The Garden Ponds of Baekje and Asuka

Abstract

The historical exchanges between the Republic of Korea and Japan have broadly occurred, in terms of both political and cultural aspects, from ancient to modern times. Regarding ancient gardening culture, in particular, Asuka developed gardens with the gardening techniques passed down by the Baekje people. The development of the basic form of a garden pond along with its characteristics, established through such exchanges, is suggested by investigating its components through analysis of data from the gardens of Baekje and Asuka. In terms of the garden pond structure, homogeneity was confirmed between Baekje and Asuka, with a linear rectangular form as the basic design. In addition, the vertical construction technique was used by both ancient kingdoms. In terms of the types of stone used in building the shore of the garden pond, Baekje used diverse types such as natural stone, crushed stone, and cut stone. In contrast, rounded river stone was used by Asuka. Regarding the floor of the garden pond, Baekje used soil, which enabled the planting of lotus flowers. In contrast, Asuka used stones to pave pond floors, which made the growth of plants impossible. In terms of layout, Baekje used ornamental stones for pond landscaping, while Asuka used manmade island and water intake facilities in their pond construction. The effects of Baekje’s garden culture on Asuka''s garden building can be seen from its influence on the form of the garden pond and shore construction style. In terms of the construction of the garden pond''s shore with the same stones and the stone flooring, the garden ponds of the Asuka Kingdom reveal technically unified and refined aspects.