basic information

Garden design has been an important Japanese art for many centuries. Traditional Japanese landscape gardens can be broadly categorized into three types, Tsukiyama Gardens (hill gardens), Karesansui Gardens (dry gardens) and Chaniwa Gardens (tea gardens).

Tsukiyama (Suizenji Koen, Kumamoto)

Karesansui (Nanzenji, Kyoto)

Tsukiyama Gardens

Ponds, streams, hills, stones, trees, flowers, bridges and paths are used to create a miniature reproduction of a natural scenery which is often a famous landscape in China or Japan. The name Tsukiyama refers to the creation of artificial hills.

Tsukiyama gardens vary in size and in the way they are viewed. Smaller gardens are usually enjoyed from a single viewpoint, such as the veranda of a temple, while many larger gardens are best experienced by following a circular scrolling path.

Karesansui Gardens

Karesansui gardens reproduce natural landscapes in a more abstract way by using stones, gravel, sand and sometimes a few patches of moss for representing mountains, islands, boats, seas and rivers. Karesansui gardens are strongly influenced by Zen Buddhism and used for meditation.

Chaniwa Gardens

Chaniwa gardens are built for the tea ceremony. They contain a tea house where the actual ceremony is held and are designed in aesthetic simplicity according to the concepts of sado (tea ceremony). Chaniwa gardens typically feature stepping stones that lead towards the tea house, stone lanterns and a stone basin (tsukubai), where guests purify themselves before participating in the ceremony.

Tsukubai

List of Famous Gardens

Hirosaki

Fujita Memorial Garden Spacious Japanese landscape garden.

Hiraizumi

Motsuji Temple Temple famous for its Pure Land Garden.

Sendai

Rinnoji Temple Date family temple with outstanding garden.

Mito

Kairakuen Garden Spacious garden famous for plum trees.

Tokyo

Koishikawa Korakuen Landscape garden next to Tokyo Dome. Rikugien Beautiful Japanese style landscape garden. Hama Rikyu Landscape garden next to Shiodome. Imperial East Gardens Park on the former grounds of Edo Castle. Kyu Shiba Rikyu Japanese landscape garden. Kiyosumi Garden Japanese landscape garden.

Yokohama

Sankeien Garden Traditional Japanese landscape garden.

Kanazawa

Kenrokuen Japan's most celebrated landscape garden.

Inuyama

Urakuen Garden Garden with a celebrated teahouse.

Kyoto

Kokedera Called moss temple because of its garden. Shugakuin Villa Imperial villa at the outskirts of Kyoto. Nijo Castle Former Kyoto residence of the shogun. Katsura Villa Imperial villa with stunning landscape garden. Byodoin Temple Temple with a beautiful Pure Land Garden. Ryoanji Temple Zen Temple with famous rock garden. Kyoto Imperial Palace The Imperial Family's residence until 1868. Tenryuji Temple Zen Temple in the Arashiyama district. Daigoji Temple Famous temple southeast of Kyoto. Nanzenji Temple Zen temple with beautiful stone garden. Daitokuji Temple Large Zen temple complex. Sento Palace Imperial palace with beautiful gardens.

Kobe

Sorakuen Garden Japanese landscape garden in central Kobe.

Himeji

Kokoen Garden Japanese style garden next to the castle.

Okayama

Korakuen Garden Outstanding Japanese style landscape garden.

Matsue

Adachi Museum of Art Art museum with a spectacular garden.

Hiroshima

Shukkeien Garden Japanese landscape garden.

Takamatsu

Ritsurin Koen Outstanding Japanese style landscape garden.

Kumamoto

Suizenji Garden Landscape garden reproducing the Tokaido.

Kagoshima

Senganen Garden Japanese style landscape garden.

Okinawa

Shikinaen Garden Second residence of the former Ryukyu kings.

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english links

product links

Japanese Touch for Your Garden Book by Kiyoshi Seike The Gardens of Japan Book by Teiji Itoh Japanese Gardening in Small Spaces Book by Isao Yoshikawa The Art of Suiseki: Classic Japanese Stone Gardening Book by Willi Benz Zen Gardens Book by Erik Borja Kyoto Gardens CD-Rom by Mercury Software Japan