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JAPAN SOCIETY GARDEN VISIT AND LECTURE Nature as Inspiration for the Japanese Garden An illustrated lecture given to the Japan Society at the Chelsea Physic Garden June 2005 Lecture by Maureen Busby A life long interest in various aspects of Japanese culture led to a serious study of Japanese gardens when I changed career from teacher to garden designer twelve years ago. The study has focussed on three lines of enquiry, reading, viewing gardens first hand and creating Japanese gardens for clients. Understanding by doing, using the Japanese garden tradition as a framework, has been the most enlightening.. The study is ongoing. My enthusiasm for Japanese gardens is shared by 750 members of the Japanese Garden Society spread across the UK. We work to promote Japanese gardens, to foster a deeper understanding of them and to encourage their conservation. We organise regional lectures, workshops and garden visits both here and abroad. A few members have been instrumental in the restoration of the Edwardian Japanese garden at Kingston Lacey, a National Trust property in Dorset. We held a bamboo fence workshop there recently prior to the official June opening. We have built a new garden in the Birmingham Botanical Gardens which was recently opened by the Japanese Ambassador and we are building a new community garden in Walkden near Manchester. We have been awarded Silver-gilt and Gold medals at the Tatton Park, Hampton Court and Chelsea RHS flower shows for our Japanese gardens. Our 'Maple Courtyard' at Hampton Court in 2002 was a tsubo niwa, or small courtyard style garden, enclosed by a traditional Japanese style wall. The garden incorporated the traditional elements of rocks and gravel, a lantern framed by an aged pine tree, a water basin, moss and several maples trained and pruned in the Japanese manner. Planting beyond the enclosing wall, formed part of the composition. One view of the garden, was framed by the open shoji screens on the veranda.. What is the tradition on which the garden was based? The Sakuteiki, Japan's gardening classic, describes the principles, techniques and elements of Japanese garden design and building. It is an 11C text attributed to Tachibana no Toshitsuna. whose father built two famous gardens of that time, Byodo-in and Kaya-no-in. The traditional method of transmission of the teaching was from master to pupil by example, rather than the spoken word. This method is still used for teaching an apprentice gardener in Japan. Two English translations of the book currently available are: Secret Teachings in the Art of Japanese Gardens by David A Slawson - Kodansha International 1987 and Sakuteiki Visions of the Japanese Garden by Jiro Takei & Marc P Keane - Tuttle Publishing 2001. The work expounds the following principle: "Keep close to heart the works of past masters and giving due respect to the opinions of the client, imbue the garden with your own taste" (Jiro Takei & Marc P Keane) Let us take a look at some of the work of the great masters. Ginkaku-ji 1480, attributed to Soami, was the retirement villa of Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa. The pavilion was dedicated to Amida and the garden recreates, on earth, the ethereal splendour of Amida's western paradise. It is an harmonious composition of pond, planting and pavilion. Saiho-ji 1339, the famous moss temple, created by Muso Kokushi, was conceived as an aid to contemplation.. The scores of varieties of moss, thriving under a canopy of maples, present an idealised vision of Japan's natural landscape. Visitors are required kneel and copy several Buddhist sutras using brush and ink to the sound of monks chanting, before strolling through the garden. This maintains the peaceful atmosphere of the garden. Ryoan-ji 1499 is the most famous of the dry landscape gardens. Water and landscape elements are symbolised by fifteen rocks set in raked gravel. It is refined to the point of austerity and is considered to be the quintessence of a Zen garden.. It is viewed by hundreds of visitors each day, kneeling in silence on the veranda. It is a contemplation garden for a temple, designed to aid meditation, entered with the mind not the feet. The enclosing wall, which is designated a national treasure, frames the composition. The planting beyond makes an important contribution to the visual impact. Shoden-ji 17C, is also a Zen temple garden, less austere but very similar to Ryoan-ji, with fifteen tightly clipped azaleas, representing rocks, set in a gravel sea.. The azaleas are arranged in three groups of seven, five and three. This ordering arrangement is a common ordering principle in many of the Japanese arts. The garden is enclosed by a white, tile capped wall, with the distant Mount Hiei framed by trees forming part of the composition. The garden is in harmony with the wider landscape. A-un 20C at Daitoku-ji shows a more contemporary interpretation of the dry landscape style. It is a narrow strip of deeply raked gravel along the edge of the veranda representing the beginning and the end of all things. The Tea Garden of Sento Gosho 17C, created by Kobori Enshu is an imperial example of the tea style. In the late 16C, tea masters designed walk through gardens as a preparation for the tea ceremony. They focus on spiritual passage. They are green and leafy, simple, refined and a little rustic all at the same time, in complete contrast to the austerity of the dry landscape gardens. The waiting bench is where visitors sit and tune into the natural feel of the garden and begin to leave the cares of the world behind them. Stepping stone paths were introduced to slow the pace of movement through the garden. The stones are of different sizes and set at varying heights and intervals. The concentration needed to travel such a path focuses the mind, leaving no space for idle thoughts. A larger stone is placed here and there to encourage the visitor to rest and look up and admire a lantern or particularly pleasing planting arrangement. The inner gate is the final threshold that the visitor passes through on the way to the tea house, it is symbolic of entering a higher state of consciousness. Tea gardens are a reminder that one is a participant in nature. By the 17C the merchants were building modest courtyard gardens or Tsubo niwa, we can see influences of the tea masters here where tea artefacts such as lanterns, water basins and stepping stones are often used. These inner courtyards, which brought light and air into the centre of a long, narrow house, could be viewed from several rooms. When the shoji screens are opened one is in touch with the natural world moving from room to room. In temple complexes small, austere courtyard gardens were also created using lanterns and water basins e.g. Koho-an 17C. The tsubo-niwa style is still popular today with inner courtyards planned into private and public buildings eg. Kahitsukan Art Museum 20C garden, is a microcosm of the natural landscape. The stroll gardens of the Imperial family are on the grand scale. They are elegant and masterly, expansive and expensive. Shugaku-in Rikyu 17C, created by Emperor Gomizuno in the style of Kobori Enshu, has three villas with gardens nestled at various elevations amongst terraced rice fields. From the upper villa there is a magnificent view over the lake with a vast panorama of borrowed scenery with the distant hills skilfully incorporated into the design. Murin-an 1896, created by Prince Yamagata Aritomo, is a more modest stroll garden. Although firmly rooted in the tradition it incorporates western influences such as lawns and unusual plants. Although a stroll garden it is also designed to be viewed from the house, the open shoji screens frame a view and the line of the path leads the eye into the heart of the garden. It is clear that there is plenty of scope for imbuing a garden with your own taste within the tradition. Matsuo Basho 17C urges "Do not seek to emulate the old masters. Seek what they sought." What did they seek? The Sakuteiki expounds three components of design: principles, techniques and elements. The principles are the most important. They pose the question, why build a garden, what is it for? In the west the usual answers are for the children to play in, for entertaining friends with barbeques, for growing trees, flowers, fruit or vegetables or simply to have an ornamental space that is nice to look at. That is not the Japanese way. In the west, gardens tend to serve a utilitarian purpose whereas in Japan they tend to serve a more spiritual purpose. The techniques are next in importance, They are what make a garden look Japanese. The principles make a garden feel Japanese. In our quick fix, make-over society, there is a tendency to 'go for the look' which is now a common expression. Going for the look means starting the design from the elements and ignoring the principles. The elements of a Japanese garden include rocks, lanterns, gravel, water, bridges, plants and bamboo fences. These in themselves do not make a Japanese garden. A garden worked from this end will have no spirit. There will be nothing deeper to connect to, it will not bring about a sense of well being and enrichment. It will not have the serene quality we are searching for. It will be Japanesque. These elements become stereotypical rather than an intrinsic part of the garden. In fact, they are not requisite for making a Japanese garden. The Sakuteiki sets out further principles: Learn from nature do not copy it instead interpret it Incorporate the abundance and subtlety of the seasons Strive to create a garden that surpasses nature itself Create a place in which man can be at one with nature Strike a balance between wildness and control Nature is the source of inspiration. The great masters sought to express the essence of nature. Deep respect for nature is fundamental to Shinto and Buddhist belief and it runs very deep in Japanese culture. It is the cornerstone of Japanese garden design. Nature must be closely observed before it can be interpreted. Basho advises: "Learn about a pine tree from the pine tree. Learn about a bamboo stalk from the bamboo stalk." Observe a stream in nature before building one. Notice how the flow of water cuts through the ground, leaving rounded mossy banks along its course and changes direction around an obstacle such as rocks. Over the course of time, the stones become water worn and rounded. Streams flow downhill, dry streams in the garden, must 'flow' downhill to show the essence of a stream. There is a fine example of a dry stream at Shinnyo-in 20C, with rounded mossy banks and the flow of water depicted by the directional laying of water worn slate paddle stones. There is no water but it is clearly a stream. The cobblestone beach of the lake in SentoGosho 17C is a symbolic representation of a natural shore line where the shape of the cove, the angle of incline and the grading of the rounded cobbles depict the essence of a coast line. Poetic allusions and famous scenic places were often incorporated into the large stroll gardens. Mount Fuji was a favourite inclusion. Observe the shape of the top of the mountain, the land slip to one side and the sense of vast space and you will be charmed by the scene in Joju-en Koen 1640. There are no bounds to creativity inspired by nature. The raking of the gravel in the east garden of Tofuku-ji 1939, created by Shigemori Mirei, is inspired by the effect of dropping a pebble into still water causing concentric circles to flow outwards from the centre. The tightly clipped azaleas that hug and half bury the rocks in the gardens of Taizo-in 20C, created by Nakane Kinsaku, are a reminder of the way rocks sit in the natural landscape and become half buried with earth and vegetation over the passage of time. In nature mosses and weeds colonise the cracks in a path. The beautiful moss and granite path at Tenju-an 1338, uses this idea in a most elegant and artistic way. This ancient, simple path has the capacity to stir the soul. In the natural landscape the view extends to the horizon. In the small garden of Entsu-ji 17C, the bare trunks of conifers frame a view of the distant Mount Hiei.. The garden is in harmony with its surroundings. In nature we find ground cover, lower storey & upper story plants creating a layered effect. The garden of Sanzen-in 18C depicts this in a beautiful composition. The horizontal effect, so familiar in the Japanese garden draws inspiration from the layered planting of nature. Nature is a palette of green, with seasonal highlights of colour.. Shin shin-an 20C, a private Kyoto garden, is an harmonious and restrained palette of greens, heightened by azaleas in the spring and the rich colouring of the maples in the autumn. Colour in the garden is not taboo. A dramatic, 300 year old azalea fills the courtyard at Daishin-in with a blaze of red for one month of the year. Hokongo-in 20C, uses the repetition of white hydrangeas to bring a sense of harmony to the garden. They mark the passing of the seasons well; a twiggy network in winter, fresh green leaves in spring, white lace-cap flowers in summer and richly coloured foliage in autumn. The changes are a constant reminder of the evanescence of life. The magnificent gardens of the Adachi Museum 20C aspire to surpass nature itself. Garden trees are frequently heavily pruned and trained in a Japanese garden. In the garden of Reuin-in 1970, created by Mirei Shigemori, a pine and a Japanese holly stand side by side. Each tree is an artistic composition, an interpretation of its nature, inspired by the growing habit. The pruning allows light and air into the tree, encouraging healthy growth and keeps the tree in constant scale with the overall composition as originally conceived. The Sakuteiki urges 'create a place in which man can be at one with nature.' Jugetsukan, the main building of Shugaku-in Rikyu 1659 is set in a simple gravel garden with stepping stone path and understated planting. The viewer feels in total harmony with the restrained elegance of the composition.. It is masterly. Garden viewing from within the house has a long tradition in Japan. Many gardens are designed to be viewed from a kneeling position as in Ishidaya Ryokan 1873. The shoji screens are opened to frame a garden view, a composition in its own right, a three dimensional work of art. The garden serves to remind us that we are not looking at nature, but are participants in it, allowing us to be at one with nature in daily life. Garden viewing is not confined to kneeling by the open shoji. In Ichida Tairyu san so 20C , a private garden in Kyoto, a round opening at first floor level reveals a surprise garden view from a linking corridor. Deep respect for nature manifests itself in the care given to gardens. In Japanese culture, caring for a garden is not regarded as a chore, it is one of the reasons for having it.. The Japanese Garden Society was given a guided tour of the immaculate private garden of Shinshin-an 20C. Numbers dictated that the party be divided into two groups. Gardeners followed the first group, sweeping the paths to refresh them for the second group. In one part of the garden, mature Cryptomeria trees grow out of a sea of gravel. The falling needles are removed from the gravel daily, using chopsticks. Each spring the gravel is removed, washed and replaced. The years of daily care contribute to the tranquil atmosphere of this garden giving it a fine patina. A traditional ink drawing of a grass using just six strokes of the brush serves to sum up the principles and techniques of Japanese garden design. This grass, bending in the wind, is inspired by nature, it is clearly not a copy but we recognise it, the essence of grass shines through. This is what makes the image feel Japanese. What makes it look Japanese is the restraint, paucity, asymmetry, balance and use of space as an element of the design. It touches something deep inside us. It calms the mind and soothes the spirit. So it is with Japanese gardens. Japanese gardens are serious, the designer has a serious purpose and the gardens are taken seriously. They are not frivolous or subject to whims and fancies. They bring harmony into the home because they express the essence of nature. The serenity of the garden contributes to the well being of the family. The children do not play in the garden, they play in the park. Birds are not fed in the garden, they are fed in the park. The Japanese Garden Society was invited to design a show garden for the Chelsea Flower Show 2004. It was an important venture because it was an opportunity to give the 180,000 visitors to the show the chance to experience a Japanese garden and realise that it can touch something deep within us. A Chelsea garden is a year long project that needs vision, perseverance, dedication and finance and is not to be undertaken lightly. Our aim was to create a garden with a contemporary edge, designed from principle, that showed harmony of composition between house, garden and wider surroundings. We chose a site with a backdrop of mature trees that would be 'borrowed' as part of the garden composition. The design was a response to that site. Traditional elements of rocks, gravel and water were incorporated but no artefacts were included. The house allowed visitors to see framed views of the garden and borrowed landscape so that they could experience the harmony of being a participant in nature.. The garden called 'The Japanese Way' was an attempt to show the Japanese way of designing, building, viewing and experiencing gardens. Over 60 volunteer members participated in the project. Sixteen days are allowed to transform a patch of grass into a mature garden. We spent ten days building and six days caring for it to create the patina. The public and the media were very appreciative of the garden. Our favourite quotation comes from Tim Richardson Gardening Correspondent of the Daily Telegraph "This year sees a garden from the Japanese Garden Society and extremely elegant it is too. Japanese garden enthusiasts find people like me incredibly irritating, because we argue that Japanese gardens make sense only in Japan - not in Melbourne, not in New York, not in Bexley Heath. Having said that, 'The Japanese Way looks refreshing because it is stylishly relaxed and not crammed with features and incident. It could be the one that converts my way of thinking." I hope that I may have converted your way of thinking today.

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