Studio: international art (84.1922)

THE JAPANESE GARDEN

SHIRAKAWA WATERFALL
(YAMATO), BONSEKI
BY HARADA HATSUYE

boku (setting sun tree, generally some
blossoming trees or maples) is another
important group of trees and should be
planted near joza-seki (honoured-seat rock)
on the principal hill. In the middle ground,
towards the centre of the garden, on the
island, if there is one, there should be
keiyo-boku (scene-feeding tree)—a well-
formed tree of great attraction, spreading
its branches over the water to form a
pleasing contrast with the shomaki. To
the left of the waterfall is the place for
sekinen-boku (tree of tranquillity) to suggest
that to the back of it there is a forest. It
is customary to use evergreens for the
garden trees, with a few exceptions,
especially in the foreground, and avoid
flowers, which are chiefly used in a vase
to decorate the tokonoma, a recess in the
guest room, a a a a a
Rustic fences and gates, made of bambco,
shrubbery, logs, or rough-hewn wood, in
well-studied forms and proportions, give
expanse and seclusion as the case may
require. Bridges of artistic lines and curva-
ture, some of which are so constructed
as to complete their design with their own
reflection on the water, afford pleasing
surprises when the proper forms are used
to suit the character of the garden within
the radius of their appreciation. Basins
of stone, porcelain or metal (but most
generally of stone hollowed out to
contain water to wash the hands), the
exterior of which may be covered with
moss and ferns, but inside the basin im-
maculate with clean water, suggestive of
a sparkling spring in the forest, give food

for thought. Ishi-dbro (stone lanterns) of
exquisite forms of wide variety, give
out peace 1 as their sombre light at
night. 0 a a a a a
The life of the garden of Nippon style
is wrapped up in that somewhat ambiguous
term, shumi, usually rendered in English
as " taste." But it is more than mere taste.
To be a real garden it must be not only
beautiful in different seasons and under
varying weather conditions, but there must
be something deeper, something under the
surface that furnishes thought for con-
templation, something suggestive of the
spiritual quality dominant in Nature. A
prop, used to support a spreading branch
of an aged pine, may suggest a boat being
fastened to a pole by showing at a proper
place a rock shaped like the bow of a boat

VIEW IN MR. NAKAl'S GARDEN
AT NAGOYA, SHOWING A STONE
LANTERN OF YUKIMI SHAPE
269