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Different Japanese Arts : GARDENS ( teien ) Japanese live art. It is evident in each and every aspect of their lives. And most of their art has come down through centuries. Like the art of gardening. From decades, the Japanese bring nature to their homes in the form of gardens. It is important to note that Japanese gardens are not picturesque collections of oddly shaped rocks and twisted trees set off by stone lanterns, arched bridges and fish ponds. Japanese designers neither copy nature nor totally rearrange it. Instead they take the in-between course. History Japan has an ancestral history to its gardens. The ancestors of the modern Japanese referred to places surrounded by natural rock as amatsu iwasaka ("heavenly barrier") or amatsu iwakura ("heavenly seat"), believing that gods lived there. Dense clusters of trees, moats and streams were all considered to be the dwelling places of God. The first gardens were amidst the mountains of Yamato in the 6th and 7th centuries. These gardens imitated ocean scenes with large ponds rimmed by wild 'sea shores' and dotted with islands. In 794, after the capital was moved from Nara to Kyoto where several rivers converged, Channels were dug to carry water through the city. Waterfalls, ponds and streams were created. With the rise of the cult of Buddha Amida in the 10th century, the shinden style of garden, modeled on the image of the Pure Land (Jodo) as described in scripture and religious tracts, was developed. But
the Golden Age of Japanese gardens arrived in the Muromachi
period (1333-1568). The world's oldest commentary on garden planning
Sakuteiki was written in the second half of the 11th
century. The author Tachinanano Toshitsuna based his
work on a great deal of practical experience in landscape gardening.
Sakuteiki Another development was the concept of tea garden called (roji or chaniwa) which came about with the concept of tea ceremony. Among the contributions of the tea garden to the contemporary Japanese garden are stepping-stones, stone lanterns, and groves of trees, as well as stone washbasins and simply constructed gazebos for guests being served tea. During the Edo Period (1600-1868) a syntheses of preceding forms took place. For example, the garden of the Katsura (Detached Palace) is made up of a number of tea gardens. This is an example of the kaiyu or "many-pleasure" style, which became fully established in the mid-Edo period. Gardens today Japanese gardens have hung over time, but old practices were not abandoned with the introduction of new ones. For example, when some 14th century gardeners began using rocks and white sand to create "dry landscapes", the older Sakuteiki techniques using water, vegetation and rocks remained the norm. The best Japanese gardens have not simply added new elements but have carefully selected only elements that fit the true nature of the setting. In this sense, the process is not one of addition but of subtraction, of restraining the imagination and refining the composition. Almost all the garden styles that have developed since Tachibana's writing of Sakuteiki in the 11th century can still be seen in or near Kyoto and these gardens have not changed greatly over the centuries. Japan being a densely populated country, there isn't much space for gardens. But urban dwellers have always found ways to incorporate the wonders of nature in their lives. There are rooftop gardens, balcony gardens, small gardens within the confines of the house and many more.
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