan.
• Between 600 and 838, the Japanese Emperor sent about 19
legations to the Court of the Chinese Sui and Tang Dynasty.
These legations, with more than five hundred members
each, included diplomats, scholars, students, Buddhist
monks, and translators. They brought back Chinese
writing, art objects, and detailed descriptions of Chinese
gardens.

8. • In 612, the Empress Suiko had garden built with an artificial
mountain, representing Mount Sumeru, reputed in Hindu
and Buddhist legends to be located at the center of the
world.
• During the reign of the same Empress, one of her ministers,
had a garden built at his palace featuring a lake with several
small islands, representing the islands of the Eight
Immortals famous in Chinese legends and the Daoist
philosophy. This Palace became the property of the
Japanese Emperors,was named "The Palace of the Isles",
and was mentioned several times in the "Collection of
Countless Leaves", the oldest known collection of Japanese
poetry.

9. • It appears from the small amount of literary and
archeological evidence available that the Japanese gardens
of this time were modest versions of the Imperial gardens
of the Tang Dynasty, with large lakes scattered with
artificial islands and artificial mountains.
• Pond edges were constructed with heavy rocks as
embankment. While these gardens had some Buddhist and
Daoist symbolism, they were meant to be pleasure gardens,
and places for festivals and celebrations.

11. • One of the earliest garden forms in Japan were sacred
places in the midst of nature, which humans marked by
pebbles. Predating the introduction of Chinese culture
from the mainland, this early garden form can be
recognized at some ancient Shinto shrines, for example at
the Ise Shrines, whose buildings are surrounded by wide
pebbled areas.
• During this era, gardens were built at imperial palaces for
the recreation and entertainment of the emperor and
aristocrats. They introduced ponds and streams as their
focal points, contained many Buddhist and Taoist
elements and attempted to reproduce famous
landscapes.
• Unfortunately none of these early palace gardens
survive. However, based on archaeological findings in
Nara, the East Palace Garden at Heijo Palace was
meticulously reconstructed and opened to the public in
the 1990s and provides visitors with a good idea of these
early types of palace gardens.
Stones used to delineate sacred grounds in Ise Shrine
Early aristocratic pond garden in East Palace Garden - Heijo Palace

12. • During the relatively peaceful Heian Period, the capital
was moved to Kyoto where the aristocrats devoted much
of their time to the arts. They began building Shinden
Gardens at their palaces and villas, large gardens which
were used for elaborate parties and for recreational
activities such as boating, fishing and general
enjoyment.
• Shinden Gardens were described in detail in the classic
novel Tale of Genji. Designed after Chinese concepts, the
gardens featured large ponds and islands connected by
arched bridges under which boats could pass.
• A gravel covered plaza in front of the building was used
for entertainment, while one or more pavilions extended
out over the water.
• No Shinden Garden survives today, but some of their
large ponds are found incorporated into later gardens.
Pure Land Garden (Motsuji Temple in Hiraizumi)
Remains of a Shinden Garden in Kyoto (Osawa Pond-Daikakuji Temple)

13. • In the late Heian Period, Pure Land Buddhism gained
popularity, promising its devotees a spot in the the
Western Paradise of the Amida Buddha or Pure Land.
Consequently, gardens were built to resemble that
Buddhist paradise.
• Similar in design to Shinden Gardens, they featured a
large pond with lotus flowers and islands, as well as
beautiful pavilion buildings.
• No complete Pure Land Garden survives, however, Uji's
Byodoin Temple and Hiraizumi's Motsuji Temple preserve
many major elements of the garden type.
Remains of a Shinden Garden in Kyoto (Osawa Pond-Daikakuji Temple)
Pure Land Garden (Motsuji Temple in Hiraizumi)

14. • At the beginning of the Kamakura Period a shift of power
from the aristocratic court to the military elite was
completed. The military rulers embraced the newly
introduced Zen Buddhism, which would exert a strong
influence on garden design.
• Gardens were often built attached to temple buildings to
help monks in meditation and religious advancement
rather than for recreational purposes.
• Gardens also became smaller, simpler and more
minimalist, while retaining many of the same elements
as before, such as ponds, islands, bridges and waterfalls.
• The most extreme development towards minimalism was
the Karesansui Dry Garden which uses nothing but rocks,
gravel and sand to represent all the elements of the
garden landscape.
• Many gardens from this period still survive in Japan,
especially in Kyoto's leading Zen temples, such as Ryoanji,
Daitokuji, Tenryuji and Kokedera. Some older examples
are also found in Kamakura, including the early Zen
gardens of Zuisenji and Kenchoji.
Karesansui Dry Garden
Ryoanji Zen Rock Garden

15. • Tea gardens (Chaniwa) had already appeared in previous
periods for holding the tea ceremony, but they reached
the height of their development during the Momoyama
Period when the contemporary tea masters refined and
perfected their design and imbued them with the spirit of
"wabi" or rustic simplicity, for which they are recognized
today.
• Tea gardens are simple and utilitarian.
• A stepping stone path leads from the entrance to a tea
house. Stone lanterns provide lighting and a decorative
element, while a wash basin is used for ritual cleansing.
Many tea gardens can be found in Japan today, although
many of them are incorporated into larger garden
designs.
• The garden was also small, and constantly watered to be
damp and green. It usually had a cherry tree or elm to
bring color in the spring, but otherwise did not have
bright flowers or exotic plants that would distract the
attention of the visitor.
Tea Garden (Kotoin Temple in Kyoto)
Garden at Daigo-ji famous for it’s cherry blossoms

16. • During the Edo Period, garden design departed from the
minimalism of the Muromachi Period as the ruling class
rediscovered its likings for extravagance and recreation.
• The product were large strolling gardens with ponds,
islands and artificial hills that could be enjoyed from a
variety of viewpoints along a circular trail. Many strolling
gardens also included elements of tea gardens.
• The regional feudal lords constructed strolling gardens
both in their home towns and at their secondary villas,
which they were required to maintain in Edo (current day
Tokyo).
• Therefore, strolling gardens today can typically be found
in former castle towns and scattered around Tokyo.
Among the most celebrated strolling gardens are
Kanazawa's Kenrokuen, Okayama's Korakuen,
Takamatsu's Ritsurin Koen, Kyoto's Katsura Imperial Villa
and Tokyo's Rikugien and Koishikawa Korakuen.
Strolling Garden (Suizenji Park in Kumamoto)
The garden of Katsura Imperial Villa in Kyoto, the prototype for stroll garden

17. • In contrast, Tsuboniwa are small gardens that became
popular among the urban population. These mini gardens
(tsubo refers to the area of two tatami mats) filled in the
small courtyard spaces within or between townhouses
and provided a touch of nature as well as light and fresh
air.
• Due to their size, they usually featured just a small
amount of decorative elements and were not meant to
be entered.
• Tsuboniwa can be seen in some of the historic merchant
residences that are open to the public. They also remain
a popular type of garden today among people who wish
to incorporate a small green space into their homes, but
lack the luxury of abundant space.
Strolling Garden (Suizenji Park in Kumamoto)
Tsuboniwa (Marchant House in Naramachi)

18. • In the Meiji Period(1867–1912), Japan entered an age of
rapid modernization and Westernization. Western style
city parks were built, and many of the formerly private
strolling gardens were opened to the public. Politicians
and industrialists were the force behind the construction
of new private strolling gardens which often contained
Western gardening elements such as flower beds and
open lawns. Many of these gardens were built in the new
capital of Tokyo, for example the Kiyosumi Teien.
• Some modern garden designers also tried their hand at
creating more traditional types of Japanese gardens,
although they often included some new ideas into them.
Good examples are the Zen gardens of the Tofukuji
Temple in Kyoto and the stone garden in the back of
Kongobuji Temple on Koyasan which date from the 1930s
or the even more recent gardens of the Adachi Art
Museum near Matsue.
Kiyosumi Teien
Gardens of the Adachi Art Museum near Matsue.

28. • The two main principles incorporated in a Japanese
garden are scaled reduction and symbolization. Japanese
gardens always have water, either a pond or stream, or, in
the dry rock garden, represented by white sand. In
Buddhist symbolism, water and stone are the yin and
yang, two opposites that complement and complete each
other. A traditional garden will usually have an irregular
shaped pond or, in larger gardens, two or more ponds
connected by a channel or stream, and a cascade, a
miniature version of Japan's famous mountain waterfalls.
• In traditional gardens, the ponds and streams are
carefully placed according to Buddhist geomancy, the art
and science of putting things in the place most likely to
attract good fortune. According to the Sakuteiki, the
water should enter the garden from the east or southeast
and flow toward the west because the east is the home of
the Green Dragon, an ancient Chinese divinity adapted in
Japan, and the west is the home of the White Tiger, the
divinity of the east. Water flowing from east to west will
carry away evil, and the owner of the garden will be
healthy and have a long life. According to the Sakuteiki,
another favorable arrangement is for the water to flow
from north, which represents water in Buddhist
cosmology, to the south, which represents fire, which are
opposites (yin and yang) and therefore will bring good
luck.
• Traditional Japanese gardens have small islands in the
lakes. In sacred temple gardens, there is usually an island
which represents Mount Penglai or Mount Horai, the
traditional home of the Eight Immortals.
• A cascade or waterfall is an important element in
Japanese gardens, a miniature version of the waterfalls of
Japanese mountain streams.

29. An island of weathered
rocks and a single pine
tree in Tokyo
represents Mount
Horai, the legendary
home of the Eight
Immortals.
The springfed pond at
Suizenji Jōjuen
garden, (1636) whose
water was reputed to
be excellent for
making tea
An island in Korakuen
gardens, Tokyo
Youkoukan Garden in
Fukui Prefecture
recreates a miniature
beach and a
mountain

30. • Rock, sand and gravel are an essential feature of the
Japanese garden. A vertical rock may represent Mount
Horai, the legendary home of the Eight Immortals, or
Mount Sumeru of Buddhist teaching, or a carp jumping
from the water. A flat rock might represent the earth.
Sand or gravel can represent a beach, or a flowing river.
Rocks and water also symbolize yin and yang in Buddhist
philosophy; the hard rock and soft water complement
each other, and water, though soft, can wear away rock.
• Rough volcanic rocks are usually used to represent
mountains or as stepping stones. Smooth and round
sedimentary rocks are used around lakes or as stepping
stones. Hard metamorphic rocks are usually placed by
waterfalls or streams. Rocks are traditionally classified as
tall vertical, low vertical, arching, reclining, or flat.
• Rocks should vary in size and color but from each other,
but not have bright colors, which would lack subtlety.
Rocks with strata or veins should have the veins all going
in the same direction, and the rocks should all be firmly
planted in the earth, giving an appearance of firmness
and permanence. Rocks are arranged in careful
compositions of two, three, five or seven rocks.
• In a three arrangement, the tallest rock usually represents
heaven, the shortest rock is the earth, and the medium
sized rock is humanity, the bridge between heaven and
earth.
• Sometimes one or more rocks, called suteishi,
("nameless" or "discarded") are placed in seemingly
random locations in the garden, to suggest spontaneity,
though their placement is carefully chosen.
• It was used in the Japanese rock garden or Zen Buddhist
gardens to represent water or clouds. White sand
represented purity

31. Tōfukuji
garden in
Kyoto
Shitennoji
garden.
Note the threerock
composition in the
center.
Rocks in the Garden
of the Blissful
Mountain
at Daitokuji
Myōshinji
garden

32. • In Heian Period Japanese gardens, built in the Chinese
model, buildings occupied as much or more space than the
garden. The garden was designed to be seen from the main
building and its verandas, or from small pavilions built for
that purpose. In later gardens, the buildings were less
visible. Rustic teahouses were hidden in their own little
gardens, and small benches and open pavilions along the
garden paths provided places for rest and contemplation.
• In later garden architecture, walls of houses and teahouses
could be opened to provide carefully framed views of the
garden. The garden and the house became one.

33. A teahouse in Joan
garden, from 1618.
The simple and
unadorned zen
teahouse style
began to be used on
all Japanese
buildings, from
garden pavilions to
palaces. This
teahouse was
declared a National
Treasure of Japan in
1951.
The symmetrical and
highly ornamental
architecture of the
Phoenix Hall Garden,
Kyoto, was inspired by
Chinese Song Dynasty
architecture.
The architecture of
the main house of
the Katsura Imperial
Villa was inspired by
the simplicity of the
tea house.

34. • Bridges first appeared in the Japanese garden during the
Heian period. At Byōdōin garden in Kyoto, a wooden
bridge connects the Phoenix pavilion with a small island
of stones, representing the Mount Penglai or Mount
Horai, the island home of the Eight Immortals of Daoist
teaching.
• The bridge symbolized the path to paradise and
immortality. Bridges could be made of stone or of wood,
or made of logs with earth on top, covered with
• moss , they could be either arched or flat.
• Sometimes if they were part of a temple garden, they
were painted red, following the Chinese tradition, but for
the most part they were unpainted.
• During the Edo period, when large promenade gardens
became popular, streams and winding paths were
constructed, with a series of bridges, usually in a rustic
stone or wood style, to take visitors on a tour of the
scenic views of the garden.

35. Wood and stone
bridge at Suizenji
garden.The garden
was begun in 1636.
Stone bridge in
Koishikawa
Kōrakuen
The bridge at Byōdōin
temple (1052)
represented the way
to the island of the
immortals, and
paradise
Wooden bridge in
Ritsurin Garden,
(Between 1642 and
1745)

36. • The use of fish, particularly coloured carp, or goldfish as a
decorative element in gardens was borrowed from the
Chinese garden. Goldfish were developed in China more
than a thousand years ago by selectively breeding
Prussian carp for colour mutations. By the Song Dynast.
• Yellow, orange, white and red and white colorations had
been developed.
• Goldfish were introduced to Japan in the 16th century.
Koi were developed from common carp in Japan in the
1820s.
• Koi are domesticated common carp that are selected or
culled for colour; they are not a different species, and will
revert to the original coloration within a few generations
if allowed to breed freely.

37. Nishiki goi,
or brocaded (colored)
carp, a decorative fish
bred for gardens
Nishiki goi (Carps)
Kept of Amaterasu in
the Ise Grand Shrine
Koi in Himeji Kokoen
Garden

38. • Nothing in a Japanese garden is natural or left to chance;
each plant is chosen according to aesthetic principles,
either to hide undesirable sights, to serve as a backdrop
to certain garden features, or to create a picturesque
scene, like a landscape painting or postcard.
• Trees are carefully chosen and arranged for their autumn
colours.
• Moss is often used to suggest that the garden is ancient.
• Flowers are also carefully chosen by their season of
flowering.
• Formal flowerbeds are rare in older gardens, but more
common in modern gardens. Some plants are chosen for
their religious symbolism, such as the lotus, sacred in
Buddhist teachings, or the pine, which represents
longevity.
• The trees are carefully trimmed to provide attractive
scenes, and to prevent them from blocking other views of
the garden. Their growth is also controlled, in a technique
called Niwaki, to give them more picturesque shapes, and
to make them look more ancient. They are sometimes
constrained to bend, in order to provide shadows or
better reflections in the water.
• Very old pine trees are often supported by wooden
crutches, or their branches are held by cords, to keep
them from breaking under the weight of snow.
• In the late 16th century, a new art was developed in the
Japanese garden, the technique of trimming bushes into
balls or rounded shapes which imitate waves. According
to tradition this art was most frequently practiced on
azalea bushes.

39. Some ancient pine
trees at Kenrokuen
supported by cords
in winter to keep
their limbs from
breaking.
Okarikomi sculpted
trees and bushes at
Chiran Samurai
Residence.
Trimmed
bushes in Ritsurin
Garden.
Azaleas at Sorakuen
Garden

40. • Japanese stone lanterns date back to the Nara Period and
the Heian Period. Originally they were located only at
Buddhist temples, where they lined the paths and
approaches to the temple, but in the Heian period they
began to be used at Shinto shrines as well.
• According to tradition, during the Momoyama Period
they were introduced to the tea garden by the first great
tea masters, and in later gardens they were used purely
for decoration.
• In its complete and original form, like the pagoda,
represents the five elements of Buddhist cosmology.
• The piece touching the ground represents the earth; the
next section represents water; fire is represented by the
section encasing the lantern's light or flame, air and void
or spirit are represented by the last two sections,
topmost and pointing towards the sky.
• The segments express the idea that after death our
physical bodies will go back to their original, elemental
• form.
• Stone water basins, were originally placed in gardens for
visitors to wash their hands and mouth before the tea
ceremony.
• The water is provided to the basin by a bamboo pipe, and
they usually have a wooden ladle for drinking the water.
• In tea gardens, the basin was placed low to the ground, so
the drinker had to bend over to get his water.

41. Lantern in Korakuen
garden
Snow lanterns, like
this one in
Kenrokuen garden,
have wide brims
which catch the
snow, to create
picturesque scenes.
Water basin at
Ryoanji, Kyoto
Stone water basin in
Kenrokuen garden

42. • Another concept inherent in every Japanese garden is
enclosure. The garden is to become a microcosm of
nature. For the garden to be a true retreat, first seal it
away from the outside world. Once it is enclosed, to
create a method (and a mindset) to enter and leave the
microcosm.
• Fences and gates are as important to the Japanese
garden as lanterns and maples.
• As with most things associated with the garden the fence
and gates have deep symbolic meaning as well as specific
function. The garden is viewed as a separate world in
which we have no worries or concerns.
• The fence insulates us from the outside world and the
gate is the threshold where we both discard our worldly
cares and then prepare ourselves to once again face the
world.
• The fence is also a tool to enhance yet another concept,
miegakure, or hide and reveal.
• Many of the fence styles offer only the merest of visual
screens, and will be supplemented with a screen planting,
offering just the ghostly hints of the garden behind.
• Sometimes a small window is cut in a solid wall to present
the passer-by with a tantalizing glimpse of what lies
beyond. You can be certain that you will only see a sliver
of what lies beyond.
• Even if we enter the house to view the garden we may
well encounter sleeve fences. This is a fence that attaches
to an architectural structure, be it a house or another
fence, to screen a specific view.
• To view the garden as a whole one must enter it and
become one with the garden. This is the final step in the
true appreciation of the garden, to lose oneself in it until
time and self have no meaning.

43. Katsura Imperial
Villa, designed, like
all the garden, for
purity and simplicity
The traditional
garden
gate of the Adachi
Museum of Art
Gate of the Urakuen
tea garden.
(Seen from inside)

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