The raked gravel represents the ocean in the Hōjō Garden at Nanzen-ji temple in Kyoto the six large stones popularly imagined to be a tiger and her cubs In the Sakuteiki, chert stones were either called ‘with angles’ or ‘mountain stone’: commonly seen in the mountains around Kyoto, the stones themselves are used to evoke the local mountainous scenery. Of all the stones that could be obtained from the mountains surrounding Kyoto, there was one that was especially prized as a garden stone: an angular mountain stone known today as chert. For ancient Japanese gardens, stones were typically gathered from sources within 10km of the garden site. Until modern transport technology developed in Japan, the difficulty of transporting stone was a major factor governing the selection of garden stones. Stones, water and plants are the main elements of a Japanese garden among them, the stone arrangements are what make up the garden’s framework.Įven small stones have weight.
In later periods, Buddhist monks who excelled at making gardens were called ‘stone-standing monks’. In ancient Japan, ‘standing a stone’ was a metaphor for creating a garden. ‘To stand a stone, one must first know the great principles.’ Thus begin the opening lines of the Sakuteiki (Records of Garden Creation), the 11th-century book thought to be Japan’s oldest garden creation manual. World Nomads offers simple and flexible travel insurance.Evolving with technology and changing demands, the use of stone in Japanese gardens proves consistent through to the present day.A prepaid Suica card makes travelling around Kyoto easy – here's how.If you're visiting more than one city, save a ton of money with a Japan Rail Pass – here's my explanation of why it's worth it.Compare Japan flight prices and timings to find the best deals.Or rent an unlimited data pocket wifi router Buy a data-only SIM card online for collection when you arrive at Kansai International Airport (for Osaka and Kyoto) or Tokyo's Narita Airport.See my comprehensive Packing List For Japan.Need tips on where to stay? See my one page guide Where To Stay In Kyoto.Check Kyoto accommodation availability on – usually you can reserve a room with no upfront payment.For all the essentials in a brief overview, see my First Time In Kyoto guide.I recommend that you check out a few and then find one to call your very own favorite: While it’s extremely hard for me to list my favorite karesansui gardens in Kyoto, I’m going to make a stab of it. Needless to say, if you love Japanese gardens, you’ll almost certainly love karesansui gardens, which in many ways epitomize the most appealing characteristics of Japanese aesthetics: simplicity, elegance and restraint. As for the meaning behind the design, it went to the grave with its designer. The most famous karesansui in the land, the garden at Ryoan-ji Temple, with its 15 mysterious stones, is laid out so that all of the stones can never be viewed at one time. The real pleasure of gazing at a karesansui garden is like looking at clouds in the sky: you can let your imagination run wild and imagine all sorts of “meanings” and shapes. Some karesansui might have bits of greenery or even trees, while others adhere to the strict compositional elements of only gravel and rocks. Rather, they use other features, most notably gravel and, occasionally, rocks, to give the appearance of water features. As the name suggests, karesansui gardens are devoid of water.
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