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88-597: Kōraku-en ( 後楽園 , Kōrakuen ) is a Japanese garden located in Okayama , Okayama Prefecture . It is one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan , along with Kenroku-en and Kairaku-en . Korakuen was built in 1700 by Ikeda Tsunamasa , lord of Okayama . The garden reached its modern form in 1863. Zhu Zhiyu , one of the greatest scholars of Confucianism in the Ming dynasty and Edo Japan , helped to redesign

176-617: A broader range of habitats than the flowering plants can. Different species of mosses have very different needs, and needs quite different from flowering plants. They are, however, often excluded by competition from flowering plants, and thus generally grow in places where flowering plants cannot. Moss lawns can grow in anything from blazing sun to full shade, but different species are specialized to different light levels. Annual variations in sun exposure need to be taken into account; space under deciduous trees may be seasonally sunny, and require sun-tolerant species. Mosses do not grow roots into

264-506: A challenge for the gardeners. Due to the absolute importance of the arrangement of natural rocks and trees, finding the right material becomes highly selective. The serenity of a Japanese landscape and the simple but deliberate structures of the Japanese gardens are a unique quality, with the two most important principles of garden design being "scaled reduction and symbolization". Japanese gardens always feature water, either physically with

352-618: A composition whose function is to incite mediation." Several of the famous Zen gardens of Kyoto were the work of one man, Musō Soseki (1275–1351). He was a monk, a ninth-generation descendant of the Emperor Uda and a formidable court politician, writer and organizer, who armed and financed ships to open trade with China, and founded an organization called the Five Mountains, made up of the most powerful Zen monasteries in Kyoto. He

440-464: A continuous fall of needles, though, needles can cause mould. Deciduous trees are quite different; deciduous leaves are wider, and they fall abruptly. While some mosses grow under deciduous trees in nature, a blanket of dead leaves or other debris can smother a moss lawn. Leaving the leaves on the moss short-term does not harm the moss, but long-term, most leaves should be kept off the moss. In traditional Japanese gardens , moss under deciduous trees

528-735: A defining element in moss gardens . Moss lawns are drought-tolerant and rarely need misting once established (the average US grass lawn uses a hundred times as much water). They do not require mowing, fertilizing, or other amendments, and grow on almost any substrate (apart from metal), and at any soil pH and light level. They can grow under conifers, swallowing the needles, but fallen broad deciduous leaves will kill them if not removed. They can be walked on but not scuffed. Mosses are squishy and compress without being damaged, but they are easily torn by tension . Moss lawns can therefore stand being walked on, but not being scuffed. They tend to be too moist to sit upon comfortably. Moss lawns can be used as

616-511: A few degrees below freezing. Young mosses take a protonemal form, which is more like an algal film than a moss; small moss fragments may revert to this state. Moss in a protonemal state is much more likely to die if dried out. When it converts to the gametophyte form, after a few weeks, it becomes much more drought-resistant. A sprinkler or misting system, automated on a timer, is often used to get mosses established. Spray times of 2–5 minutes, thrice daily, are typical, but this may vary with

704-453: A few species which can be mown. While moss requires some moisture, its water demands are moderate; one percent or less of the water needed by an average US grass lawn. It does not benefit from deep watering. Moss lawns are drought-resistant after they have become established; they are among the most drought-resistant garden plants. The moss will become dormant in less favourable conditions. Moss thus generally only needs watering until it

792-480: A garden, though the tsubo-niwa style of tiny gardens in passages and other spaces, as well as bonsai (in Japan always grown outside) and houseplants mitigates this, and domestic garden tourism is very important. The Japanese tradition has long been to keep a well-designed garden as near as possible to its original condition, and many famous gardens appear to have changed little over several centuries, apart from

880-499: A living mulch; they retain moisture, do not become compacted, and do not require annual replacement. A moss layer can act as a physical barrier to prevent germination of vascular plants. Moss also hosts symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria , like clover , and when mosses are dried and wetted, they release nitrogen and carbon into the soil. Mosses reduce losses of soil moisture to evapotranspiration; when saturated, mosses reduce water infiltration into soil. Mosses thermally insulate

968-715: A much more radical approach to the traditions. One example is Awaji Yumebutai , a garden on the island of Awaji , in the Seto Inland Sea of Japan, designed by Tadao Ando . It was built as part of a resort and conference center on a steep slope, where land had been stripped away to make an island for an airport. Japanese gardens are distinctive in their symbolism of nature, with traditional Japanese gardens being very different in style from occidental gardens: "Western gardens are typically optimised for visual appeal while Japanese gardens are modelled with spiritual and philosophical ideas in mind." Japanese gardens are conceived as

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1056-653: A new garden architecture style appeared, created by the followers of Pure Land Buddhism . These were called "Paradise Gardens", built to represent the legendary Paradise of the West, where the Amida Buddha ruled. These were built by noblemen who wanted to assert their power and independence from the Imperial household, which was growing weaker. The best surviving example of a Paradise Garden is Byōdō-in in Uji , near Kyoto. It

1144-451: A pond or stream, or symbolically, represented by white sand in a dry rock garden. In Buddhist symbolism, water and stone are thought of as yin and yang , two opposites that complement and complete each other. A traditional garden will usually have an irregular-shaped pond or, in larger gardens, two or more ponds connected by a channel or stream, and a cascade, a miniature version of Japan's famous mountain waterfalls. In traditional gardens,

1232-523: A promenade garden, meant to be seen from the winding garden paths, with elements of the Zen garden, such as artificial mountains, meant to be contemplated from a distance. The most famous garden of this kind, built in 1592, is situated near the Tokushima castle on the island of Shikoku . Its notable features include a bridge 10.5 metres (34 ft) long made of two natural stones. Another notable garden of

1320-482: A prototype for future Japanese architecture. They opened up onto the garden, so that the garden seemed entirely part of the building; whether the visitor was inside or outside of the building, they would ideally always feel they were in the center of nature. The garden buildings were arranged so that were always seen from a diagonal, rather than straight on. This arrangement had the poetic name ganko , which meant literally "a formation of wild geese in flight". Most of

1408-554: A representation of a natural setting, tying in to Japanese connections between the land and Shinto spiritualism, where spirits are commonly found in nature; as such, Japanese gardens tend to incorporate natural materials, with the aim of creating a space that captures the beauties of nature in a realistic manner. Traditional Japanese gardens can be categorized into three types: tsukiyama (hill gardens), karesansui (dry gardens) and chaniwa gardens (tea gardens). The small space given to create these gardens usually poses

1496-793: A sheet-like habit; in the US, usually Thuidium delicatulum (delicate fern moss), Hypnum imponens (flat fern moss), or Hypnum curvifolium (curvy fern moss); similarly, "mood moss" is any species that forms cushions or clumps, in the US usually Dicranum species. The acrocarps (cushion mosses) and pleurocarps (carpet mosses) represent major morphological types within the clade of "true mosses" Bryopsida . Prostrate, creeping, branching; smooth sheetlike; fast to regenerate from fragments and faster-growing, with maximum growth rates allowing them to double in size every six months. They are earlier-succession than acrocarps. They can live constantly moist or even submerged, and may be watered as often as six times

1584-445: A stimulant to keep awake during long periods of meditation. The first great tea master, Sen no Rikyū (1522–1591), defined in the most minute detail the appearance and rules of the tea house and tea garden, following the principle of wabi ( 侘び , "sober refinement and calm") . Following Sen no Rikyū's rules, the teahouse was supposed to suggest the cottage of a hermit-monk. It was a small and very plain wooden structure, often with

1672-413: A thatched roof, with just enough room inside for two tatami mats. The only decoration allowed inside a scroll with an inscription and a branch of a tree. It did not have a view of the garden. The garden was also small, and constantly watered to be damp and green. It usually had a cherry tree or elm to bring color in the spring, but otherwise did not have bright flowers or exotic plants that would distract

1760-404: A thousand years, and several different styles of garden have developed, some with religious or philosophical implications. A characteristic of Japanese gardens is that they are designed to be seen from specific points. Some of the most significant different traditional styles of Japanese garden are the chisen-shoyū-teien ("lake-spring-boat excursion garden"), which was imported from China during

1848-533: Is poikilohydrous . If dried-out or frozen, it becomes dormant. Becoming dormant takes energy, so rapid wet-dry cycles can cause a net energy loss. Light, frequent watering can allow moss to grow quickly, while leaving the lawn too dry for other plants, which need water to soak in to the soil. Once established, moss does not require watering, and is more drought-tolerant than most plants. Moss can survive frozen for centuries, and revive when thawed. Moss has internal antifreeze, which allows it to grow at temperatures

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1936-403: Is cultivated should not be aerated or scarified . Weeding is generally needed. For smooth mosses, weeds can be kept down with a string trimmer on idle. Weeds tend to be excluded as the moss grows thicker. Acrocarpous mosses tend to be thicker and better at excluding weeds. Grazing may also encourage moss. Grazers such as deer and rabbits often will not eat moss. The mosses can live in

2024-415: Is difficult to have moss thrive when transplanted even short distances; however, it is sometimes possible to set up a habitat for the desired species to colonize. An average garden may have about a dozen moss species growing in it already, though identifying them may be difficult. In the moss trade, generic descriptive terms are often used instead of species names. For instance, "sheet moss" is any moss with

2112-590: Is established. When rehydrated, it recovers and becomes green within seconds. Misting for a minute or two a day will keep a moss lawn green. Overwatering can kill moss; most species cannot stand being waterlogged, though some (like Sphagnum ) require it, and others grow only underwater. Mosses stay green at moderately sub-freezing temperatures, and thus remain green all winter in many climates. A layer of snow will insulate it; it may grow under light snow cover. Some mosses depend on seasonal snow cover. Moss lawns do fine on compacted soil ; an area in which moss

2200-578: Is located on the north bank of the Asahi River on an island between the river and a developed part of the city. The garden was designed in the Kaiyu ("scenic promenade") style which presents the visitor with a new view at every turn of the path which connects the lawns, ponds, hills, tea houses , and streams. The garden covers a total area of approximately 133,000 square meters, with the grassed area covering approximately 18,500 square meters. The length of

2288-463: Is swept clear with a broom; more modernly, a leaf blower may be used. It is also possible to temporarily lay down netting (but not metal netting, which is toxic to moss ). The shed leaves land on the netting, and when the leaves have finished falling, netting and leaves can be rolled up together and removed. Moss lawns do not require fertilizer or other soil amendments, as moss lacks a root system . Moss lawns do not need mowing, although there are

2376-566: The Man'yōshū , the "Collection of Countless Leaves", the oldest known collection of Japanese poetry. The Nara period is named after its capital city Nara . The first authentically Japanese gardens were built in this city at the end of the 8th century. Shorelines and stone settings were naturalistic, different from the heavier, earlier continental mode of constructing pond edges. Two such gardens have been found at excavations, both of which were used for poetry-writing festivities. One of these gardens,

2464-639: The daimyō , around which new cities and gardens appeared. The characteristic garden of the period featured one or more ponds or lakes next to the main residence, or shoin , not far from the castle. These gardens were meant to be seen from above, from the castle or residence. The daimyō had developed the skills of cutting and lifting large rocks to build their castles, and they had armies of soldiers to move them. The artificial lakes were surrounded by beaches of small stones and decorated with arrangements of boulders, with natural stone bridges and stepping stones . The gardens of this period combined elements of

2552-587: The Asuka period ( c.  6th to 7th century ). Japanese gardens first appeared on the island of Honshu , the large central island of Japan. Their aesthetic was influenced by the distinct characteristics of the Honshu landscape: rugged volcanic peaks, narrow valleys, mountain streams with waterfalls and cascades, lakes, and beaches of small stones. They were also influenced by the rich variety of flowers and different species of trees, particularly evergreen trees, on

2640-635: The Eight Immortals , who lived in perfect harmony with nature. Each Immortal flew from his mountain home on the back of a crane . The islands themselves were located on the back of an enormous sea turtle . In Japan, the five islands of the Chinese legend became one island, called Horai-zen, or Mount Horai . Replicas of this legendary mountain, the symbol of a perfect world, are a common feature of Japanese gardens, as are rocks representing turtles and cranes. The earliest recorded Japanese gardens were

2728-461: The Heian period (794–1185). These were designed to be seen from small boats on the central lake. No original examples of these survive, but they were replaced by the "paradise garden" associated with Pure Land Buddhism , with a Buddha shrine on an island in the lake. Later large gardens are often in the kaiyū-shiki-teien , or promenade garden style, designed to be seen from a path circulating around

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2816-633: The Kyoto Imperial Palace of 794, the Heian-jingū , was built in Kyoto in 1895 to celebrate the 1100th birthday of the city. The south garden is famous for its cherry blossom in spring, and for azaleas in the early summer. The west garden is known for its irises in June, and the large east garden lake recalls the leisurely boating parties of the 8th century. Near the end of the Heian period,

2904-645: The Shōwa period (1926–1989), many traditional gardens were built by businessmen and politicians. After World War II, the principal builders of gardens were no longer private individuals, but banks, hotels, universities and government agencies. The Japanese garden became an extension of the landscape architecture with the building. New gardens were designed by landscape architects , and often used modern building materials such as concrete. Some modern Japanese gardens, such as Tōfuku-ji , designed by Mirei Shigemori , were inspired by classical models. Other modern gardens have taken

2992-565: The pleasure gardens of the emperors and nobles. They are mentioned in several brief passages of the Nihon Shoki , the first chronicle of Japanese history, published in 720 CE. In spring 74 CE, the chronicle recorded: "The Emperor Keikō put a few carp into a pond, and rejoiced to see them morning and evening". The following year, "The Emperor launched a double-hulled boat in the pond of Ijishi at Ihare, and went aboard with his imperial concubine, and they feasted sumptuously together". In 486,

3080-404: The "marsh pond" style, a large still pond with aquatic plants; the "mountain torrent style", with many rocks and cascades; and the "rose letters" style, an austere landscape with small, low plants, gentle relief and many scattered flat rocks. Moss garden Moss lawns are lawns composed of moss , which occur naturally, but can also be cultivated like grass lawns (see images ). They are

3168-790: The East Palace garden at Heijō Palace , Nara, has been faithfully reconstructed using the same location and even the original garden features that had been excavated. It appears from the small amount of literary and archaeological evidence available that the Japanese gardens of this time were modest versions of the Imperial gardens of the Tang dynasty, with large lakes scattered with artificial islands and artificial mountains. Pond edges were constructed with heavy rocks as embankment. While these gardens had some Buddhist and Daoist symbolism, they were meant to be pleasure gardens, and places for festivals and celebrations. Recent archaeological excavations in

3256-563: The Golden Pavilion , built in 1398, and Ginkaku-ji, the Silver Pavilion , built in 1482. In some ways they followed Zen principles of spontaneity, extreme simplicity and moderation, but in other ways they were traditional Chinese Song-dynasty temples; the upper floors of the Golden Pavilion were covered with gold leaf, and they were surrounded by traditional water gardens. The most notable garden style invented in this period

3344-651: The Japanese court sent fifteen more legations to the court of the Tang dynasty . These legations, with more than five hundred members each, included diplomats, scholars, students, Buddhist monks, and translators. They brought back Chinese writing, art objects, and detailed descriptions of Chinese gardens. In 612 CE, the Empress Suiko had a garden built with an artificial mountain, representing Shumi-Sen, or Mount Sumeru , reputed in Hindu and Buddhist legends to be located at

3432-739: The Mongol invasions. The monks brought with them a new form of Buddhism, called simply Zen , or "meditation". Japan enjoyed a renaissance in religion, in the arts, and particularly in gardens. The term Zen garden appears in English writing in the 1930s for the first time, in Japan zen teien , or zenteki teien comes up even later, from the 1950s. It applies to a Song China -inspired composition technique derived from ink-painting. The composition or construction of such small, scenic gardens have no relation to religious Zen. Many famous temple gardens were built early in this period, including Kinkaku-ji,

3520-508: The UK, where the climate was similar and Japanese plants grew well. Japanese gardens, typically a section of a larger garden, continue to be popular in the West, and many typical Japanese garden plants, such as cherry trees and the many varieties of Acer palmatum or Japanese maple, are also used in all types of garden, giving a faint hint of the style to very many gardens. The ideas central to Japanese gardens were first introduced to Japan during

3608-656: The ancient capital of Nara have brought to light the remains of two 8th-century gardens associated with the Imperial Court, a pond and stream garden – the To-in – located within the precinct of the Imperial Palace and a stream garden – Kyuseki – found within the modern city. They may be modeled after Chinese gardens, but the rock formations found in the To-in would appear to have more in common with prehistoric Japanese stone monuments than with Chinese antecedents, and

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3696-405: The arms of an armchair, with the garden between them. The gardens featured one or more lakes connected by bridges and winding streams. The south garden of the imperial residences had a uniquely Japanese feature: a large empty area of white sand or gravel. The emperor was the chief priest of Japan, and the white sand represented purity, and was a place where the gods could be invited to visit. The area

3784-455: The arrival of  kami , and the Shinto reverence for great rocks, lakes, ancient trees, and other "dignitaries of nature" would exert an enduring influence on Japanese garden design. Japanese gardens were also strongly influenced by the Chinese philosophy of Daoism and Amida Buddhism, imported from China in or around 552 CE. Daoist legends spoke of five mountainous islands inhabited by

3872-401: The attention of the visitor. A path led to the entrance of the teahouse. Along the path was waiting bench for guests and a privy, and a stone water-basin near the teahouse, where the guests rinsed their hands and mouths before entering the tea room through a small, square door called nijiri-guchi , or "crawling-in entrance", which requires bending low to pass through. Sen no Rikyū decreed that

3960-523: The centre of the world. During the reign of the same empress, one of her ministers, Soga no Umako, had a garden built at his palace featuring a lake with several small islands, representing the islands of the Eight Immortals famous in Chinese legends and Daoist philosophy. This palace became the property of the Japanese emperors, was named "The Palace of the Isles", and was mentioned several times in

4048-471: The chronicle recorded that "The Emperor Kenzō went into the garden and feasted at the edge of a winding stream". Chinese gardens had a very strong influence on early Japanese gardens. In or around 552 CE, Buddhism was officially installed from China, via Korea, into Japan. Between 600 and 612 CE, the Japanese emperor sent four legations to the court of the Chinese Sui dynasty . Between 630 and 838 CE,

4136-422: The east, to enter the garden, pass under the house, and then leave from the southeast. In this way, the water of the blue dragon will carry away all the bad spirits from the house toward the white tiger. The Imperial gardens of the Heian period were water gardens , where visitors promenaded in elegant lacquered boats, listening to music, viewing the distant mountains, singing, reading poetry, painting, and admiring

4224-484: The edges of shapes. Established moss can resist flowing water and secure steep slopes. While some beach species specialize in growing on shifting sands, and may grow on sandy, salty roadside soil in cities, most mosses are very slow to colonize loose-shifting surfaces. Depressions in moss lawns may fill with debris. There are moss species that grow on almost any substrate, including rocks, wood, or soil. The rhizoids grow into any soil, in some cases about as deep as

4312-647: The emperors and the rivalry of feudal warlords resulted in two civil wars (1156 and 1159), which destroyed most of Kyoto and its gardens. The capital moved to Kamakura , and then in 1336 back to the Muromachi quarter of Kyoto. The emperors ruled in name only; real power was held by a military governor, the shōgun . During this period, the government reopened relations with China, which had been broken off almost three hundred years earlier. Japanese monks went again to study in China, and Chinese monks came to Japan, fleeing

4400-535: The end of the 16th century referring to isolated tea houses. It originally applied to the simple country houses of samurai warriors and Buddhist monks, but in the Edo period it was used in every kind of building, from houses to palaces. The sukiya style was used in the most famous garden of the period, the Katsura Imperial Villa in Kyoto. The buildings were built in a very simple, undecorated style,

4488-399: The field of view. Stand-out colours, textures, objects, and groups are avoided. The size of objects, groupings, and the spacings between them are arranged to be self-similar at multiple spatial scales ; that is, they produce similar patterns when scaled up or down (zoomed in or out). This property is also seen in fractals and many natural scenes . This self-similarity may be extended all

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4576-455: The form of unusual rocks or trees marked with cords of rice fiber ( shimenawa ) and surrounded with white stones or pebbles, a symbol of purity. The white gravel courtyard became a distinctive feature of Shinto shrines, Imperial Palaces, Buddhist temples, and Zen gardens . Although its original meaning is somewhat obscure, one of the Japanese words for garden— niwa —came to mean a place that had been cleansed and purified in anticipation of

4664-632: The garden creating conditions where the moss will spontaneously grow. Shelter from wind will reduce evaporation, which helps keep mosses from drying out. To photosynthesize, moss needs sunlight (not necessarily direct), moisture, and temperatures above about -5 degrees Celsius (20 Fahrenheit) simultaneously . Unlike most other plants, it cannot store energy for use later (except for in a storage protein used to repair cell walls). This means that watering moss will not increase growth unless it will stay wet, unfrozen, and at least slightly lit for some hours afterwards. Moss has little ability to retain water; it

4752-562: The garden should be left unswept for several hours before the ceremony, so that leaves would be scattered in a natural way on the path. Notable gardens of the period include: During the Edo period , power was won and consolidated by the Tokugawa clan , who became the shōgun , and moved the capital to Edo , which became Tokyo . The emperor remained in Kyoto as a figurehead leader, with authority only over cultural and religious affairs. While

4840-399: The garden, with fixed stopping points for viewing. Specialized styles, often small sections in a larger garden, include the moss garden , the dry garden with gravel and rocks, associated with Zen Buddhism , the roji or teahouse garden, designed to be seen only from a short pathway, and the tsubo-niwa , a very small urban garden. Most modern Japanese homes have little space for

4928-482: The garden. In 1687, the daimyō Ikeda Tsunamasa ordered Tsuda Nagatada to begin construction of the garden. It was completed in 1700 and has retained its original appearance to the present day, except for a few changes by various daimyōs . The garden was originally called Kōen (後園 "later garden") because it was built after Okayama Castle . However, since the garden was built in the spirit of senyukoraku (先憂後楽 "grieve earlier than others, enjoy later than others"),

5016-461: The garden. Edo promenade gardens were often composed of a series of meisho , or "famous views", similar to postcards. These could be imitations of famous natural landscapes, like Mount Fuji , or scenes from Taoist or Buddhist legends, or landscapes illustrating verses of poetry. Unlike Zen gardens, they were designed to portray nature as it appeared, not the internal rules of nature. Well-known Edo-period gardens include: The Meiji period saw

5104-408: The gardens of nobles in the capital, the gardens of villas at the edge of the city, and the gardens of temples. The architecture of the palaces, residences and gardens in the Heian period followed Chinese practice. Houses and gardens were aligned on a north-south axis, with the residence to the north and the ceremonial buildings and main garden to the south, there were two long wings to the south, like

5192-443: The gardens of the Edo period were either promenade gardens or dry rock Zen gardens, and they were usually much larger than earlier gardens. The promenade gardens of the period made extensive use of borrowed scenery ( shakkei ). Vistas of distant mountains are integrated in the design of the garden; or, even better, building the garden on the side of a mountain and using the different elevations to attain views over landscapes outside

5280-445: The inevitable turnover of plants, in a way that is extremely rare in the West. Awareness of the Japanese style of gardening reached the West near the end of the 19th century, and was enthusiastically received as part of the fashion for Japonisme , and as Western gardening taste had by then turned away from rigid geometry to a more naturalistic style, of which the Japanese style was an attractive variant. There were immediately popular in

5368-425: The islands, and by the four distinct seasons in Japan, including hot, wet summers and snowy winters. Japanese gardens have their roots in the national religion of Shinto , with its story of the creation of eight perfect islands, and of the shinchi , the lakes of the gods. Prehistoric Shinto shrines to the kami , the gods and spirits, are found on beaches and in forests all over the island. They often took

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5456-465: The main pavilion, or from the "Hall of the Pure View", located on a higher elevation in the garden. In the east of the garden, on a peninsula, is an arrangement of stones designed to represent the mythical Mount Horai. A wooden bridge leads to an island representing a crane, and a stone bridge connects this island to another representing a tortoise, which is connected by an earth-covered bridge back to

5544-421: The modernization of Japan, and the re-opening of Japan to the West. Many of the old private gardens had been abandoned and left to ruin. In 1871, a new law transformed many gardens from the earlier Edo period into public parks, preserving them. Garden designers, confronted with ideas from the West experimented with western styles, leading to such gardens as Kyu-Furukawa Gardens , or Shinjuku Gyoen . Others, more in

5632-477: The moss is tall, in order to hold the moss in place. Generally, mosses do not absorb nutrients from the soil, so soil amendments do not benefit moss. Many mosses are ombrotrophic , fed by rain. There are moss species that are suited to the full range of soil pHs , but some gardeners adjust the pH to discourage other plants which might compete with the moss. Many other plants do badly in acidic soil ; moss thrives in acidic soil conditions. This also reduces

5720-439: The moss species. Mosses can grow next to water features , but the unvarying level of artificial watercourses may not allow the moss to dry out, which can cause problems with mould. Moss lawns can be started by several different methods: When transplanting moss on to soil, the soil surface is slightly loosened first. After the moss is in place, it is thoroughly watered and walked on or otherwise tamped down. This helps attach

5808-430: The name was changed to Kōrakuen (後楽園) in 1871. The Korakuen is one of the few daimyō gardens in the provinces where historical change can be observed, thanks to the many Edo period paintings and Ikeda family records and documents left behind. The garden was used as a place for entertaining important guests and also as a spa of sorts for daimyōs , although regular folk could visit on certain days. In 1884, ownership

5896-575: The natural, serpentine course of the Kyuseki stream garden may be far less formal than what existed in Tang China. Whatever their origins, both the To-in and Kyuseki clearly anticipate certain developments in later Japanese gardens. In 794 CE, at the beginning of the Heian period (794–1185 CE), the Japanese court moved its capital to Heian-kyō (present-day Kyoto ). During this period, there were three different kinds of gardens: palace gardens and

5984-442: The north of Japan kept to Edo period blueprint design. A third wave was the naturalistic style of gardens, invented by captains of industry and powerful politicians like Aritomo Yamagata . Many gardeners soon were designing and constructing gardens catering to this taste. One of the gardens well-known for his technical perfection in this style was Ogawa Jihei VII , also known as Ueji. Notable gardens of this period include: During

6072-487: The peninsula. The garden also includes a waterfall at the foot of a wooded hill. One characteristic of the Momoyama period garden visible at Sanbō-in is the close proximity of the buildings to the water. The Momoyama period also saw the development of chanoyu (tea ceremony), the chashitsu (teahouse), and the roji (tea garden). Tea had been introduced to Japan from China by Buddhist monks, who used it as

6160-400: The period still existing is Sanbō-in , rebuilt by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1598 to celebrate the festival of the cherry blossom and to recreate the splendor of an ancient garden. Three hundred garden-builders worked on the project, digging the lakes and installing seven hundred boulders in a space of 540 square metres (5,800 sq ft). The garden was designed to be seen from the veranda of

6248-418: The political center of Japan was now Tokyo, Kyoto remained the cultural capital, the center for religion and art. The shōgun provided the emperors with little power, but with generous subsidies for building gardens. The Edo period saw the widespread use of a new kind of Japanese architecture, called sukiya-zukuri , which means literally "building according to chosen taste". The term first appeared at

6336-530: The ponds and streams are carefully placed according to Buddhist geomancy , the art of putting things in the place most likely to attract good fortune. The rules for the placement of water were laid out in the first manual of Japanese gardens, the Sakuteiki ("Records of Garden Making") , in the 11th century. According to the Sakuteiki , water should enter the garden from the east or southeast and flow toward

6424-407: The porch of the residence the abbot of the monastery. There have been many debates about what the rocks are supposed to represent, but, as garden historian Gunter Nitschke wrote, "The garden at Ryōan-ji does not symbolize. It does not have the value of representing any natural beauty that can be found in the world, real or mythical. I consider it as an abstract composition of "natural" objects in space,

6512-469: The risk of limescale deposits on the moss, which can wick water up from waterlogged soil; regularly rinsing with rainwater from above will wash off deposits. Mosses absorb water through their leaves, and are watered more like air plants than common vascular garden plants. Watering with hard tapwater may also cause lime deposits; soft tapwater may contain dissolved metals, which can kill moss. Japanese moss gardens largely rely on natural precipitation, with

6600-577: The scenery. The social life in the gardens was memorably described in the classic Japanese novel The Tale of Genji , written in about 1005 by Murasaki Shikibu , a lady-in-waiting to the empress. The traces of one such artificial lake, Osawa no ike, near the Daikaku-ji temple in Kyoto, still can be seen. It was built by the Emperor Saga , who ruled from 809 to 823, and was said to be inspired by Dongting Lake in China. A scaled-down replica of

6688-416: The soil, but most mosses need to attach rhizomes to the substrate in order to grow and remain in place; this is assisted by clearing and smoothing a lawn substrate and fairing a fillet between vertical and horizontal surfaces. Loose debris and sharp angles discourage moss growth. While preparing for the moss, curves and mounds may be sculpted (this is easiest in clayey soil), and a hose may be used to erode

6776-418: The soil. Moss lawns may be used to cover green roofs . They are also used as an erosion-control groundcover, along the banks of watercourses, under flowing water, and on steep slopes. Traditional Japanese garden aesthetics avoids contrasts, symmetries and groupings that would create points which dominate visual attention , instead creating scenes in which visual salience is evenly distributed across

6864-404: The south, which represents fire, which are opposites ( yin and yang ) and therefore will bring good luck. The Sakuteiki recommends several possible miniature landscapes using lakes and streams: the "ocean style", which features rocks that appear to have been eroded by waves, a sandy beach, and pine trees; the "broad river style", recreating the course of a large river, winding like a serpent;

6952-589: The stream which runs through the garden is 640 meters. It features a central pond called Sawa-no-ike (Marsh Pond), which contains three islands purported to replicate the scenery around Lake Biwa near Kyoto . Mansfield, Stephen (2011). Japan's Master Gardens - Lessons in Space and Environment (Hardback). Tokyo, Rutland, Singapore: Tuttle. ISBN   978-4-8053-1128-8 . [REDACTED] Media related to Kōraku-en at Wikimedia Commons Japanese garden Japanese literature on gardening goes back almost

7040-421: The transplanted moss to the soil. Transplanted moss may be secured to a new substrate with small twigs or metal pegs. Pond netting or tulle , held with landscape staples or tent pegs, or sometimes suspended on stakes, may be used to discourage wildlife from digging up moss. Several species of moss can be grown in moss lawns. Mosses that are native to a local area take less time to establish and maintain. It

7128-436: The way down to the scale of surface textures. The mottled texture and colour of moss (like that of rocks) can be used as part of such self-similar, evenly-distributed-salience designs. Moss is considered to express a wabi-sabi aesthetic. In the wild, mosses may naturally form a continuous lawn under conifers ; the more upright mosses, such as Hylocomium splendens , can grow over falling needles. For mosses not adapted to

7216-636: The west, because the east is the home of the Green Dragon ( seiryu ), an ancient Chinese divinity adopted in Japan, and the west is the home of the White Tiger, the divinity of the east. Water flowing from east to west will carry away evil, and the owner of the garden will be healthy and have a long life. According to the Sakuteiki , another favorable arrangement is for the water to flow from north, which represents water in Buddhist cosmology, to

7304-621: The west. In the lake in front of the temple is a small island of white stones, representing Mount Horai, the home of the Eight Immortals of the Daoists, connected to the temple by a bridge, which symbolized the way to paradise. It was designed for mediation and contemplation, not as a pleasure garden. It was a lesson in Daoist and Buddhist philosophy created with landscape and architecture, and a prototype for future Japanese gardens. Notable existing or recreated Heian gardens include: The weakness of

7392-568: Was originally the villa of Fujiwara Michinaga (966–1028), who married his daughters to the sons of the Emperor. After his death, his son transformed the villa into a temple, and in 1053 built the Hall of Phoenix, which still stands. The Hall is built in the traditional style of a Chinese Song dynasty temple, on an island in the lake. It houses a gilded statue of the Amitābha Buddha, looking to

7480-529: Was responsible for the building of the zen gardens of Nanzen-ji , Saihō-ji (the Moss Garden), and Tenryū-ji . Notable gardens of the Kamakura and Muromachi periods include: The Momoyama period was short, just 32 years, and was largely occupied with the wars between the daimyō , the leaders of the feudal Japanese clans. The new centers of power and culture in Japan were the fortified castles of

7568-406: Was the Zen garden, dry garden , or Japanese rock garden . One of the finest examples, and one of the best-known of all Japanese gardens is Ryōan-ji in Kyoto. This garden is just 9 metres (30 ft) wide and 24 metres (79 ft) long, composed of white sand carefully raked to suggest water, and fifteen rocks carefully arranged, like small islands. It is meant to be seen from a seated position on

7656-615: Was transferred to Okayama Prefecture and the garden was opened to the public. The garden suffered severe damage during the floods of 1934 and by bombing damage in 1945 during World War II . It has been restored based on Edo-period paintings and diagrams. In 1952, the Kōrakuen was designated as a " Special Scenic Location " under the Cultural Properties Protection Law and is managed as a historical cultural asset to be passed to future generations. The garden

7744-407: Was used for religious ceremonies and dances for the welcoming of the gods. The layout of the garden itself was strictly determined according to the principles of traditional Chinese geomancy , or Feng Shui . The first known book on the art of the Japanese garden, the Sakuteiki ( Records of Garden Keeping ), written in the 11th century, said: It is a good omen to make the stream arrive from

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