Introduction:
Tomohiko Muto is a staff gardener at Ukeyato Landscape: an established Kyoto landscape company which has been a dedicated caretaker of the Nanzen-ji Temple, the head temple of the Rinzai sect of Buddhism, since 1848, among other historic sites. Through Ukeyato Landscape, Muto currently serves as a head gardener at the Keihanna Commemorative Park in Kyoto. The park opened in 1995 and belongs to the Kyoto Prefecture. He has also done a lot of work outside of Japan, including working on the design and maintenance of the Portland Japanese Garden. With Muto sensei, the class will learn about Japanese gardens and landscape design. We will be visiting the historic Murin-an garden with Muto sensei. Murin-an is the garden villa of Yamagata Aritomo, one of Japan’s leading statesmen during the Meiji (1868-1912) and Taisho (1912-26) periods. It was constructed between 1894-96.
Throughout my research, I struggled to define Japanese gardens. Japanese gardens are not defined by a specific location (they are not confined to Japan) or by specific species of plants. There are certain elements that are common in Japanese gardens, such as hills, using moss instead of grass, bodies of water such as a lake or river, stepping stone paths and a bridge. Japanese gardens can also take the shape of Zen rock gardens, which, instead of moss, are coated in small light pebbles, and have larger moss covered rocks. The Zen gardens are maintained by Buddhist monks, who are in charge of raking the pebbles into beautiful patterns. The Zen gardens do not have the purpose of being walked through, rather of being contemplated in meditation. Unlike the gardens I am used to, Japanese gardens do not have the goal of accentuating human intervention, rather of highlighting natural beauty. This highlighting of nature and emphasis on beauty makes the relationship of the gardener to the garden unique. It was by reflecting about this relationship that the class came up with the following questions for Muto sensei:
– How do you perceive your relationship with the garden, and with and nature?
– Do you see yourself as someone who controls the space, or more as a caretaker or leader?
– Do you see yourself as someone that has control of the experience of the visitors? (in relation to creating pathways)
– Do you think that cultural knowledge influences the experience of visiting the garden? How?
– What role does wildlife play in the garden?
– How do the seasons impact the life of the garden?
– How are the seasons taken into consideration when the space is being designed?
– What role does biodiversity have in the garden? Does it play a role in garden design?
– Does / can a garden have a soul? Or is it the reflection of the gardener’s soul?
– Do you perceive yourself to have a dialogue with nature? You can plant a seed, but do you know which way it will grow? Do you try to control it or rather see what the seed wants to do?
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Reflection:
We met with Muto sensei at Murin-an garden early in the morning on January 13th. Michael, an American who also works with Ukeyato gardening was there as a translator. Before the tour of the garden began, Muto sensei gave us a short lecture regarding the philosophy behind Japanese gardens. He reached for a book which was written 1,000 years ago. This book is the basis for Japanese gardens, and all gardeners study it. The author states that “No man made landscape will ever surpass the scenery of nature.” Yet, we still have gardens, and strive to make them beautiful. Muto sensei then went on to explain the concepts of “Shin,” “Gyo,” and “So.”
Shin represents human affairs. Regularity, continuity and formality.
So represents reverence for nature. Irregularity, discontinuity and informality.
Gyo is where Shin and So meet.
Japanese gardens are strongly influenced by Shin, Gyo, So. They aim to create a space that honors the beauty of nature. Japanese gardens are also seen as a place where the gods can come down to. The gods of nature are revered in Japan, given the country’s natural prosperity and propensity to natural disasters. The Japanese gardens show reverence to nature, and create spaces where natural beauty can be appreciated by humans. Muto sensei described French gardens as being very “Shin” gardens. They are level and symmetrical. Japanese gardens strive towards Gyo. The human presence is visible in the paths, the care of the space and the architectural structures, but the human intervention is not highlighted.
Murin-an is an incredibly beautiful garden. Even in the winter, it was lush and green, with a stream running through it. Murin-an uses the style of a borrowed landscape. It is fashioned to incorporate the mountains visible behind it. The space uses hills and winding paths to create the illusion of being larger than it actually is. The paths are made of stepping stones, which feel more natural than cut stone. Some of the stepping stones are larger and invite the person walking on them to pause. These are usually put on a viewpoint, which are important in the gardens. Muto sensei had a lot of interesting things to say regarding his relationship with the garden. He said he does not see the garden as his subject, but rather as his partner. The garden itself is a living thing, with a soul, and a space sacred enough to welcome the gods. He works together with the garden, and with all of the plants in the garden, in order to achieve the best result. He also does not like using the word “cut” when describing shaping a tree. The tree has a life, and cutting it would hurt it, which is not Muto sensei’s goal.
After Murin-an, we visited the zen gardens in Nanzen-ji temple. They were extremely beautiful and presented a very different relationship to space than Murin-an. The zen garden is not meant to be walked through, but observed from the outside. The space is even more contained, and instead of moss, they are covered with a sea of pebbles. Most of the class was more impacted by Murin-an, and I think this is due to the fact that we spent more time there. Regardless, I am extremely happy that we got to visit Nanzen-ji temple.