Download - Japanese landscaping
JAPANESE LANDSCAPING
AKASH KUMARSEM-VII, SEC-A
JAGANNTH UNIVERSITY
INTRODUCTION
▪ NATURE in Japan, is an expression of divine.▪ OBJECTIVE of Japanese garden is to copy the
beauty of nature, to bring it home by adapting it through different techniques.
▪ Garden designs were inspired by these poetic concepts, first as subtle allusions to nature, and later as more overt scenography.
HISTORY AND ORIGIN
▪ Many cultural influences reached Japan via. Korean peninsula.
▪ Also Chinese beliefs – artistic styles had huge impact on Japanese designers.– Adoption of ideas into their local customs and blended
foreign styles with vernacular traditions. ▪ Nature was largely uncontrollable, and political
order was unstable. – Whether for protection or defence, to mitigate forces of
nature, or to create a more perfect representation of nature, gardens were enclosed.
– The act of enclosing space creates a realm distinct from its surroundings, often symbolized an idea of paradise.
CHINESE INFLUENCES
▪ Middle Ages –– Design for a new city (Mid 7th century)– Heian Period (794-1185)– Kamakura Period (1185-1334) ▪ Zen Buddhism and Song period art entered Japan and had
profound influences on garden design.
▪ Muromachi Era – (p.61-64) (15th century)▪ Momoyama Era – (p.101-104) (16th century) ▪ Edo Period – (p.111-118) (17th century)
BASIC ELEMENTS OF JAPANESE GARDENS
▪ Garden plants and trees▪ Fences and walls▪ Stones, stepping stones..▪ Garden paths▪ Stone water basins, stone lanterns..▪ Ponds, waterfalls, bridges, wells..(can be
real/symbolic)
BASIC PRINCIPLE IN THE DESIGN OF JAPANESE GARDENS
▪ Natural: that should make the garden look as if it grew by itself
▪ Asymmetry: that creates the impression of it being natural
▪ Odd numbers: It supports the effect of the 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
WATER/ IKE
It represents the sea, lake, pond or river in nature.
Non geometrical in appearance.
The bank of the pond is usually bordered by stones
A fountain is sometimes found at the bottom of a hill or hillside or secluded forest.
Wells are sometimes found in a Japanese garden.
Kio fishes kept in water bodies has decorative meaning.
PATHS/ TOBI
▪ Flat stepping stones– Served to preserve the grass as well
as orient the viewer to a specific visual experience.
▪ Step stones– Found near the veranda or entrance
of the house or tea room. – The visitor of the house or room is
expected to place his shoes on the step stone before entering.
▪ Bridges – Traditional Japanese bridges/ mono
bridges has a purpose to reflect artistic feeling.
STONE BASINS AND STONE LANTERNS
▪ Stone Basins – – Two types▪ kazari- chozubachi, which is kept near the verandah ▪ tsukubai for tea garden
▪ Stone Lanterns – – represents four natural elements: earth, water, fire and wind.– placed besides prominent water basins whose luminance underscored the
unfinished beauty of the tea aesthetic. Garden as a true retreat, must be sealed away from outside
world. Once enclosed, a method must be created(and a mindset) to
enter and leave, hence Fences and Walls. We are encouraged to view the garden as a separate world in
which we have no worries or concerns. The fence/ wall 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.
FENCES AND WALLS
▪ Fences – – Three types – ▪ Short fence/ sodegaki are screens that hide unwanted views or
objects.▪ Inner fence ▪ Outer fence
– About 6-7 ft. high– Adds colour and texture to gardens.– Materials used are bamboo, wood and twigs of bamboo or tree.
▪ We are encouraged to view the garden as a separate world in which we have no worries or concerns.
▪ The fence/ wall 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.
STONES
▪ Stones are fundamental elements of Japanese gardens.
▪ Stones used are not quarried by the hand of man, but of stones shaped by nature only.
▪ Used to construct the garden's paths, bridges, and walkways.
▪ Represent a geological presence where actual mountains are not viewable or present.
▪ They are placed in odd numbers and a majority of the groupings reflect triangular shapes.
KASAN
▪ They are artificial mountains usually, built in gardens.
▪ Generally between one and five of the hills are built.
▪ They are made up of ceramics, dried wood or strangely-shaped stones.
PLANTATIONS
▪ Early Gardens contained cherry, plum trees, pines and willows.
▪ During Middle Ages, influence of the Zen sect and watercolor painting from Southern China transformed the colorful Japanese garden.
▪ Flowers, flowering plants and shrubs were regarded as signs of frivolity and were replaced by evergreen trees that symbolized eternity.
TREES (GENERALLY EVERGREEN TREES)
Japanese Fir
Japanese Cherry Birch
Japanese Angelica Tree
Japanese Maple
Japanese Alder
Japanese Hornbeam
Japanese Cedar
Japanese Cornel Dogwood
TYPES OF JAPANESE GARDENS
1.KARESANSUI GARDENS OR DRY GARDENS
2.TSUKIYAMA GARDENS OR HILL GARDEN 3.CHANIWA GARDENS OR TEA GARDENS
KARESANSUI/ DRY GARDENS
Also known as rock gardens and waterless stream gardens.Influenced by Zen Buddhism and can be found at Zen temples of meditation.Found in the front or rear gardens at the residences.No water presents in gardens. raked gravel or sand that simulates the feeling of water. The rocks/gravel used are chosen for their artistic shapes, and mosses as well as small shrubs.Plants are much less important (and sometimes nonexistent).
▪Rocks and moss are used to represent ponds, islands, boats, seas, rivers, and mountains in an abstract way. ▪Gardens were meant to be viewed from a single, seated perspective.
▪Rocks in karesansui are often associated with Chinese mountains such as Mt. Penglai or Mt. Lu. Karesansui.
▪Stones are usually off-white or grey though the occasional red or black stone were added later.
TSUKIYAMA/HILL GARDENS
▪They strive to make a smaller garden appear more spacious.▪Shrubs are utilized to block views of surrounding buildings.▪The gardens main focus is on nearby mountains in the distance. ▪The garden has the mountains as part of its grounds. ▪Ponds, streams, hills, stones, trees, flowers, bridges, and paths are also used frequently in this style as opposed to a flat garden.
CHANIWA/TEA GARDENS
▪They are built for tea ceremonies.▪Tea house is where the ceremonies occur, and the styles of both the hut and garden are based off the simple concepts of the sado. ▪There are stepping stones leading to the tea house, stone lanterns, and stone basins where guests purify themselves before a ceremony.▪The teahouse is screened by hedges to create a sense of remoteness
STROLLING GARDENS - TSUKIYAMA
▪ These are large landscape gardens. Often existing landscapes are reproduced on a smaller scale, or an imaginary landscape is created.
COURTYARD GARDENS - TSUBO NIWA
Courtyard gardens are small gardens. One tsubo is a Japanese measurement equaling
3.3 square meters The origin of the tsubo niwa lies in the 15th
century when Japan's economy was thriving. A lot of merchants had large house with several storage buildings around it. The first courtyard gardens were made in the open spaces between the house and the storage buildings.
The elements of a courtyard garden are similar to the elements of a tea garden, however more shade tolerant plants are used. The design principles of traditional Japanese courtyard gardens, are very suited for create contemporary small spaces on roofs or terraces
CASE STUDIES
1. RYOANJI TEMPLE, KYOTO
2.KATSURA IMPERIAL PALACE GARDEN, KYOTO
1. RYOANJI TEMPLE, KYOTO▪ Ryoan-ji (or The Temple of the
Peaceful Dragon) is a Zen temple located in northwest Kyoto, Japan. Belonging to the Myoshin-ji school of the Rinzai branch of Zen Buddhism, the temple is one of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
▪ An object of interest near the rear of the monks quarters is the carved stone receptacle into which water for ritual purification continuously flows. This is the Ryoan-ji tsukubai, which translates literally as "crouch;" and the lower elevation of the basin requires the user to bend a little bit to reach the water, which suggests supplication and reverence.
▪ To many, the temple's name is synonymous with the temple's famous karesansui (dry landscape) rock garden, thought to have been built in the late 1400s.
▪ The garden consists of raked gravel and fifteen moss-covered boulders, which are placed so that, when looking at the garden from any angle only fourteen of the boulders are visible at one time.
▪ It is traditionally said that only through attaining enlightenment would one be able to view the fifteenth boulder.
▪ The researchers propose that the implicit structure of the garden is designed to appeal to the viewers unconscious visual sensitivity to axial-symmetry skeletons of stimulus shapes. In support of their findings, they found that imposing a random perturbation of the locations of individual rock features destroyed the special characteristics.
2.KATSURA IMPERIAL PALACE GARDEN, KYOTO
▪ Lake of 1.25 hectares was dug, hills and islands were formed, beaches made, pavilions built and planting undertaken.
▪ Has 16 bridges connecting the lake.
▪ Lake used for boating parties and the surrounding land as a stroll garden, in effect a tea garden on an enormous scale.
▪ The 'Katsura Tree' (Cercidiphyllum japonicum) was associated with the God of the Moon and the garden has a platform to view its rising.
▪ There are 23 stone lanterns to light the stroll path after dark.
▪ Stone basins were used for hand-washing before a tea ceremony.
▪ Garden designed not only for meditation (Zen) but also for ceremonious courtly pleasures.