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
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
Top > Gardens Overview > Secret Gardens > Kyoto Area > Aoi-den and Kasui-en Aoi-den and Kasui-en（葵殿 佳水園） Both gardens are now on the ground of the Westin Hotel Kyoto. Visitors can enter before sunset for free. “Aoiden” was built by the garden master Ogawa Jihei (7th generation). It is...Continue Reading
Top > Gardens Overview > Famous Gardens > Other Regions > Kōraku-en Kōraku-en（後楽園） The Kōraku-en gardens are a large strolling garden with a meandering stream and belong to the Three Great Gardens in Japan. They have been built in 1700 (Edo period) by the lord of the Okayama area, Ikeda...Continue Reading
Top > Gardens Overview > Famous Gardens > Other Regions > Shōmyō-ji Shōmyō-ji（称名寺） The Shōmyō-ji is a Buddhist temple of the Shingon school of Buddhism in Yokohama, Kanagawa-Ken. It was founded in the Kamakura period (1185-1333) as a family temple of the Hojo clan, the powerholders of the Kamakura period....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
Top > Gardens Overview > Famous Gardens > Tokyo Area > Shinjuku Gyoen Shinjuku Gyoen（新宿御苑） Surprisingly, Shinjuku Gyoen has one of the most beautiful Japanese gardens in Tokyo. It is a vast park and has different garden sections: a Japanese garden with two ponds connected by a small river, a...Continue Reading
Top > Gardens Overview > Famous Gardens > Other Regions > Sankei-en Sankei-en（三溪園） This beautiful landscape garden in Yokohama is one of Japan’s youngest gardens. Construction works began in 1902 and it was opened to the public in 1906. The founder of the garden, Sankei Hara, a silk trader from...Continue Reading
