Garden History – Japanese Gardens

Back to Thacker and Rogers for more garden history – this time taking a look at Japanese garden history. I’m using The History of Gardens (by Christopher Thacker) and Landscape Design – a Cultural and Architectural History (Elizabeth Barlow Rogers) as my sources. I have been exposed to several gardens in the Japanese style, and love the naturalistic look, the manicured trees, and the plant palette (including moss).

As with general garden history, early Japanese gardens were sacred places set apart in nature, or associated with temples and palaces. Religious movements have influenced Japanese garden design, including Shinto, Buddhism, and Zen Buddhism. As elsewhere, early gardens were frequently associated with emperors, aristocrats, religious orders, and military leaders. Only later, do others have the time, money, or leisure for small personal gardens. As with Chinese gardens, Japanese gardens can be highly symbolic (such as the raked, dry gardens of Zen Buddhism, which use sand, rock, and gravel to symbolize nature). In naturalistic gardens, garden elements are highly symbolic as well.

Beauty even in winter. A bridge in Kenrokuen garden in Kyoto, Japan.
Photo by Chris Gladis, and used under Creative Commons
Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

The Ise shrine to the sun-goddess is considered the oldest example of a Japanese garden, and dates from the 5^th century. Its main structure is rebuilt every 20 years, and is surrounded by raked pebbles. In the 6^th century, Japan was exposed to Chinese culture, including Buddhism, which influenced its gardens. In the 12^th century, power shifted to the military, which had embraced Zen Buddhism. The minimalism of Zen Buddhism frowned on the extravagance of flowering trees in favor of shades of green.

In the 17^th century, with the rise of the merchant class in the Edo period, garden design departed from minimalism and became more recreational. Strolling gardens became popular – with paths, ponds, bridges, tea houses, and artificial hills. Modern gardens are typically small and functional – providing a spot of nature in a crowded, busy time.