Why are there no flowers in Japanese gardens? What are the characteristics of Japanese gardens?

Today's editorial will bring you the characteristics of Japanese gardens.

Since the Han Dynasty in China, Japan has been influenced by traditional Chinese culture. It has been y influenced by Chinese culture in terms of social system, architecture, culture, science and technology. During the development of Japanese gardens for thousands of years, the garden culture has maintained the same pace of development as that of Chinese gardens, and has gradually formed its own garden system over time.

The biggest difference between Japanese gardens and Chinese gardens may lie in the strong Zen flavor of Japanese gardens.

Buddhism was introduced to Japan in 58 AD. During the warring warlord era, Buddhism provided great spiritual solace to the suffering Japanese people at that time. Through Buddhism, people gradually found their peace in this painful time.

Over the next 1,500 years, the search for peace of mind and a pure land gradually became y ingrained in the spirit of the Japanese.

Because less than 100 years after Buddhism was introduced to Japan, China entered the Tang Dynasty, its most prosperous period. Faced with the mighty Tang Dynasty, the small nation of Japan had great reverence for it, so it continued to send foreign students to study Chinese knowledge and technology.

Among them, students learned culture and craftsmen learned construction. Buddhism, as practiced in the Tang Dynasty, also deepened the Japanese attachment to Buddhism on another level.

Seven hundred years later, Zen Buddhism was introduced to Japan. This school of thought changed Japanese gardens almost fundamentally. In order to reflect the ascetic state of the practitioner, the Japanese removed all the rich elements of previous gardens and added conifers, moss, ground fine sand and rounded stones to the garden. Through these elements, a circular spiritual image was formed to conform to the purpose of the practice.

This explains why there are few flowering plants in Japanese gardens. The reason is that flowering plants would destroy this mental image.

However, the cherry blossoms outside the courtyards are always floating in the wind, inadvertently drifting into the Japanese gardens, seeming to foreshadow the fact that the love of mankind always touches the hearts of the Japanese.

Japanese landscape gardeners, although inherited from China, gradually developed their own characteristics in the historical evolution of more than 1,500 years.

Japanese gardens usually have the following four characteristics of Chinese gardens.

Pure, natural, small and simple.

First the first point, purity.

Why is it said that Japanese gardens are pure? In fact, if you compare it with the ancient gardens of China, you will find that the ancient gardens of China have a strong concept of hierarchy. Although there is a sense of gradual development, the man-made traces are more obvious. The elaborate walls and pavilions, while extremely luxurious, still give an unintentional sense of hierarchy.

The difference between Japanese and Chinese gardens is that Japan does not deliberately emphasize the actual abilities of the craftsmen. If the natural beauty of Chinese gardens is restored by artificial means, Japan glimpses artificial design in natural beauty.

The Japanese may have lagged behind China in infrastructure development, and the craftsmen had few incredible skills to teach. So they built on their strengths and undermined their artisans' abilities, working to create a peaceful world through the arrangement of plants and the design of flowing water.

The second characteristic: nature.

If there are three words to describe the characteristics of the Japanese, they are kiku and katana. By kiku and katana, I mean that the Japanese have a very beautiful image in their mind, but at the same time, they are also very violent and active. They are bound by small gifts but always surprise in big gifts.

This Japanese character is reflected in the gardens, which give an extraordinary immersive experience. One can find a sense of serenity, transcendence and elegance in the gardens. The details in the garden are worth savoring. The details in a garden are always infectious without even realizing it.

The third characteristic of Japanese gardens: small scale

Japanese gardens are both small and large, with exquisite details everywhere. This visual beauty is abstract. If you can understand the silence that comes with this abstraction, you can understand the deeper meaning of the garden.

Most Japanese gardens are relatively small. Unlike Chinese gardens with their winding paths, Japanese gardens are basically concentrated in courtyards, with the larger ones measuring only an acre and the smaller ones just five or six square meters. Yet, in such a compact place, most Japanese gardens

The fourth characteristic of Japanese gardens is simple.

Minimalism is reflected not only in gardens, but also in every aspect of the Japanese home. Many people know that Japan is known for its minimalist decorative style. In fact, the same aesthetic characteristics are found in Japanese gardens.

Three-quarters of Japanese gardens are made up of plants, water and stones. The three are so intertwined that there is no clear distinction between them. No matter where you stay, almost all elements can be appreciated at once.

But they are usually not randomly placed without careful arrangement, layered to maximize the use of delicate compositional techniques. The beauty of the composition is apparent wherever they are viewed.

The minimalist style makes the whole Japanese garden look comfortable. The grass on the ground is usually flat and there is nothing messy about it.

There are many kinds of gardens in Japan.

First, let's introduce the first kind, arid landscape.

The so-called dry landscape literally means a garden without water. This type of garden is usually a small courtyard. This yard is usually connected to a room. Since there is not enough water in the empty room, the water element is simply discarded.

This type of yard usually has a layer of fine sand on the ground, two rows of curved stones as a path connecting the houses, and some fake trees planted on both sides.

The arid landscape is a garden with Japanese characteristics. In the movie "Mirror Martial Gate" starring Jet Li, the place where Jet Li fought the Japanese is a famous example of arid landscape.

The other is called Ikusen Garden. As the name suggests, this is a garden with water. In addition, such gardens are usually centered on springs and decorated with islands, waterfalls, streams, bridges and pavilions for people to move around.

Akasumi gardens are luxuriously structured and require a spare room at most. It could only be enjoyed in the courtyards of nobles or noble families of high social status. Another person who appreciates this luxury would be a Buddhist temple.

Many people would think that Buddhism should be a poorer place. Why is Japanese Buddhism such a lavish spectacle?

In ancient Japan, the temple economy was well developed. They had the same military reserves as the Buddhist lords, and a large number of monks and soldiers who were highly skilled in martial arts. Those monks and soldiers were not unarmed or armed with clubs as in the Shaolin temples of ancient China. Most of the spears used by Japanese monks and soldiers were extremely deadly.

The abundance of temples in Japan in ancient times led to this unique landscape because of their military power against feudal lords. Although Japanese Buddhism is now heading towards poverty, what has been handed down from ancient times is still preserved.

Building a mountain court:

Courts in mountainous areas are usually built in courtyards. The ground is made into a wigwam with clay. Plants and rocks are then placed on the wigwam to simulate the effect of a magnificent view of the home.

In general, Japanese gardens are dominated by water and supplemented by mountains. This style usually requires a large empty courtyard room with no sense of smallness. Generally speaking, it is difficult to appear in private gardens. Ancient rulers and generals would not have built such large-scale rockeries in their cities.

Tea pavilions:

Tea pavilions are a form of garden with Japanese characteristics. This garden form usually combines elements of the tea ceremony with the garden. Because of its small size, it is now possible to combine three garden forms. It becomes a unique corner, like a garden within a garden. Because the tea pavilion itself needs to be titled at different heights, combined with slopes, stones, running water, pools and other things, put in the garden will give the garden a good sense of hierarchy.

The atmosphere in a tea pavilion is usually quieter. The bare stones and steps complement the lush vegetation, while the water in the picture complements the holy water. In addition, stone lanterns in the painting will be used to mimic the solemnity and purity of the temple.

In ancient times, many political leaders of the Shogunate would contemplate strategy or intrigue in similar places.

The literati tree became a common plant in Japanese gardens due to the prosperity of Japanese garden culture.

The Scholar's Tree in Japan was actually passed down from China, except that China was in turmoil for more than 2,000 years. The Scholar's Tree has experienced two annihilations in history, especially in the modern history after the late Qing Dynasty. At that time, the Japanese literati tree has progressed a lot because of its stable development. At present, the technical level of Japanese garden literati trees is the highest in the world.

After the Meiji Restoration, Japanese garden style began to Europeanize. But the influence of Europeanization is limited to public **** gardens and new buildings, most Japanese private gardens are still antiques. This strong cultural adhesion, so that the Japanese garden style for thousands of years and did not experience much change.

Compared with Chinese gardens, Japanese gardens are mostly miniature, combining the solemnity of Buddhism with local culture, the rootedness of Chinese gardens and the unique originality of the Japanese, making Japanese gardens a cultural wonder of world civilization.

This unique island nation has four distinct seasons throughout the year. These gardens can be painted in different colors in spring, summer, fall and winter. Whether it is snow in winter, cherry blossoms in spring, rain in summer, or yellow leaves in fall, the mood of the Japanese changes in four different ways in just one year. These changes make the Japanese very vulnerable inside.