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
It’s already been a week since I am back to work and it passed too fast! However, now I had time to finish and publish our new eBook about the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. HOW TO ENTER When I first visited the Imperial Palace, I was quite confused by the...Continue Reading
Top > Elements & Explanations Overview > Japanese Garden History Part 2 – Kamakura – Momoyama Period Japanese Garden History Part 2 – Kamakura – Momoyama Period（日本庭園歴史 鎌倉時代 – 安土桃山時代） From the Kamakura until the Momoyama period To understand Japanese gardens, it is necessary to gain a little knowledge about Japan’s...Continue Reading
Top > Elements & Explanations Overview > Japanese Garden History Part 1 – The Heian Period Japanese Garden History Part 1 – The Heian Period（日本庭園歴史 平安時代） The Heian Period To understand Japanese gardens, it is necessary to gain a little knowledge about Japan’s history as well. It is fascinating how the...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
Top > Elements & Explanations Overview > Japanese Garden History Part 3 – Edo – Heisei Period Japanese Garden History Part 3 – Edo – Heisei Period （日本庭園歴史 江戸時代- 平成時代） From the Edo until the Heisei period To understand Japanese gardens, it is necessary to gain a little knowledge about Japan’s...Continue Reading
