Of all the art forms in East Asia, I believe that the rock garden is one of the most pleasing to the eyes. After doing an A9 search I even found a photographers website Japanese rock garden pictures which explains his approach to photographing rock gardens thereby making his own art from the art of others. In the same A9 search I came across a website the Helpful Gardener that explains some of the rules of creating a Japanese rock garden. I was completely unaware of some of the standards that go along with rock gardens. In this site it says, "the most visited garden in Japan, the Ryoan-ji, is entirely comprised of stone; the only living thing in the garden is the moss that has sprung up between the set stones. This is the epitome of stone in the Japanese garden." The Helpful Gardener also explains the 3 different groupings for garden stones. There is the Mida Buhtsu, which is the "Buddha stone" and the male stone. Then there is the Kwannon, which is the "goddess stone" or the female stone. And lastly there is the Seishi or the child stone. These are the fixtures of the rock garden and as you probably have gathered, there is a lot more than meets the eye when it comes to rock gardens. I would seriously suggest checking out the photographer's website and to learn more about the Japanese rock garden from the Helpful Gardener.
-Bob
Posted by robert at September 27, 2004 02:07 PMThat is really neat. I had no idea that there were rules for rock gardens. Watching the Karate Kid is about the most I knew about rock gardens before! I wonder if most people have these kind of gardens or if they are a special thing.
Posted by: Megan at September 27, 2004 05:22 PMThe japanese garden has many different appeals to it. Not only do they focus on the sets of three rocks, some of the placements have influences on the meditating mind. One of the more famous rock gardens has only 13 rocks. No matter where you stand you can only spot 12 because 13 is the number of enlightenment in Zen Buddhism. Some of the gravel shapes in the sand represent famous sites in Japan. Large gravel mounds represent Mnt. Fuji while the waves in the gravel represent some of the more famous Japanese coastlines.
-clint
What I found most interesting about these rock gardens was how they created almost a "sandy" look. The contrast of the white rocks with the green grass and various flowers really provides this unique contrast. The more I researched about rock gardens, I discovered that the gardens are grouped into three broad categories. They are: Tsukiyama Gardens (hill gardens), Karesansui Gardens (dry gardens) and Chaniwa Gardens (tea gardens). The Tsukiyama Gardens usually are used to create a reproduction of a famous landscape in Japanese nature. Karesansui Gardens have the same purpose to re-create landscapes in nature, although to create these images they use more abstract techniques. The use of moss to create many of these features is a prominent feature of these gardens. Chaniwa Gardens contain a tea house where the tea ceremony is held. The purpose of the stone arrangements is to provide a ceremonial ground for the tea ceremony. The stones usually create stepping stones up to the tea house. Check out this site for more information on the different types of rock gardens.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2099.html
-Tim