The Art of the Japanese Garden. David Young
garden to screen a view or to encourage visitors to look or move in a particular direction. The choice of whether to use a wall or fence when creating a boundary depends largely on the type of buildings and gardens enclosed as well as on the intended effect. A substantial wall is well suited to the large buildings and grounds of a Buddhist temple whereas a twig fence is more appropriate for Sukiya style mansions and gardens. Walls and fences must, of course, have appropriate gates. For example, a twig fence may be interrupted by a small grass-covered pole gate, whereas a garden surrounded by a substantial clay wall with a tile roof requires a more impressive entrance.
Detail of a wall constructed of ceramic tiles and clay resting on a stone foundation.
A lattice type bamboo fence at Kōetsuji Temple, Kyoto.
Materials and Construction Methods
Walls are generally distinguished by their construction methods. Temples and palaces are enclosed by very substantial walls constructed of a mixture of clay and straw (shikkui) covered with a coat of plaster that is painted white or a pastel color such as tan or beige. Sometimes tiles are embedded in the clay. Clay walls are supported by a timber framework and covered with a tile roof. Sometimes the wall is erected on a stone base. A common type of enclosure for early Shinden style gardens and mansions in the Nara and Heian periods was a substantial wooden wall with a wooden roof. Because such walls were easily damaged by wind and rain, they were mostly abandoned after the Heian Period though board fences continued to be used.
Fencing materials and construction methods vary widely. In addition to the use of boards, some of the most common materials are bundled twigs, bamboo, reeds and bark. Flexible materials such as reeds and split bamboo can be fastened by cords and vines to a sturdy frame constructed of horizontal poles attached to vertical members sunk in the ground. They also can be fastened to each other and hung from a horizontal top pole, or in the case of strips of bark, woven together and attached to the frame. More sturdy materials such as bamboo poles can be widely spaced and interlaced on the diagonal, leaving diamond-shaped spaces between the poles. Twig fences in which the tops are not trimmed are known as “nightingale fences.” These are only a few of the many fence alternatives open to the garden designer.
WING FENCES
Screen or wing fences are short ornamental fences, slightly narrower than tall, that are attached to buildings in order to control the view of the garden from the veranda or to conceal some object in the garden. They are usually made of brushwood (shiba) and split bamboo. Considerable effort is expended to turn wing fences into works of art. The drawings below are based largely upon the drawings of Josiah Condor, an English architect who lived in Japan in the Meiji Period.
double screen type
clotheshorse type
leaning plum tree type
unjō type
low Korean type
two-stage torch type
round window lattice type
nightingale type
tea whisk type
Paths
Paths are generally constructed of beaten earth that can be left plain or covered with sand or fine gravel, on top of which are placed stepping stones. Irregular flat stepping stones were used in tea roji to guide the participant towards the teahouse and to keep his or her feet clean. Later, stepping stones were incorporated into other types of gardens. The most commonly used materials are slate, schist, flint and granite, left as natural slabs or shaped into more regular forms. In most traditional gardens, stepping stones are of different sizes and are arranged in a variety of patterns, with several inches between stones so the bare spaces can easily be cleaned. In other cases, cut rocks can be arranged in a close-fitting geometric pattern to create a type of stone pavement. Most paths serve a practical function but the material and style employed serve an aesthetic function by contributing to the degree of formality desired by the garden designer.
Sturdy stepping stone bridge at Kōrakuen Garden, Okayama.
Earthen path covered with gravel.
Geometric cut stones surrounded by natural pebbles and cut stone border (shin: formal style).
Closely spaced natural pebbles, classified as formal (shin) because of the regular effect achieved by the use of pebbles similar in size and shape.
Informal stepping stones (sō).
Closely spaced natural stones, irregular in size and shape, enclosed by a cut stone border (gyō: semiformal).
PONDS, WATERFALLS AND BRIDGES
Oceans and rivers have always been a major source of sustenance for the Japanese. It is therefore not at all surprising that water played a critical role in Shinto purification ceremonies. This indigenous emphasis upon water was strengthened in the sixth century when continental culture introduced gardens that included ponds, streams and waterfalls. Bridges are used to provide access to islands situated in ponds or to cross streams running through the garden.
Ponds and Streams
Ponds were created in a variety of shapes, sometimes based upon Chinese characters, such as the characters for water, heart or dragon. An important design principle was to avoid geometric forms such as rectangles and circles, except in very small domestic gardens. In a landscape garden, the pond should look natural with an irregular shoreline and different “arms,” sometimes partially separated by narrows. Rocks and polished stones were often used to create a rugged coastline or a pebbly beach.
Whenever possible, ponds were fed by natural streams or springs or by water that was piped in, sometimes from a considerable distance. In Kyoto, where most of Japan’s famous gardens are located, there were numerous springs until the mid-Heian Period. Streams also can be employed in gardens that have no ponds to represent tumbling mountain brooks or rivers flowing through a plain. In the former case, streams are narrow, twisting and rocky. In the latter case, they tend to be broader, straighter and lined with wild grasses and flowers.