Hamarikyu garden When visiting Japanese gardens in winter, one will recognize some strange ropes and mats around the pine trees and some other plants. These are called Yukizuri 雪吊り and Fuyugakui 冬囲い. Both are meant to protect the trees from the weight of snow. In Tokyo there is seldom so much...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
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
虎の子渡し – Tiger family crossing a river 碧巌録に示された臥龍 – Sleeping dragon 星座カシオペヤ – The constellation Cassiopeia 心の字 – Heart character 京都盆地を囲む五山 – Five mountains surrounding Kyoto 光の反射板 – Reflecting of Light 満月を巡る – The moon phases around the full moon Today I want to dig deeper into the manifold interpretations...Continue Reading
Bridges are an element in the Japanese garden, that is often neglected in the literature. After the main elements, water, rocks, and plants, the stone lanterns follow as the next most often mentioned element. Or so it seems. Today, I would like to put the focus on bridges. What types...Continue Reading
The way how ponds were built in Japan changed massively over time. In this article I want to introduce the ancient way and the more recent methods. Let’s begin when rich people wanted to build private gardens in the outskirts of Kyoto in as early as the Heian period (794-1185)....Continue Reading
A lot of words connected to pine pruning we want to explore today! While midoritsumi みどり摘み and momiage 揉み上げ are already well known when it comes to pine pruning, there is still so much more to explore, even beyond the terms I will explain today. All techniques and examples I am showing,...Continue Reading
Water is one of the three important elements in the Japanese garden. Today we want to explore how water is integrated into the garden design in form of ponds. Ponds in the Japanese garden differ, depending on the type of the garden, in size and shape. History of ponds in...Continue Reading
