As Japanese culture evolved through the centuries, so too did gardens, whose designs often reflected contemporary ideas and philosophical concerns. Not all of them have survived the ages, but many that still exist are remarkably well-preserved, particularly as a Japanese garden is maintained so as to be faithful to the original vision of its designer.
Japanese gardens can be categorised as follows: hill gardens (as opposed to flat gardens), dry gardens, and tea gardens. Within these broad categories are dozens of different styles and classifications, some so specific as to likely interest only garden anoraks. One example: the ryuuchishiki tei’en, characterised by its ‘dragon-shaped’ pond or sharply-curving pond that evokes a dragon’s serpentine body.
Delving into all of these styles would be a book unto itself. Here, we introduce the most common garden styles you are likely to encounter in Japan, and examples of each one. It is useful to note that some larger gardens can involve several styles and types – for instance, there may be a small moss garden within a larger strolling-style garden.
Strolling-style garden
The name is self-explanatory; this is a garden designed to be enjoyed on foot. It is also known as the promenade-style garden, and is the dominant style for most Japanese gardens today. There are many variations within this broad category, such as the pond-style where one walks around a pond; the self-explanatory ‘large-scale’; and the zakanshiki style, where the garden is meant to be seen from a fixed, seated position. (This seems to defeat the purpose of a strolling garden, but we don’t make the rules.) The central focus of this type of garden is usually the pond. Some are designed with fixed viewpoints throughout the garden.
Many strolling-style gardens were built during the Edo period (1603-1868). During this time, samurai class enjoyed a period of relative peace and prosperity, and built such gardens for recreational purposes at their villas. Among the most famous are Koishikawa Korakuen, Rikugien, and Hamarikyu in Tokyo; Kenrokuen in Kanazawa; Ritsurin Koen in Takamatsu; and Korakuen in Okayama.
Paradise garden
An early garden style of the Heian period (794-1185) was the chisen-shoyū-teien (quite literally, ‘lake-spring-boat excursion garden’), where the garden was designed to be enjoyed from small boats on the central lake or pond. There are no surviving examples. Although not from the Heian period, Kinkakuji Temple in Kyoto offers us a glimpse of what this might have been like. Before it became a temple, it was a villa belonging to Ashikaga Yoshimasa (1436-1490), and visitors would ride a pleasure boat across the pond to be received by the retired shogun.
In the late Heian period, this style of garden was replaced by the paradise garden associated with Pure Land Buddhism, whose devotees were promised a place in the Amida Buddha’s Western Paradise. Gardens in this style were designed to emulate such a paradise, and typically featured lotus flowers and islands on a large central pond. There would be beautiful pavilions and a shrine housing a statue of the Amida Buddha facing west, and in front of it in the lake, an island of rocks and stones representing Mount Hōrai, the fabled home of Eight Immortals. Unlike gardens of previous ages, this was a garden for contemplation rather than recreation, and would become a prototype for future gardens.
No complete garden in this style exists, but Byōdō-in in Uji, near Kyoto, preserves a number of elements associated with this style. Of particular note is the magnificent Phoenix Hall, which seems to resemble a bird spreading its wings when viewed from the front. (An image of the Phoenix hall appears on the obverse side of the 10 yen coin.)
Rock gardens
Rock gardens, or dry landscape gardens (karesansui), were developed during the Kamakura and Muromachi periods (1192-1573). As the name suggests, these are gardens where the landscape is composed of stones, rocks, and sand. Plants are minimally used if at all, usually consisting of moss, pruned trees, and bushes — for instance, where moss is used to evoke a forest. Water is an essential element of a Japanese garden, but in a rock garden, white sand is typically raked to evoke flowing water.
Such gardens are strongly associated with Zen Buddhism, as they were often built in Zen temples to facilitate meditation. Rock gardens also became more popular with the upper class towards the end of the 15th century onwards. Beyond their contemplative qualities, economic reasons may have played a part. Kyoto had just emerged from the decade-long Onin Wars (1467-77) which had left much of the city devastated, reduced to ash. In contrast to lush, plant-rich gardens that required constant maintenance, rock gardens were relatively low-maintenance, only requiring light raking to keep up appearances.
The most famous rock garden in Japan is Ryōan-ji in Kyoto, a composition of fifteen rocks carefully arranged in a sea of white sand, designed to be viewed from a seated position on the porch facing it. It is supposedly impossible to see and count every single rock from a single point of view. Other notable Zen gardens in Kyoto include the garden of Daisen-ji and the Garden of the Blissful Mountain at Zuiho-in, both subtemples of Daitokuji Temple.
Moss garden
Japan is an ideal place for moss cultivation thanks to its humidity and long rainy season, so it is no surprise that moss gardens have achieved their apotheosis here. It seems that over 1800 varieties of moss grow in Japan, with textures that range from spiky to velvety to feathery, and shades that run the gamut of green. Moss became a consistent element of garden design during the 14th century, in part due to the growing preference for wabi-sabi aesthetics as laid out by tea practitioners of the time.
There are very few Japanese gardens that do not incorporate moss in some fashion, whether in small sections or as ground cover for undulating hills. However, moss gardens are a specialised garden in their own right, with moss as the primary focus of appreciation. Moss loves water and humid environments, so these gardens are especially gorgeous in the rainy season.
Moss lovers should put the following gardens on their visit list: Gioji Temple, Honen’in, and Saihoji Temple in Kyoto; Hakone Moss Garden in the Hakone Museum, Kanagawa; Komyozenji Temple in Fukuoka. Ginkakuji (The Silver Pavilion) in Kyoto gets a bonus mention for its lush carpets of moss, even if they are not the main element.
Tea gardens
A tea garden refers to the garden built between the waiting room and the tearoom of a teahouse. They came to be known as roji during the Azuchi-Momoyama period (1573-1603); these days they are more often referred to as chaniwa. Outside of dedicated tea rooms, tea gardens tend to be incorporated into larger gardens today.
In the rustic wabi style as outlined by tea practitioner Sen no Rikyū (1522–1591), a tea garden should be simple and small, and regularly watered so it remained fresh, damp, and green. Colour was used sparingly in the form of a cherry blossom tree or elm, but overall, it should be refined and sober. There should be a path of stepping stones leading to the teahouse, stone lanterns to light the way, and a stone water basin for guests to cleanse themselves.
Modern gardens
This category of garden essentially includes most gardens created between 1868 and the present day. From the Meiji period (1868-1912) onwards, no aspect of Japanese life was left untouched by the forces of Western modernity sweeping through society, including gardens.
New strolling gardens constructed after this time incorporate more Western elements into their designs, such as lawns and flower beds; there is also at times a more naturalistic approach in the way trees are grown and arranged in the garden. Kiyosumi Gardens in east Tokyo is an example; another is the garden at the Kyū Asakura Residence in Daikanyama, Tokyo, where the lightly manicured flower bushes and rich variety of trees growing freely (as opposed to being trained and pruned within an inch of their lives) evoke naturalistic Western-style gardens.
Traditional Japanese gardens are still created by modern designers. Some of these incorporate more avant-garde ideas and concepts into their design. One example is the Zen gardens of the Hōjō in Tofukuji Temple in Kyoto designed by Shigemori Mirei in the late 1930s. The north garden is notable for its square paving stones and moss squares placed in a checkerboard pattern.