Database: Japanese Gardens

Palaces of the ancient aristocracy had gardens composed of ponds and islands with small bridges as early as the 8th century. This tradition continued until the late Heian period when, under the influence of Amidist Buddhism, they evolved into a symbolic representation of the Pure Land. These gardens, with their harmonious blend of vegetation and water, were places for relaxation, strolling, and sometimes celebration.

But in the 14th and 15th centuries, Zen Buddhism led to the creation of a new garden style, characterized by an aesthetic of simplicity. This is reflected in the moss gardens of Saihō-ji in Kyoto and Tenryū-ji (one of the "Five Mountains" of Zen, centers of the Rinzai sect), which were designed by Musō Soseki (1275–1351), a great Zen monk. In these gardens, Soseki ingeniously arranged collections of standing stones to look like waterfalls.

Gradually, during the 15th century, small, all-mineral gardens were introduced (dry landscape gardens or karesansui), designed to be viewed from a fixed point, unlike the strolling gardens of the past. Like the famous Ryōan-ji in Kyoto, these became places of meditation: five islands of stones set amidst a sea of sand, surrounded by an ochre-color wall. What is a garden without plants, flowers, and water? This is the apparent contradiction posed for all enlightenment-seekers who meditate here.

However, by the end of the 16th century, the dry garden style began to fade, and the great daimyō chose to create larger, lush gardens again, as the aristocracy had done in the past.