Japanese Sand Garden Name
Saihō-ji started in 1339 and also known as the Moss Garden located in Kyoto Japanese gardens 日本庭園 nihon teien are traditional gardens whose designs are accompanied by Japanese aesthetics and philosophical ideas avoid artificial ornamentation and highlight the natural landscape.
Japanese sand garden name. Photo by Julia Taylor Gardens of raked sand or gravel and stone are referred to as karesansui gardens which literally translates to dry landscape This style was developed in Japan in the late Kamakura period 11851333 and an important Japanese aesthetic principle underlying these dry landscape gardens is yohaku. Special rakes with widely separated tines create the distinctive wave patterns. Japans Sand Museum a Home to Ephemeral Treasures.
Zen gardens feature weathered stones that stand for mountains and raked sand that represents water. The dry landscape garden 枯山水 Karesansui is the best known type of Japanese garden type and is often called Zen gardenWhile monks do use them when practicing Zen meditation more commonly takes place in groups in large rooms often with no window. Changes in the seasons may be represented using plants that have seasonal characteristics.
The most extreme development towards minimalism was the Karesansui Dry Garden which uses nothing but rocks gravel and sand to represent all the elements of the garden landscape. Many gardens from this period still survive in Japan especially in Kyoto s leading Zen temples such as Ryoanji Daitokuji Tenryuji and Kokedera. For centuries monks in Japan have perfected the art of raking zen gardens to reach a meditative state.
Attaining enlightenment by regular practice of Buddhist concepts may be doable but for those who need a moment now and then in serene places to invigorate the soul few places can match the setting of a Japanese garden. Whereas sand or gravel of a rock and zen gardens represents water clouds and purity. The Japanese rock garden or dry landscape garden often called a zen garden creates a miniature stylized landscape through carefully composed arrangements of rocks water features moss pruned trees and bushes and uses gravel or sand that is raked to represent ripples in water.
There is no field of green grass but sand gravel and sparse scattering of moss and nondescript shrubs. Originated in Japan the Zen rock garden defies the definition of a garden in almost every conventional sense. Water or pond is seen to be one of the vital elements of Japanese garden except Zen gardens.
Water Koi Fish Rock Sand garden bridges stone lantern garden fence and flowers trees. Dry landscape gardens lack one elements that ties together all other styles of Japanese garden. To start with it is important to review the design principles used by Japanese garden designers over time.