Japanese Gardens

Beautiful Japanese gardens in the grounds of ancient temples and parks... Many Japanese feature a central pond with rocks and trees arranged around it 1. TENRYUJI, a zen temple built in the 14th century, located in the mountains in the west of Kyoto, it has a very a spacious garden. There are many natural rocks arranged around the pond. This big group of rocks on the slope represents a waterfall.
2.KATSURA-RIKYU in Kyoto boats what has been described as the most beautiful garden in Japan. In the vast grounds of this Imperial villa, a microcosm of Japan's breathtaking landscapes was created, using a wide spectrum of techniques. This pond was specifically designed to allow people to cruise around in small pleasure boats. This is the view as you pass under an arched bridge. Taking a boat ride, guests could enjoy the scenery from another perspective, very different from strolling around the pond. Garden design techniques like those are described in a treatise titled SAKUTEIKI, written 1000 years ago. Here's an example of what it says:"when placing stones, one must follow the shape of the land and the pond, and keep in mind the look of a natural landscape". Recalling magnificent scenes of nature and re-creating them using natural materials. That's the essence of Japanese garden making. The design principles and techniques devised 1000 years ago are still very applicable today.
3. RYUANJI temple in Kyoto features another major style of Japanese garden a KARE-SANSUI, or dry landscape garden. Made solely from rocks and ground, without using any water whatsoever, this kind of garden originated in Japan. 15 rocks of varying shapes and sizes are placed seemingly at random. But no matter where you view them from, you can never sell all 15 rocks at the sometime. A change of position may give you a better view of one rock, but then another one becomes obscured. Who came up with this unusual layout, and when and why was it created? It's all a mystery, At any rate, this is a garden that fires the imagination of all who see it. The development of most KARESANSUI gardens was closely liked to ZEN Buddhism. Countless monks have sat before a KAREKI-SANSUI garden and meditated. Now days, Japanese gardens attract attention from overseas, and gardens like these are now being created in many corners of the world.