Japanese Garden Research Articles

Comparison of Aesthetic Ideas in Chinese and Japanese Gardens from the Aesthetics of Mono-no-aware in The tale of Genji

Comparison of Aesthetic Ideas in Chinese and Japanese Gardens from the Aesthetics of Mono-no-aware in The tale of Genji

The eye movement behavior induced by the design of a Japanese garden and its correlation with relaxation effects

PurposeThe design of Japanese gardens is a naturalistic style, and previous studies have shown the relaxation effects by viewing a Japanese garden. The purpose of this study is to find a trend of eye movement in viewing a Japanese garden and elucidate the relationship between eye movements and relaxation effects compared to a geometric garden.Design/methodology/approachA Japanese-style garden and a geometrically designed herbal garden were selected for the experiment. Participants' eye movement and heart rate were measured during their 5-min observation of the garden to assess their physiological responses. Additionally, POMS-SF was used to assess their psychological responses.FindingsPearson correlation analysis revealed a stronger significant correlation between eye movement data and relaxation mechanisms in the Japanese garden. Compared to the herbal garden, the Japanese garden had more fixations and faster eye movement speed, and better relaxation effects.Practical implicationsThis study suggests that exploring the relationship between design, eye movement, and relaxation mechanisms from different perspectives of landscape design is feasible. For example, our results demonstrate that the layout of landscape elements, texture, details, and maintenance in the Japanese garden hold participants' longer attention, resulting in a better relaxation effect.Originality/valueThis study clarified how a garden design can manipulate eye movements to induce relaxing effects.

Genetic diversity in the traditional cultivars and wild ancestor of near-threatened Japanese iris (Iris ensata Thunb.)

Wild relatives of cultivars are crucial sources of genetic variation for further enhancement, yet they face potential threats due to contemporary environmental changes. Iris ensata var. spontanea, a wild progenitor of the Japanese iris cultivars (I. ensata var. ensata), is extensively cultivated in Japanese gardens, is distributed across mesic meadows and wetlands in Japan and East Asia. This species is currently threatened owing to habitat loss linked to land use alterations. We assessed genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationships in 32 wild accessions and the 14 principal Edo Group of Japanese iris cultivars, originally bred during the Edo period (1600–1868). In the phylogenetic tree, the cultivars formed a cluster with reduced inbreeding coefficients, suggesting a singular origin and interbreeding between the genetically distinct accessions. Conversely, wild accessions exhibited greater overall genetic diversity and higher inbreeding coefficients than cultivars, indicating frequent inbreeding within divergent natural populations. Our findings highlight the distinct genetic reservoirs of both wild accessions and Edo cultivars, although the former may face inbreeding challenges. Urgent conservation action is needed to ensure the genetic diversity of wild populations as natural resources.

Japanese Gardens: Time of Letting – Time of Growth

Abstract From a transcultural stance the contribution explores an access to the problem of nature and time which relies on our embodied experience of our environment. By means of a phenomenological investigation into distinctive features of Japanese gardens, such as rocks and trees, the specific temporalities incorporated in these elements become elucidated. The intention is to invalidate the Eurocentric opposition of nature and culture, as the “natural” environment grows together with “cultural” activities, and cannot be separated from human engagement, in the case of Japanese gardening. There “nature” cannot become objectified or conceptually determined. It can only be disclosed by our bodily getting involved in an environment, encompassing a peculiar way of “becoming time”. This mode of temporalization exhibits significant similarities with Martin Heidegger’s Gelassenheit. Therefore, time and nature in a Japanese garden both request and set forth, a specific existential attitude towards our life environment.

Сортоизучение пиона древовидного Paeonia x suffruticosa Andr. при выращивании в условиях Московской области

The work is devoted to the variety study of tree peonies when grown in open ground conditions in the Moscow region. During the research, varieties with different growing seasons were identified, the duration of the flowering period was established, varieties with maximum values in height, plant diameter, number of flowers and flower size were identified, the most decorative varieties of tree peony were identified. The varieties Green Beans, Snow Fortress and Shima Nishiki bloomed first – 08.06, the varieties Midday Heat, Anastasia Sosnovets and Helen Martin – 09.06, 10.06 and 11.06, respectively. The longest flowering time for the varieties Midday Heat, Snow Fortress and Shima Nishiki is 9 days. The long duration of the growing season was noted in the varieties Snow Fortress, Green Beans, Midday Heat and Shima Nishiki, 118 days. The decorative variety is Shima Nishiki, which scored 64 points due to its originality. Anastasia Sosnovets and Helen Martin varieties are recommended for use in single and group plantings. Early varieties of Snow Fortress and Green Beans can be planted in flower beds, mixborders and in single plantings. When creating rock gardens and English gardens, it is possible to use the Midday Heat. To create rocky gardens, stylized Chinese and Japanese gardens, it is recommended to plant the Shima Nishiki variety. Keywords: TREE PEONY, VARIETIES OF TREE PEONY, CULTIVATION OF TREE PEONY, DECORATIVE PEONY, ASSESSMENT OF DECORATIVE PEONY

Roundtable discussion on Japanese gardens in higher education

Roundtable discussion on Japanese gardens in higher education

Synopsis of the special issue: Inheritance and development of Japanese gardens

Synopsis of the special issue: Inheritance and development of Japanese gardens

Inheritance of spirits and skills for Japanese gardens

Inheritance of spirits and skills for Japanese gardens

“Sakuteiki” as the origin of Japanese garden

“Sakuteiki” as the origin of Japanese garden

Austerity in Japanese Spaces

The purpose of this paper is to look at austerity present in Japanese culture spaces, such as Japanese gardens, Japanese interior design, which is minimalist, Japanese haiku poems settings, and their connection with Buddhist philosophy. The Japanese do not seem keen on accumulating objects. Instead, they prefer to keep their space minimal. The emptiness in Japanese Buddhist philosophy appears in interior design and garden design. Moreover, the Japanese focus more on their surroundings, for instance on contemplating the seasons and on their awareness of the changing seasons. Buddhist temples allow a large view of the landscape. Meanwhile, the interior design remains minimalist, and it also allows the inhabitant to be surrounded by empty space. The Japanese are not so much focused on accumulating objects during their lifetime as Westerners are. What could be such reasons? Why is their focus on the aesthetics of the surroundings? What could this tell us about Japanese culture that makes it unique?

Analyzing spatial visual characteristics in Japanese stroll gardens based on eye-tracking technology: case study of Saihō-ji Garden

ABSTRACT The Japanese garden Saihō-ji is used as a case study to evaluate the spatial-visual characteristics of sequential landscapes using eye-tracking technology. We present objective data and quantitative analysis of subjective behavior, addressing the lack of research in landscape perception. In this study, we combine virtual reality and eye-tracking technologies to collect statistical data for an entire garden through static stimulus images. The data produced are objective and enable the direct assessment of landscape elements and objects. The correlation between spatial compositions indicators and the eye-tracking data reveals that different spatial compositions have varying effects on distinct gaze elements. While this research provides a preliminary validation, it still has certain limitations. Factors such as visual fatigue and demographic differences should be considered in future studies. Further, our findings emphasize the viability of eye-tracking technology for investigating the spatial visual characteristics of sequential landscapes, prompting further research in this field.

ПАРК СТАДИОНА «КРАСНОДАР» (2017-2023): СОВРЕМЕННАЯ ИНТЕРПРЕТАЦИЯ КЛАССИЧЕСКИХ САДОВЫХ СТИЛЕЙ

The paper provides, for the first time, a comprehensive analysis of the artistic features of the Krasnodar Stadium park and historical allusions associated with the compositions of this park. The park, opened to the public in 2017, has become a novelty in the international landscape culture and a landmark of Krasnodar. The main elements of the ensemble analyzed: concept, layout, roads and routes, volumes and space, green architecture and forms of the plants, water system, boundaries and zones, materials and textures, shapes and rhythms, play of light and conditions of nature. The works of art placed in the park are considered in detail: first, the compositions “Geolocation” and «Artificial Environment» of the Recycle group (2019) and, second, subsequent installations, the presence of which could be a matter of discussion. The historical garden styles that influenced the idea of the park are Italian, French, and English types and water gardens of the Middle East, as well as postmodern “landforms» by Charles Jenks. The large Japanese Garden (2023) is a new development of the park. The shift to the stylization makes it possible to summarize the image of the main park, in which the techniques of modern landscape art and the motives of historical heritage are summarized.

Immersive virtual reality as support for the mental health of elderly women: a randomized controlled trial

Several forms of virtual reality (VR) have shown promise in treating mental disorders. However, there is a lack of research investigating the use of multicomponent immersive VR. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of an immersive virtual reality (IVR) intervention that incorporated Japanese garden aesthetics, relaxation, and elements of Erickson’s psychotherapy in alleviating depression and anxiety symptoms among elderly women. Sixty women with depressive symptoms were randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups. Both groups received eight (twice a week for four weeks) low-intensity general fitness training sessions. The IVR group (n = 30) received eight additional VR-based relaxation sessions, whereas the control group (n = 30) received eight group relaxation. As outcome measures, the geriatric depression scale (GDS; primary) and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS; secondary) were administered before and after the interventions. The protocol was registered in the ClinicalTrials.gov PRS database (Registration number: NCT05285501). Patients receiving IVR therapy exhibited a greater significant reduction in the GDS (adjusted mean post-difference of 4.10; 95% CI = 2.27–5.93) and HADS (2.95; 95% CI = 0.98–4.92) scores than those receiving the control intervention. In conclusion, IVR with elements of psychotherapy, relaxation, and garden aesthetics may alleviate the severity of depression and anxiety symptoms in elderly women.

Unfolding Architecture, Enfolding Landscape: The Shakkei at Geppa-rō Pavilion

In this article I introduce the notion of “borrowing scenery” or jiejing (Jp. shakkei) from Ji Cheng’s 1635 treatise Yuanye (The Craft of Gardens). Shakkei became highly influential in the west through Teiji Itoh’s popular book Space and Illusion in the Japanese Garden (1965). I firstly use an analysis of the 1652 Geppa-rō tea pavilion at Katsura Rikyū as a case study that satisfies Itoh’s model of shakkei. This allows me to propose an ontological foil to Itoh’s model that draws on the Ming-era discourse of Shao Bao (1460–1527), contemporary Chinese scholarship on borrowing as well as David Bohm’s concepts of unfolding and enfolding from his metaphysics of the implicate and explicate orders. I conclude the article with a novel formalisation of what I call an unfolding architecture and enfolding landscape at the Geppa-rō pavilion.

Calvino and Japanese Gardens: A ‘Trajectivity’ between the Human and More-than-Human

ABSTRACT Italo Calvino travelled to Japan in 1976 and, throughout his career, became increasingly acquainted with Japanese literature and Buddhist philosophy. This encounter is evidenced by the ‘Japanese shelves’ of his Roman library and by several authorial reflections, which this article scrutinises in order to highlight the material-ecocritical relevance of Calvino’s contact with Japanese nature and culture. In particular, this analysis interprets Japanese gardens as spaces where Calvino rethinks his sense of the human and more-than-human by establishing their mutually constitutive relations. Augustin Berque’s concept of ‘trajectivity’, according to which dualisms are constantly transcended in Japanese milieux, guides this exploration of how Calvino’s Japanese reflections in Collezione di sabbia articulate his dialectical challenge to logocentrism in ‘The Written World and the Unwritten World’, to gendered dichotomies in the Japanese chapter of Se una notte d’inverno un viaggiatore, and to traditional humanism in Palomar.

‘Seeing forms and hearing sounds’ in Japanese garden design

The landscape features of the karetaki or dry waterfall, and karesansui or dry garden style have been well codified in Japanese garden design since at least the appearance of the 11th century treatise Sakuteiki (Records of garden making) by Tachibana Toshitsuna (1028–1094). Numerous contemporary scholars have suggested how encounters with these features literally evoke the sound of water even though they exist in the absence of water and are constructed primarily from carefully selected stones and gravel. In this article, I develop an interpretive semantics of these features by drawing on the influence of Buddhist philosophy on Japanese garden design. This semantic framework emerges from a non-canonic utilization of the logic of the catuṣkoṭi (Jp. shiku) or tetralemma — a series of four propositions that is most famously associated to the Mahāyāna Buddhist thinker Nāgārjuna (c. 150–c. 250 CE). I introduce examples in Zen discourses on sound and then use the catuṣkoṭi as a novel reasoning tool to investigate the ontology of sound as it pertains to the relationship between sound-images and landscape forms in the karetaki and karesansui.

The Contrast between Japanese and Chinese Gardens – Taking Humble Administrator’s Garden in Suzhou and Katsura Imperial Villa in Kyoto as Examples

Garden culture has evolved through thousands of years to create its own distinctive features in both China and Japan. Chinese culture also had a major influence on Japanese culture, which is seen in garden culture. Both the Humble Administrator’s Garden and the Katsura Imperial Villa were built during the same eras, the Ming Dynasty and the Edo era, and they are considered to be the greatest examples of Japanese and Chinese garden architecture. The garden design, water features, and rock elements of the Humble Administrator’s Garden and the Katsura Imperial Villa are thoroughly compared in this study to highlight their commonalities and differences. It explores the factors behind these distinctions, encompassing the design and aesthetic concepts of the two countries, while considering the influence of cultural, economic, and natural factors. Additionally, the research uncovers key findings, shedding light on the distinctions between these two gardens and the influential factors, including cultural, economic, and natural influences, shaping their unique characteristics. The study delves into historical, geographical, and cultural influences, unveiling the distinct preferences and philosophies of Chinese and Japanese garden aesthetics. Ultimately, this research extends readers’ comprehension of Chinese and Japanese garden art and culture, fostering positive cross-cultural understanding and communication between the two nations. Through comparison and analysis, readers gain a deeper understanding of the underlying ideologies and aesthetics of these two cultures, promoting greater exchange and mutual enrichment in the realm of Sino-Japanese garden art.

The Archaeology of Ancient Japanese Gardens

abstract: This article summarizes the results of archaeological research on some 20 Japanese garden sites dating from the fourth to twelfth centuries a.d., emphasizing the site plan, remains of structures, stone groupings, and ponds. Associated plant remains from five sites are tabulated and briefly discussed. I introduce some early Chinese and Korean antecedents and provide historical context. Gardens with rectangular ponds were introduced from the continent in the Asuka Period (a.d. 538–710). From the Nara Period (a.d. 710–794), garden making was naturalized in a Japanese asymetrical curving style in which structures were located away from the central axis. The gardens discussed here represent a small sample of the original gardens. They include two early examples of an adopted continental style (i.e., Uenomiya and Furumiya), a garden from an imperial palace site, gardens enclosing Heian Period shinden type architecture (raised residence with side wings) and its adapted Pure Land form, and a garden associated with the palace of a retired emperor. Plantings show a combination of flowering trees and shrubs, many introduced from the continent, combined with native deciduous and evergreen trees. Continental examples of gardens with rectangular ponds belong to royal palaces and were symbols of royal authority, as were the examples dated to the Asuka Period. In the Heian Period, state gardens such as Shinsen'en were used for state functions and required ample space and simple organization, while gardens sponsored by elite courtiers such as the Fujiwara show the expression of Buddhist belief. In the Toba Rikyū, built by retired emperors under a complex insei (retirement) system, imperial mausolea shared the landscape with mansions, Buddhist temples, and chapels. Groupings of stones, curving streams, dry landscapes, and low waterfalls probably all occurred as early as the Nara Period.

Aesthetic Appreciation of Chinese Gardens: Between Art and Nature

Gardens include not only art but also nature. According to different relationships between art and nature, this article clarifies five types of gardens: the French-style gardens, the English-style gardens, topiary gardens, Japanese gardens, and Chinese gardens. Based on this clarification, this article argues that Chinese gardens follow the lead of the essential qualities of art instead of the essential qualities of nature. With “borrowing” and “following”, the natural elements in Chinese gardens extend to the field of art. The boundaries between art and nature are erased. The aesthetic appreciation of Chinese gardens challenges the “positive aesthetics”, which is prevalent in contemporary environmental aesthetics, and endorses a “negative aesthetics”, which we can find its supports in traditional Chinese philosophy.

SCENERY AND VIEWPOINT RESEARCH OF THE GARDEN OF MANPUKU-JI TEMPLE

The purpose of this study is to propose a landscape development method for Japanese gardens. To that end, I investigated the Manpuku-ji Garden, which is famous for being created by Sesshu. A subjective evaluation experiment was conducted with 53 subjects and 99 garden photographs, and 12 were identified in the corridor of Manpuku-ji Temple, on the Nure-en, 1 preferred viewpoint in the room, and 6 gazing areas.