Discover the history and symbolism of round windows in Japanese gardens and architecture, including the Yoshino window, Zen temple designs, and sukiya-style tea houses.Continue Reading
Beyond Basics Part 3: Symbolic Plants & Seasonal Patterns Japanese gardens are designed to reflect nature’s beauty through carefully chosen elements. In this installment, we explore Japanese Garden Plants & Patterns, highlighting their cultural significance and role in shaping the seasonal aesthetics of these landscapes. Japanese Garden Plants & Patterns...Continue Reading
The Tsuboniwa in Japan Kanji: 庭 – niwa – garden, yard 坪 – tsubo – unit of land measurement, 3.31 square meters, 2 tatami mats 壷 – tsubo – jar, pot, vase The courtyard garden – called tsuboniwa in Japanese – is a garden in a small, enclosed area. The...Continue Reading
Beyond Basics Part 2: Japanese Rock Arrangements & Symbolism In Japanese gardens, rocks are more than just landscape features—they carry deep symbolism and significantly enhance the visual appeal of the garden. Through careful rock arrangements, stones represent mountains, islands, rivers, and other natural elements, offering both beauty and meaning. In...Continue Reading
Regional Styles and Historical Influences in Japanese Gardens: From Heian to Edo Periods The evolution of Japanese garden styles has not only been shaped by cultural aesthetics and religious philosophies but have also evolved in step with political shifts across the centuries. From the opulent palace gardens of Kyoto’s Heian...Continue Reading
Kenroku-en in Kanazawa What’s behind the Three Great Gardens of Japan (Nihon Sanmeien)?Why were they chosen and what makes them great? We will explore this in the following article. Japanese people love top lists since ancient times. Very important is the Top 100, which could already experienced during the Edo...Continue Reading
When I browse through the garden bubble on my Instagram, one topic that keeps popping up is: should we use cherry laurel or not? At least in central Europe this question is vividly discussed. We now know that cherry laurel tends to be invasive in Central Europe, with its seeds...Continue Reading
I always point out that the regular Japanese garden is not flat. Most of them, even the tiniest ones, have at least one small mound. Fascinating was that, during my research, I found so little information on mounds in the Japanese garden! A garden with a tsukiyama 築山 is called...Continue Reading
The Rikugien garden was initially built by Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu from 1695 until 1702. In 1868 it was purchased by Iwasaki Yataro who remodeled the garden to his needs but kept the heart of the garden – the theme of Waka poetry. However, he added many elements. So also the Hōraijima...Continue Reading
Today, we want to explore two popular elements in Japanese gardens. The picture of the turtle and the crane. For this, we will take the garden of Koichi-in in Kyoto as an example, where we have both elements as a rock setting (island) in one garden. However, these pictures can...Continue Reading
