What Is a Zen Garden?

The Japanese Zen garden or "kare sansui," is the type of dry landscape garden often seen outside of Zen temples in Japan and in other parts of the world. The gardens are made entirely of stone and sand, without the use of water or vegetation of any kind. The minimalism of the garden is meant to impart upon the viewer a sense of contemplation and possibly enlightenment.

History

The dry landscape Zen garden is tied to the Zen Buddhism religious movement's appearance in Japan. Camelia Nakagawara of the University of Chicago, writes in her work, "The Japanese Garden for the Mind: The 'Bliss' of Paradise Transcended," that
the gardens appeared for the first time in Japan during the late Heian period, but thrived during the Muromachi period from 1338 to 1573. According to Robert Wicks, professor of philosophy at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, the Zen garden is not a style unique to the Japanese Zen Buddhist religion, but has links also to Chinese Daoism, Shintoism and other types of Japanese Buddhism.

Significance

Zen gardens are significant in comparison to other types of more lush and traditional types of Japanese and Western gardens because of their minimalism. The lack of vegetation and water within them forces the viewer to contemplate their symbolism and metaphorical value.

Function

Scholars note different theories as to the significance and meaning of the Zen garden. Hugo Munsterberg, a noted scholar on Asian art and archaeology, wrote in "Zen and Art," that in the "reduction of nature to a skeleton ... everything incidental [to] the Zen feeling is expressed." According to Nakagawara's work, the gardens were meant for contemplation. They also serve as metaphorical devices, with the stones and gravel raked in certain patterns meant to symbolize mountains, water or other parts of a landscape. This contemplation was meant to trigger Zen enlightenment for those properly trained in the religion.

Types

Some Zen gardens have no types of vegetation, while others have moss or other small plants within them. The most famous Zen temple garden in Japan is the Ryoan-ji Temple garden in Kyoto, which was designed by the famous Japanese artist Soami in the 15th century. According to Nakagawara, the "kare sansui" can also refer to Japanese garden terms, such as "flat garden," "rock garden" or "contemplative garden," in addition to "Zen garden."

Features

True Zen gardens in the kare sansui style are made only from gravel made from small pebbles, larger stones and some moss. They are designed in a way that viewers are supposed to sit and view them from a certain vantage point. Ryoan-ji, for example, is a space enclosed by the temple itself and three walls on the other sides. Within this space are 15 large stones among white gravel.

Resources

• "The Japanese Garden for the Mind," Camelia Nakagawara, 2004.