is the oldest published
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
ese text on garden-making. It was most likely the work of
Tachibana Toshitsuna The term has at least two different meanings, and has been used in several contexts.
People
* – a clan of ''kuge'' (court nobles) prominent in the Nara and Heian periods (710–1185)
* – a clan of ''daimyō'' (feudal lords) prominent in the Mu ...
.
''Sakuteiki'' is most likely the oldest garden planning text in the world. It was written in the mid-to-late 11th century. Later during the Kamakura period, it was referred to as the ''Senzai Hisshō'', or the ''Secret Selection on Gardens'' before it acquired the title ''Sakuteiki'' in the Edo period.
Overview
The unillustrated ''Sakuteiki'' is the first systematic record of the styles of gardening in the
Heian period
The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese. ...
, which had been the product of oral tradition for many years. It precisely defines the art of landscape gardening as an aesthetic endeavor based on poetic feeling of the designer and the site.
[Kuitert, Wybe. (2002)]
''Themes in the History of Japanese Garden Art,'' p. 30-52
Online as PDF
It enumerates five styles of gardening, including
* the "Ocean Style" (''taikai no yō'')
[Takei]
p. 162
* the "Mountain Torrent Style" (''yama kawa no yō'')
* the "Broad River Style" (''taiga no yō'')
* the "Wetland Style" (''numa ike no yō'')
* the "Reed Style" (''ashide no yō'')
The ''Sakuteiki'' was written in a time during which the placing of stones was the most important part of gardening, and it literally defined the art of garden making, using the expression ''ishi wo tateru koto'' to mean not only stone placement but garden making itself. It advises the reader not only how to place the stones but also how to follow the "desire" of the stones.
See also
*
Japanese garden
are traditional gardens whose designs are accompanied by Japanese aesthetics and philosophical ideas, avoid artificial ornamentation, and highlight the natural landscape. Plants and worn, aged materials are generally used by Japanese garden desig ...
*
Japanese rock garden
The or Japanese rock garden, often called a zen garden, is a distinctive style of Japanese garden. It creates a miniature stylized landscape through carefully composed arrangements of rocks, water features, moss, pruned trees and bushes, and us ...
Notes
References
* Takei, Jiro and
Marc P. Keane. (2001). ''Sakuteiki Visions of the Japanese Garden: A Modern Translation of Japan's Gardening Classic.'' Boston, Massachusetts: Tuttle Publishing.
* Kuitert, Wybe, (2002) ''Themes in the History of Japanese Garden Art'', Hawaii University Press, Honolulu,
Online as PDF ()
Gardening in Japan
Gardening books
Heian-period books
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