JAPANESE GARDENSRENEMTILA AO

1011100177th SEM. B.Arch

Japanese gardens are traditional gardens that create miniature idealized landscapes, often in a highly abstract and stylized way.Japanese gardens were developed under the influences of the Chinese gardens; gradually Japanese garden designers began to develop their own aesthetics.The garden design in Japan is strongly connected to the philosophy and religion of the country and the garden is an important part of Japanese culture.Shinto, Buddhism and Taoism were used in the creation of different garden styles in order to bring a spiritual sense to the gardens and make them places where people could spend their time in a peaceful way and meditate.

INTRODUCTION

SOME TYPICAL EXAMPLES

DESIGN PRINCIPLESNature…..one can idealize it, even symbolize it, but one must never create something that nature

itself cannot.

• Reduced scale. The views seen in nature are depicted at a more intimate scale. Mountains become hills; rivers become streams.

• Symbolization. Representing larger natural features with smaller symbols. The most famous example of this is the use of gravel or coarse sand to represent the ocean

• Borrowed views. Mountain, forest and oceans views can be carefully "framed" by grading, ornaments or tree plantings.

• Enclosure. An important theme in Japanese garden design is that the garden represents an oasis or refuge from everyday life.

BASIC DESIGN RULES

• 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

ABOUT JAPANESE GARDENS

• A real appreciation and understanding of the traditional Japanese garden is complex and difficult.

• The visual entities which may appear as a design in the Western sense of forms, textures, and colors are less important than the invisible philosophical, religious, and symbolic elements.

• This is shown clearly when we examine the derivation and importance of the key elements present, in some form, in almost every Japanese garden.

ELEMENTS OF JAPANESE GARDEN

• Stones

• Stone water basins, stone lanterns

• Ponds, waterfalls, wells, bridges (real or symbolic)

• Garden plants and trees

• Stepping stones, Garden paths

• Fences and walls

The way in which these different elements are used in combination with each other is what brings a Japanese garden to life.

STONES• Stones used are not quarried by the

hand of man, but of stones shaped by nature only.

• According to Japanese tradition the stones are always positioned in odd numbers.

• A stone lantern is a must and meant to carry innate symbolism of contrasting elements such as the yin and yang.

WATER• Water is an important

element in a Japanese garden. It symbolises purity.

• Can be symbolized through many different mediums such as raked gravel.

• One of the most awe inspiring uses of water is by creating waterfalls, it creates an ambiance of serenity in a Japanese garden.

GARDEN PLANT AND TREES

• Japanese garden is predominately green with its use of evergreen trees. The use of seasonal flowers is common.

• Flowers, flowering plants and shrubs were regarded as signs of frivolity and were replaced by evergreen trees that symbolized eternity.

• The Japanese black pine and the Japanese maple tree are amongst the most popular trees used in the garden. Other typical plantations include the moss, bamboo, magnolia, azaleas, cherry, peonies and plum trees. These plantations are often seen accompanying architectural tea houses and pavilions.

BONSAI AND BONSEKI

• The art of Bonsai involves the training of everyday shrubs such as pine, cypress, holly, cedar, cherry, maple, and beech to look like old, large trees in miniature form.

• The trees are usually less than one meter high and kept small by pruning, re-potting, growth pinching, and wiring the branches.

• Bonseki is the art of developing miniature landscapes which may include smallest of rock pieces to represent mountains.

FENCES AND WALLSThere are three types of fences:

• The short fence which extends from the house into the garden

• An inner fence and an outer fence.

Short fences or sodegaki are screens that hide unwanted views or objects. They are about 6 or 7 feet high. Materials used are bamboo, wood and twigs of bamboo or tree.

ESSENTIAL ASPECTS

• The line between garden and its surrounding landscape is not distinct.

• Gardens incorporate natural and artificial elements and thus, fuse the elements of nature and architecture.

• In the Japanese garden, the viewer should consider nature as a picture frame into which the garden, or the man- made work of art, is inserted.

TYPES OF JAPANESE GARDENS

Karesansui Gardens or dry gardens

Tsukiyama Gardens or hill garden

Chaniwa Gardens or tea gardens

OTHERS….

COURTYARD GARDENSTSUBO NIWA

STROLLING GARDENSKAIYU SHIKIEN

TSUKIYAMA

CASE STUDY

KIYOSUMI GARDENS, TOKYOJAPANESE STROLLING GARDEN

INTRODUCTION

• Kiyosumi Gardens is a traditional Japanese stroll garden. It was constructed along classic principles in 1878-85, during the Meiji Period.

• By subtle hints in path construction and placement the visitor is led on a walk around the lake.

• Water-worn boulders were brought in from all over Japan, to give the garden its character; hills and dry waterfalls were constructed with them and two sequences of them form stepping-stones across small inlets of the lake, which almost completely fills the garden, allowing a pathway of many picturesque episodes around its perimeter.

• There are three big islands and a teahouse on the pond. • The garden covers an area of about 81,000 square metres.

THE ELEMENTS OF THE GARDEN

• STONES• PONDS• STEPPING STONES• ROCK LANTERNS• ROCK WATER BASIN• ARTIFICIAL HILLS• ROCKFALL• TREES AND SHRUBS

SENSUI….The landscape• In the large pond ,there are

three islands and the buildings reflect tea ceremony space architecture. The highpoint of this garden is the reflections of birds and trees that can be seen in the pond.

ISO-WATARI • When crossing the pond using

one of these stepping stone pathways, one can view the fish in the pond and enjoy the changing reflections of the trees and greenery of the garden.

MEISEKI…Stones• The total number of stones used is immense and the

garden can indeed be perceived as a stone garden.

FUJI-SAN….• The highest and

largest artificial hill in the garden. The entire hill is covered with azaleas.

RYOUTEI…The Teahouse

• This building heightens the beauty of the Japanese gardens.

STONE LANTERNS…..

FENCES…

MAIN PLANTS USED…….There are over 4000 trees in this garden.

Japanese Black pine

Hydrangea

Iris Taiwan Cherry Purple Azalea

Maple Trees

Stone Water Basin

Kazari-chozubachi, kept near the verandah of teahouse.

WATER RELATED ELEMENTS…

TWO STONE BRIDGE ROCKFALL

STONE BRIDGE THE POND

THE GARDEN PLAN

DESIGN FEATURES…..• The teahouse is located such that it can be viewed from all parts

of the garden along with its mesmerizing reflection in the pond.• Stone, an important element of japanese gardens has been

collected and set throughout the garden in a very skillful way.• Natural scenes are depicted in the landscape some of which are: The pond representing a larger lake The rockfall depicting a waterfall The fuji-san representing a mountain• Its location near the river and the bay attracts a large number of

birds which adds to the gardens natural beauty.• Ponds are the centre of attractions in a Japanese garden. The

pond in kiyosumi garden is centrally placed on site and its beauty and reflections of the garden ,birds and sky can be seen from every part of the garden.

DESIGN PRINCIPLES APPLIED….• It looks natural.• The landscape is asymmetrical• Openness indicating interaction between all elements• The features and elements used are very different from western

landscape principles like sense of form, texture an d color.• An important concept used in the garden is "simplicity”. Simplicity

means the achievement of maximum effect with minimum means. Buildings, bridges, fences, and pavement all utilize natural material constructed in a most imaginative and refined manner.

• The aesthetic concept of naturalness prohibits the use of elaborate designs and over refinement so compared to western gardens some general landscape elements are missing, like high lampposts, refined park benches, topiaries etc.

REFERENCE

• Japan-guide.com• Flicker• Travelling cam- Japan gardens• Wikipedia the free encyclopedia• Tokyo metropolitan park association• The Japanese garden- symbolism and aesthetics• Japan fact sheet- web Japan

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