JAPANESE GARDENS: FROM THE MIDDLE AGES TO PUBLIC SPACES OF THE MEIJI ERA

Abstract

Gardens in Japan appeared in the 7th century AD and were formed in accordance with Chinese geomantic ideas. They were not intended for aesthetic admiration and had primarily a utilitarian function: protecting the owner of the house from harmful environmental influences (evil spirits). This function was ensured by the “correct” arrangement of stones and the “correct” arrangement of water flows. These rules were formulated in the first treatise on garden art that has come down to us, “Sakuteiki” (“Records on the Arrangement of Gardens”), which was written by Tachibana no Toshitsuna (1028–1094). To avoid curse from other people, the garden plan was kept secret and known only to the owner. During the Tokugawa period (1603–1867), princes (daimyo) began to establish huge gardens, which served as an indicator of their power. Strangers were not allowed inside, but these gardens acquired an aesthetic function, as demonstrated by the example of the Rikugien Garden in Edo. After the Meiji Revolution, the class organization of society was abolished and the goal of creating a unified Japanese nation was posed. The establishment of gardens of a new public (Western) type was supposed to serve to attain this goal. All types of former gardens were models of ideal nature; public gardens were designed to model state values. Using the example of the Ueno Garden, it is shown that public gardens were a specific space where the authorities demonstrated to the Japanese the value picture of a “modern” imperial-type state.