JAPANESE LANDSCAPEPresented by : Amna Ashraf

Landscape and landscape designing

Landscape can de fined as all the visible features of an area of land, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.

Landscape design is an independent profession and a design and art tradition, practiced by landscape designers, combining nature and culture . A different concept of landscaping has now evolved in view of demand for maximum entertainment out of doors, hence landscaping now means designing and laying of exterior spaces not merely for beauty but also for utility and comfort.

Japanese landscape Japanese landscape generally consists

of traditional gardens that create miniature idealized landscapes, often in a highly abstract and stylized way.

Japanese gardens and landscape are generally designed for contemplation and meditation, rather than for fulfilling physical needs (Recreation and aesthetic appeal).

Landscape are highly influenced by Japanese religion in a symbolic way.

The elements of a Japanese garden mimic or symbolize natural elements because a more natural a garden is the more conducive it is to contemplation.

Japanese landscape There are four essential elements used

in Japanese garden design: rocks, water, plants, and ornaments.

When selecting and arranging these elements, it's important to keep in mind the main design principles of a Japanese garden, which include asymmetry, enclosure, borrowed scenery, balance and symbolism.

The maintenance work in the Japanese garden is much higher than in most other gardens as the many details become very important and need daily care.

Japanese landscape is usually associated with temples or residences of feudal lords.

History of Japanese landscape The Japanese garden tradition goes

back to the period where advanced methods of rice production were introduced in Japan, roughly in the 3rd century.

Japanese gardens were developed under the influences of the Chinese gardens. But gradually Japanese garden designers began to develop their own aesthetics, based on Japanese materials and Japanese culture.

Spirit of Nature: Shinto belief, similar to the gods of the old Romans living in trees, Japanese gods were particular islands, trees or rocks, all elements that can be found in Japanese gardens. This period lasted until the 8th century.

Poetry in Paradise: Thereafter, aristocrats started to generate their own gardens according to expectations they had from paradise. Principles of Buddhism like Yin and Yang were introduced into garden design. This period lasted until the 12th century.

Art of emptiness: With the decline of the aristocracy and the rice of the samurai class (warriors) garden design was modified. Zen Buddhism influenced this kind of design. This garden was not intended to be a place for activity, but a place for meditation. This period lasted until the 16th century.

Spiritual passage: In the second half of the 16th century the tea ceremony developed. It is a stage for physical and mental preparations for entering the teahouse, a place of reflection and a source of new power.

Private niches: In the long lasting period of peace in the Edo period (1600 to 1868), the samurai class lost influence and wealthy urban merchants became the dominant class of Japanese society. Typically these gardens are very small.

Collector parks: provincial daimios demonstrated their power and wealth in these parks. Motives of history were laid out about the garden and walking through the park was similar to visiting another country (Chinese motives) or another time (old Japan). 

Japanese garden styles Pond Garden Japanese rock gardens or Zen gardens,

which are meditation gardens where white sand replaces water.

roji, simple, rustic gardens with teahouses where the Japanese tea ceremony is conducted.

stroll gardens, where the visitor follows a path around the garden to see carefully composed landscapes.

small courtyard gardens

Pond Garden These gardens were imported from China

during the Heian Period.

These gardens had large lakes with small islands, where musicians played during festivals and ceremonies worshippers could look across the water at the Buddha.

Pavilions are made from which guests could enjoy the view of the lake or pond.

Dry Gardens The dry garden, or flat garden, is

perhaps the most well-known style of Japanese garden. In this garden, pebbles are used to suggest water, and ripples are suggested by lines made by raking. Several upright boulders are typically placed inside the pebbled area, suggesting islands.

Roji or tea garden The tea garden is intimately linked with the

Japanese tea ceremony, which ideally takes place in a small tea house separated from the main house by the tea garden.

The tea garden is entered by a stepping stone path. Along the way one may encounter a stone bench, for sitting and relaxing before the ceremony starts, a bamboo grove, stone lanterns to light the way, and a stone water basin ,with a wooden dipper for washing. The garden is planted with a variety of plants, which are intended to instill a sense of peace.

Some larger tea gardens are separated into an outer garden with mainly deciduous plants, and an inner garden of evergreen plants, symbolizing everlasting life.

Stroll gardens These gardens were designed to

complement the houses in the new style of architecture. These gardens were meant to be seen by following a path clockwise around the lake from one carefully composed scene to another

Courtyard Gardens These small gardens were

originally found in the interior courtyards of palaces, and were designed to give a glimpse of nature and some privacy to the residents of the rear side of the building.

These tiny gardens were meant to be seen, not entered, and usually had a stone lantern, a water basin, stepping stones and a few plants.

Today, tsubo-niwa are found in many Japanese residences, hotels, restaurants, and public building

Japanese Soft Landscape

Much emphasis is placed on trees and flowers rather than the hard landscape in a Japanese landscape due to the fact that Japanese landscape is generally made for having peace or for the peaceful contemplation of body and soul.

Nothing in a Japanese garden is natural or left to chance; each plant is chosen according to aesthetic principles, either to hide undesirable sights, to serve as a backdrop to certain garden features, or to create a picturesque scene, like a landscape painting or postcard.

Trees are carefully chosen and arranged for their autumn colors. The trees are carefully trimmed to provide attractive scenes, and to prevent them from blocking other views of the garden. Their growth is also controlled, in a technique called Niwaki, to give them more picturesque shapes, and to make them look more ancient. They are sometimes constrained to bend, in order to provide shadows or better reflections in the water.

Flowers are also carefully chosen by their season of flowering. Formal flowerbeds are rare in older gardens, but more common in modern gardens.

Some plants are chosen for their religious symbolism, such as the lotus, sacred in Buddhist teachings, or the Pine, which represents longevity.

In the late 16th century, a new art was developed in the Japanese garden; that of o-karikomi, the technique of trimming bushes into balls or rounded shapes which imitate waves it was most frequently practiced on Azalea bushes. o-Karikoma sought to make bushes look as if they were almost liquid, or in flowing natural shapes.

The most common trees and plants found in Japanese gardens are the Azalea, the Camellia , the oak , the Japanese apricot, cherry, maple, the willow ,the gingko , the Japanese cypress , the Japanese cedar, pine and bamboo. 

Japanese Hard landscape Japanese hard landscape is mainly

used to compliment the soft landscape but the main focus is on the soft one.

Different elements of Japanese landscape are used stones, lanterns, water basins, paths, buildings.

Stones, Gravel and Sand Since ancient times, stones have played

an important role in Japanese culture. In Shinto, prominent large stones are worshiped, while gravel was used to designate sacred grounds.

large stones symbolize mountains and hills, set decorative accents and serve as the building material for bridges and pathways. Smaller rocks and gravel are used to line ponds and streams. Meanwhile, dry gardens are comprised entirely of stones, with larger stones symbolizing mountains, islands and waterfalls, while gravel and sand replace water.

Lanterns Lanterns come in a variety of shapes and

sizes and have been a common element of Japanese garden design throughout history. They are usually made of stone and placed in carefully selected locations, such as on islands, at the ends of peninsulas or next to significant buildings, where they provide both light and a pleasing aesthetic. Lanterns are often paired with water, which together make up a basic component of tea gardens.

Water Basins Many gardens contain stone water basins,

which are used for ritual cleansing, especially ahead of tea ceremonies.

The basins vary from simple depressions in uncut stone to elaborate carved stone creations, and are usually provided with a bamboo dipper for scooping up water.

These days they often appear as a decorative addition more than for a practical purpose. Water basins are an essential element of tea gardens and are often paired with lanterns.

 

Paths Paths became an integral part of

Japanese gardens with the introduction of strolling and tea gardens. Strolling gardens feature circular paths constructed of stepping stones, crushed gravel, sand or packed earth, which are carefully prescribed to lead visitors to the best views of the garden.

Winding paths also serve to segregate different areas, such as an isolated grove or hidden pond, from each other so that they may be contemplated individually.

Buildings Buildings include patios, pavilions etc

These structures are usually made from wood and bamboo.

Principles of Japanese landscape The early Japanese gardens largely followed

the Chinese model, but gradually Japanese gardens developed their own principles and aesthetics.

 The principles of sacred gardens, such as the gardens of Zen Buddhist temples, were different from those of pleasure or promenade gardens; for example, Zen Buddhist gardens were designed to be seen, while seated, from a platform with a view of the whole garden, without entering it, while promenade gardens were meant to be seen by walking through the garden and stopping at a series of view points.

Principles of Japanese landscape

Miniaturization. The Japanese garden is a miniature and idealized view of nature. Rocks can represent mountains, and ponds can represent seas. The garden is sometimes made to appear larger by placing larger rocks and trees in the foreground, and smaller ones in the background.

Concealment. (literally 'hide and reveal.') The Zen Buddhist garden is meant to be seen all at once, but the promenade garden is meant to be seen one landscape at a time, like a scroll of painted landscapes unrolling. Features are hidden behind hills, trees groves or bamboo, walls or structures, to be discovered when the visitor follows the winding path.

"Borrowed" Scenery :Smaller gardens are often designed to incorporate the view of features outside the garden, such as hills, trees or temples, as part of the view. This makes the garden seem larger than it really is.

Asymmetry. Japanese gardens are not laid on straight axes, or with a single feature dominating the view. Buildings and garden features are usually placed to be seen from a diagonal, and are carefully composed into scenes that contrast right angles, such as buildings with natural features, and vertical features, such as rocks, bamboo or trees, with horizontal features, such as water.