The Art of the Japanese Garden: from Tradition to Modernity

Arriving at the Brighton Road Baptist Church in the thundery shower on this September morning certainly prepared the audience of the Arts Society Horsham for the water element of Japanese gardens! In this richly illustrated lecture, Professor Marie Conte-Helm guided us on a fascinating tour of the gardens of Japan through the ages, highlighting the influence from China and the significance of religion in their evolution, to modern day interpretation.

We learnt that the early Japanese garden design contained in "The Compendium of Model Gardens" (1691) was more focused on the philosophy of design: stones, being the "bones" of the garden; water, representing life force, and the plants the tapestry of the four seasons. The important concept of mountains and water were often illustrated in Chinese and Japanese landscape painting and translated into garden design during a period of close contact between China and Japan.

After the relation with China eroded, the ethos of the Japanese garden took on a different course — becoming more subtle and insular, with a focus on beauty of nature. For example, Tenryu-ji Garden, Kyoto 1339 was designed to showcase the art and beauty of the changing seasons, but also signifying the cycle of life.

However, to unlock the psyche and meaning of the Japanese garden, we entered through the Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. Shintoism's homage to Nature endowed a legacy of Shinto shrines which are typically constructed in wooden materials and set in the forest. We learnt that ancient Shinto shrines are rebuilt every 20 years based on the idea of renewal as well as preserving art and craft.

The introduction of Buddhism from China (via India) created temples of very different construction and heightened the spiritual symbolism of Japanese garden design: The beautiful and ubiquitous cherry blossoms was a Buddhist concept, reminding us of the transience of life. Bridges in gardens represent the passage between the natural world and paradise. Ponds with lotus are connected to Enlightenment — the ultimate destiny for Buddhists. These early garden designs relate to different sects of Buddhism and the most favourite being Zen Buddhism, adopted by the Samurai, where meditation was regarded as the pathway to Enlightenment. Subsequent garden designs evolved to create places for meditation — such as the Saiho-ji Temple (14th Century), Kyoto, known as the Moss Garden and the pure Zen garden Kare Sansui at Ryoan-Ji (late 15th Century), Kyoto, which continue to inspire visitors from all over the world. The design of Zen garden with its characteristic tea house, dry garden with sand, stone path, water, and the ritual of the tea ceremony itself are all rich symbolisms for purification, peace, meditation and connection with nature.

During the Edo period, gardens were designed around palaces for strolling in with expansive landscapes and enchanting vistas. Modern day gardens in crowded metropolises such as Tokyo continue to adopt the essence of the art and philosophy of ancient gardens in the use of borrowed landscape, stepping stones, dry garden and thoughtful planting to reflect the ethereal beauty of nature and the illusive existence of humankind!

We had gained much insight from the lecture. By the time we stepped outside on Brighton Road, the pavement resembled a paddy field with more rain falling, and with thoughts of our own patch of Zen garden, we waded home!