Japanese gardens (Kansai)

What's Japanese gardens?

Japanese gardens, known for their elegant design and harmony with nature, are deeply rooted in Japanese philosophy, aesthetics, and spirituality. Originating over a thousand years ago, these gardens reflect the Japanese reverence for nature, simplicity, and balance. Today, traditional Japanese gardens can be found throughout Japan, each meticulously designed to convey themes of tranquility and beauty. Here’s an overview of Japanese garden types, as well as a look at five famous Japanese gardens in the Kansai region, along with their unique features.

Types of Japanese gardens

Japanese gardens come in several distinct styles, each serving a unique purpose and using different elements to create a specific experience:

1. Karesansui (Zen Gardens):
These dry landscape gardens, often found at Zen temples, feature carefully raked sand or gravel, rocks, and minimal or no plants. The sand or gravel represents water, while rocks symbolize islands or mountains, creating an abstract landscape that invites meditation and contemplation. The most famous example of this style is Ryoan-ji in Kyoto.

2. Tsukiyama (Hill Gardens):
These are “hill gardens” that use artificial hills, ponds, streams, and paths to create a picturesque landscape. Inspired by Chinese landscapes, tsukiyama gardens are typically larger and aim to replicate natural scenery, such as mountains, rivers, and forests.

3. Chaniwa (Tea Gardens):
Also known as roji, these are simple gardens designed to be seen along the approach to a teahouse for the tea ceremony. These gardens emphasize rustic simplicity and feature stepping stones, stone lanterns, and a water basin for guests to cleanse their hands before entering the teahouse.

4. Shakkei (Borrowed Scenery):
In these gardens, designers incorporate the natural landscape beyond the garden’s borders, such as mountains, forests, or nearby temples, to make the garden appear larger and create a seamless blend of nature and design.
5. Kaiyu-shiki (Strolling Gardens): These large, circuit-style gardens are designed for walking and often feature ponds, bridges, and pathways that lead visitors through various landscapes. Strolling gardens are meant to be experienced gradually, with views and elements unfolding along the path.

Famous Japanese Gardens in the Kansai Region

The Kansai region is home to some of Japan’s most celebrated gardens, each embodying unique characteristics of traditional Japanese landscaping.

1. Ryoan-ji (Kyoto)

Ryoan-ji Temple’s garden is the quintessential example of a karesansui (Zen rock garden), and one of Japan’s most famous gardens. The garden is composed of fifteen rocks carefully placed on white gravel, which is raked to represent rippling water. The rocks are arranged so that, from any viewpoint, only fourteen rocks are visible—symbolizing that true understanding is never complete. This minimalist garden invites meditation and introspection, encouraging visitors to appreciate simplicity and the beauty of imperfection.

2. Kokedera (Saiho-ji Moss Temple, Kyoto)

Kokedera, or the Moss Temple, is renowned for its lush carpet of over 120 species of moss that cover its garden grounds. Originally a more traditional tsukiyama (hill garden), the moss took over during a period of neglect, transforming the garden into a unique and serene landscape. The garden includes ponds shaped like the Chinese character for "heart," and it is divided into a lower moss garden and an upper strolling garden. Kokedera requires advance reservations and includes a meditation session, adding a spiritual dimension to the visit.

3. Kōraku-en (Okayama)

Though located just outside the Kansai region, Kōraku-en in Okayama is widely regarded as one of Japan’s Three Great Gardens. This kaiyu-shiki (strolling garden) is known for its open, spacious design that encourages exploration and features scenic viewpoints, artificial hills, and expansive ponds. Kōraku-en is also notable for its tea plantation, rice paddies, and flowering plants that change with the seasons. This garden exemplifies Japanese landscaping principles and showcases a unique blend of agricultural and aesthetic elements.

4. Shosei-en Garden (Kyoto)

Located near Kyoto Station, Shosei-en is a peaceful garden that offers a unique blend of shakkei (borrowed scenery) and tsukiyama (hill garden) elements. The garden is designed to integrate views of Kyoto’s Higashiyama mountains as a natural backdrop. Shosei-en features ponds, bridges, and seasonal flowers, as well as pavilions and teahouses that add a historical ambiance. The garden’s design changes with the seasons, making it popular for viewing cherry blossoms in spring and autumn foliage in fall.

5. Yoshikien Garden (Nara)

Yoshikien Garden is located near Todai-ji in Nara and is named after the Yoshikigawa River. It features three distinct sections: a pond garden, a moss garden, and a tea garden. Yoshikien’s moss garden, in particular, is a highlight, with a variety of moss species that create a soft, green carpet underfoot. The tea garden includes traditional stepping stones and a teahouse, offering visitors an opportunity to appreciate roji, the rustic beauty of tea garden design. This garden is a quieter alternative to nearby Isui-en and offers free admission to foreign visitors.

Key Elements and Principles of Japanese Gardens

・Wabi-sabi:
This principle highlights the beauty of imperfection, simplicity, and the natural aging of materials. Many Japanese gardens use weathered rocks and rustic materials to create an organic feel.

・Asymmetry:
Japanese gardens rarely feature symmetrical designs. Instead, they use irregular shapes and uneven groupings to mimic the randomness of nature.

・Symbolism:
Elements like rocks, water, and plants hold symbolic meanings. Rocks might represent mountains or islands, while water features are designed to evoke rivers and oceans.

・Seasonality:
Japanese gardens often feature plants and trees that change with the seasons, such as cherry blossoms in spring and maple trees in autumn, allowing visitors to appreciate the garden’s transformation throughout the year.