Gardening art plays a large role in Japanese culture. The garden is seen as an image of the world, earthly nature, or even the universe as a whole. Gardens were arranged at the residences of aristocrats and at monasteries.
Gardens exist in different countries, but only in Japan can you see such gardens in which there are no plants. They are made up of stones. The Japanese call such a garden Karesansui - "dry garden".
Philosophical foundations of a rock garden
The tradition of the Japanese garden in general and the rock garden in particular is closely related to Shinto, the national Japanese religion. It is based on the idea of spiritual essences, which are endowed with objects and natural phenomena, including stones.
However, Buddhism also influenced this tradition, because its founder was Soseki (1275-1351), a religious and statesman who patronized Zen Buddhism. The principles of building a garden are associated with this religious and philosophical trend.
The special attitude of the Japanese towards stone is explained by the fact that more than half of the territory of this country is mountains and foothills. A rock garden is also an image of nature, from which a person should learn. The connection with nature is also emphasized by the fact that raw stones in their original form are used to create gardens.
The principles of building a garden of stones
In contrast to a garden filled with plants that are constantly in the "movement of life", in change, a rock garden is associated with the idea of the immutability of the world, the stability of its fundamental foundations.
The stones are placed on a flat area covered with either sand or pebbles. In European imitations, pebbles of different colors are used, but in real Japanese gardens it is more often light gray. With the help of a rake, grooves are drawn on the surface of the site, folding into a wavy pattern in the form of concentric circles - a symbol of the water element. Thanks to this, the stones are associated with the islands, because Japan is located on the islands.
The arrangement of stones at first glance seems chaotic, but it has a special system. A person can look at the garden from any point - the number of stones that he sees will be the same. This is another image of the stability, the constancy of the world.
The number of stones is always odd and the stones are never placed symmetrically.
The stones are divided into five groups, one of which is the main one, and the others are minor. One of the secondary groups is subordinated to the main one, emphasizing its idea. The third group (called the guest group) contrasts with the main one, balancing it, the fourth establishes a connection between the garden and the architecture of the house, the fifth creates the background of the composition.
The stones are arranged in triads: one large stone and two smaller ones. This is due to the triad depicted in Buddhist temples: Buddha and two of his closest associates.
Each stone separately also has a special symbolism. For example, a vertical stone can symbolize the sky, and a horizontal one - the earth. The Japanese distinguish stones "standing", "recumbent", "supporting", "leaning against", "running away", "catching up" and dozens of other types, and each of them has its own role in the composition.
The most famous Japanese rock garden is the garden of the Rean-ji temple. It consists of 15 stones, and it is believed that all stones can be seen only by those who have achieved enlightenment. This garden is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
