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Tuesday, 9 December 2014

Japanese Garden Landscaping

The gardens of Westerners value the aesthetics and the role of trees, flowers and shrubs in an ideal of artistic transformation of nature, and the greatest examples of this quest for control of the ecosystem service of beauty are the French and their topiary gardens, a diametrically opposite view of the ancient Japanese garden, who preaches the true representation of natural biomes in a garden. Appreciation of natural features that are not favored Western landscape in the planning such as stone, branches and moss, more calculated the asymmetric positioning of elements that make up the Japanese garden has a purpose, it is more important than mere aesthetics.

The design of the Japanese garden is a combination of traditional natural landscape of the island of Honshu, the largest island of the archipelago that forms Japan with Shinto precepts so dear to the Japanese spirituality. The garden was the representation of Kami shrine – which can be translated as “spirit” or “deity” – and showed symbolically all the elements of mythology: the mountains, considered sacred, rivers and lakes, which are the physical representation of life, and evergreen trees, symbolizing eternity.

Since the initial purity of the first century of the modern era, Japanese gardens have undergone changes in its rites and its aesthetics under the influence of Buddhism, Taoism and the various historical periods of Japan, however, the key elements of the garden remained basically the same, with the immense symbolism embedded in them and respected by religions, clans and the inexorable passage of time.

Main elements of the Japanese garden

Water – one of the most important elements, water is the representation of purity and peace in traditional gardens and there is concern with its geographical route, beyond its presence in lakes that evoke serenity. The watercourse should follow from east to west if the owner of the garden wants to take the bad energy away and from north to south if the goal and obtain good energy of luck and fortune. Since ponds generally have the representation of a small island – or even an “island” of contemplation – where there are the sacred mountains.

Rocks – the island of the lake above can be represented by a rock. The rocks are more important than water in the composition of the Japanese garden because the symbolism becomes palpable, as it may represent the mountains, landforms sacred (both are rare practitioners of mountaineering in Japan) where the stem water sources; relatives and ancestors, showing respect and devotion; representation of the cosmos and many other peculiarities. The rocks and its byproducts – Sand, pebbles, and gravels- are arranged asymmetrically and representations salient are placed in odd numbers, in particular the three, which embody the trinity of the divinity, the earth and the sky.

The types of Japanese garden

The passage of the ages and mythological influence of Shinto, Taoism and Buddhism made the Japanese garden multiply their meanings and goals. From among the Japanese gardens most famous and desired are:

The rock garden, dry landscape garden, and zen garden -are what is considered by common sense the Japanese garden for excellence, although it is a derivation of “religious” that kind of garden. It is basically composed of volcanic rocks, stones and gravels, with the inclusion of grasses according to the style of who decorates. The gravel covering the floor represents the ocean and the rocks, mountain elevations; this landscape joint symbolizes in short, the way of life to its end.

The garden of the Tea Ceremony – Japanese garden that surrounds the tea room (the Tea Ceremony is a traditional ritual of fellowship in Japan – worth giving a Google search about) and is formed by a path usually made with gravel and sinuous form, flanked by stone-guide, flashlights and a vegetation composed by shrubs and bamboos as evergreen tree or boxwood.

The Japanese Garden of Contemplation – compact versions of the huge and impressive gardens drive typical of the Heian period (794-1185) with its lakes and bridges, the garden of contemplation has a structure that includes a small pond where some koi can be placed and shrubs preferably with few greens and floral elements. Bamboos, symbols of toughness and strength, and shrubs are asymmetrically striking presence in the garden, and the rocks and gravel on the trails.