complete study on Japanese Gardens, elements of Japanese gardens, principles of Japanese gardens, case study on Japanese gardens, examples of Japanese gardens, types of Japanese gardens

1. JAPANESE GARDENS
GUIDED BY:
PROF. CHITRA SHINDE
LANDSCAPE DESIGN
Submitted by:
Vishakha Patewar
Vishaka Bothra
Rajeshwari Sancheti
Mansi Sushir

2. CONTENTS
1) Introduction
2) History
3) Elements
4) Principles
5) Styles
6) Case study
7) Other examples

3. INTRODUCTION
• Japanese Gardens are also known as ZEN
Gardens.
• The idea of these gardens began during the
ASUKA Period.
• These are inspired by CHINESE GARDENS.
• Japanese Gardens first appeared on the island
of Honshu.
• These gardens have their roots in Japanese
religion of Shinto.
• Earlier gardens were designed in order to bring
spiritual sense to the gardens and make them
places where people could spend their time.

4. HISTORY
• The history of Japanese Gardens goes back to 7th century.
• The first Japanese Garden, that expressed Shinto, Buddhism and Taoism
visions can be traced back to Asuka Period.
• They were designed to capture the landscape in its natural form.
• In Japan, the five islands of the Chinese legend became one island, called
Horaizen, or Mount Horai.
• Replicas of these legendary mountains, the symbol of a perfect world, are
common features of Japanese Gardens.
• But gradually Japanese Garden designers began to develop their on
aesthetics, based on Japanese material and culture.
• By the end od Edo period, Japanese Gardens had its own distinct
appearance.
• Since the end of 19th century, these Gardens have also been adopted all
over and are also strongly influenced.

5. ELEMENTS
 Water
 Rock and sand
 Garden bridges
 Stone lanterns and water basins
 Garden fences and gates
 Trees and flowers
 Fish

6. • Japanese Gardens always have
water either a pond or stream.
• Water is used not just for its visual
quality, but also for its sound.
• The bank of the pond is usually
bordered by rocks and in order to
preserve the natural shapes, man-
made ponds are asymmetrical.
• A waterfall is more suitable to
stimulate both visual and acoustic
senses and a lake or pond is to
create a more formal and calm
setup.
WATER

7. ROCK AND SAND
• Rocks, sand and gravels are an essential
feature of Japanese Garden.
• Asymmetric arrangement of rocks is
preferred.
SIZE :
• Variation in rock sizes offer greater contrast
and interest resulting in the more dynamic
arrangement of rocks.
• Rocks are traditionally classified as tall
vertical, low vertical, arching, reclining, or
flat.

8. COLOUR :
• Colors of rocks generally varies
from grey to black, and from yellow
to brick red on the other hand.
TEXTURE :
• Rocks are often used to represent
islands and mountains, so conical
or dome shaped rough rocks are
used.
• Hard metamorphic rocks are
usually placed by waterfalls or
streams.

9. GARDEN BRIDGES
• Bridges could be made of stone
or of wood.
• They could be arched or flat.
• Bridges can be painted red if it is
used for temple garden, as per
Chinese tradition.

10. STONE LANTERNS
• Stone lanterns 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, top-most and pointing towards the sky.

11. STONE BASINS
• Stone water basins were originally placed
for the 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 drinker had to bend over to
get this water.

12. GARDEN FENCES AND GATES
• There are 3 types of fences:
i. Short fence which extends from the house into the
garden
ii. An inner fence
iii. An outer fence
• Short fences are screens that hide unwanted views
or objects.
• They are about 6-7 feet high and add color and
texture to the garden.
• Materials used are bamboo, wood and twigs of
bamboo or tree.

13. TREES AND FLOWERS
• Plants are chosen according to
aesthetic principles.
• They are used either to hide
undesirable sights or to serve as a
backdrop to certain garden features.
• Trees are carefully chosen and
arranged for their Autumn colors.
• Mosses are often used to suggest
that gardens are ancient.

14. • Flowers are carefully chosen by their
seasons of flowering.
• 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.

15. FISH
• The idea of using fish in landscape
garden is borrowed from Chinese
garden.
• Goldfish were introduced to japan
in 16th century.

16. PRINCIPLES
• Natural : That should make the garden look as if it grew by itself.
• Asymmetry : That creates the impression of it being natural.
• Odd numbers : like 3,5,7 that supports the effect of asymmetry.
• Simplicity : That follows the idea of “Less is More”.
• Triangle : That is the most common shape for compositions made of stones,
plants, etc.
• Contrast : That creates tension between elements.
• Lines : That can create both tranquility and tension.
• Curves : That softens the effect.
• Openness : That indicates interaction between all elements.

17. STYLES
There are six types of styles in Japanese gardens
• Pond garden
• Paradise garden
• Hermitage garden
• Dry rock garden or Zen garden
• Tea gardens
• Courtyard gardens

18. POND GARDEN
• Pond gardens are also known as “lake-
spring-boat excursion garden.
• It was imported from china during the
Heian period.
• ELEMENTS OF THE POND GARDEN:
i. Lake
ii. Islands
• FEATURES:
It featured a large, ornate residence with
two long wings reaching south to a large
lake and garden.
• These gardens had lakes with small
island, where musicians played during
festivals and ceremonies. Eg. HEIAN-JINJU
Old imperial pond garden in Kyoto

19. PARADISE GARDENS
• These gardens appeared in in late Heian
period.
• They were meant to symbolize paradise or
the pure land, where the Buddha sat on the
platform contemplating a lotus pond.
• ELEMENTS :
i. A lake island known as Nakajima
ii. A Buddha hall
iii. Arching bridge
• FEATURES:
i. These gardens featured a lake island called
Nakajima, where the Buddha hall was
located, connected to the shore by an
Arching Bridge.
Eg. Temple in Uji, Kyoto

20. HERMITAGE GARDENS
• A hermitage garden is a small garden
usually built by a Samurai or
Government official who wanted to
retire from public life and devote himself
to study and meditate.
• ELEMENTS:
i. Garden- traditional garden features
ii. Rustic house
iii. Winding path
• FEATURES:
The garden is attached to a rustic house,
and approached by winding path, which
suggests it is deep in a forest. Eg. Shisen-do Garden, Kyoto

21. DRY ROCK GARDENS / ZEN GARDENS
• These gardens are meant for
meditation.
• ELEMENTS:
i. White sand
ii. Raked gravel
• FEATRUE
These gardens have white sand and
raked gravels in place of water, carefully-
arranged rocks, and sometimes rocks and
sand covered with moss.
Eg. Ryoan-ji Temple, Kyoto

22. TEA GARDENS
• The style of gardens takes its
name from the path of the
teahouse, which is supposed to
inspire the visitor to meditation
to prepare for the ceremony.
• ELEMENTS:
i. Outer garden
ii. Gate
iii. Covered arbor
iv. Inner garden
v. Moist and green pathway

23. • FEATURES:
i. There is an outer garden, with a gate and
covered arbor where guests wait for the
invitation to enter.
ii. Then they pass through a gate to the inner
garden, where they wash their hands and
rinse their mouth, before entering in the
teahouse.
iii. The path is always kept moist and green, and
there are no bright flowers so that the visitor
is not distracted from meditation.
Eg. Teahouse in Ise Jingu

24. COURTYARD GARDENS
• These small gardens were originally found in
interior of Heian period and palaces.
• ELEMENTS:
i. Stone lantern
ii. Water basin
iii. Stepping stones
iv. Plants
• FEATURES:
i. These tiny gardens were meant to be seen,
not entered.
ii. They were design to give a glimpse of
nature and some privacy to the residence
of the rear side of the building.
Eg. Villa of Murin-an, Kyoto

25. Case study :
KINKAKU-JI GARDEN,
KYOTO, JAPAN

27. • Kinkaku-ji garden is a Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan.
• The golden pavilion is a 3 story building.
• The top 2 stories of the pavilion are covered with pure gold leaf.
• The pavilion extends over a pond (Kyoko chi pond) that reflects the building.
• The golden pavilion is set in a magnificent strolling garden
• The Kinkaku-ji grounds were built according to description of western paradise
of the Buddha Amida, intending to illustrate harmony between heaven and
earth.
• The pavilion symbolizes the land of happiness.
INTODUCTION

28. PLAN

29. • The largest islet in the pond represents the
Japanese Gardens.
• Tranquility pond is a small pond surrounded
by tress.
• It never dried even during droughts, the pond
was also used as a spot to pray for rain.
• In the centre of the pond is a small island with
five element stupa knowns as the White
snake Mound.

30. VIEWS
In the pond there are eight vary sized
island surrounded by famous rocks.

31. SOURCES
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_garden
https://www.britannica.com/art/Japanese-garden
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2099_elements.html
https://m.espacepourlavie.ca/en/elements-japanese-garden
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinkaku-ji

32. THANK YOU