Guten Morgen! Berlin.

Welcome back. Hello once again.

Next week I am going to visit Berlin. I am so excited that I can't wait. In there I will meet my old friend Arturo who is going to be my personal guide. Tomorrow I have to go downtown to pick up my wallpaper city guide. And I will study it for the rest of the week to decide which landmarks I want to visit. But there is one garden I don't want to miss at all. The japanese garden Yuusui-en(lit. garden of confluent waters)is part of the larger gardens of the world project that includes between them a balines garden, a chinese garden and a korean garden.



As one enters the gate, the path immediately veers right and a staircase leads up a hill. Since there are hedges and bushes on both sides of the way, you cannot catch a glimpse of the garden until having almost reached the top of the hill. (This technique of hiding the garden reminds of the upper villa of Shugakuin Rikyu in Kyoto and is used twice within Yuusui-en: At the beginning of the course and also before turning back and entering the pavillion.) From the top of the hill, you have a wonderful overview over the whole garden: the dry waterfall in karesansui style, the murmuring creek with real water and the pavillion 'Nyosui-tei' where both waters meet. The creek symbolizes the flow of time from the beginning of German history, ending in a tiny pond which reflects the recent history. The dry waterfall symbolizes the future. The pavillion is located in the present - the center of both waters, between past and future. The stone arrangement in the middle of the karesansui-style pond is a symbol for a carp, showing strenght and perseverance in swimming against the stream.




That's all for today folks. I hope I will bring some pictures of myself in the garden when I'll come back.

Happy weekend.


Write you soon.

Au Paris

Hello, welcome back everybody. I know it has been a long time, but I have been on holiday in Santander. Sorry, I did not find any Japanese Garden in there.

But if you are thinking of take a break and go to Paris, you really do not want to miss visiting Albert Kahn Museum and its glorius gardens. It is located in the shores of Seine river, at 14 rue du Port Boulogne-Billancourt, a suburb west of Paris.




I guess there is no better timing than now, because it is spring and it has to be wonderful to catch a glimpse on the cherry trees all of them flowering. This is a very usual practice by the japaneses. They go to the gardens for picnic meanwhile they have a look all around to this marvellous view of the cherry blossom.

http://www.nekotabi.es/hanami-ver-las-flores/399 , this is a link that you will enjoy.



The japanese gardens at the Albert Kahn Museum are a tribute to his life. They were designed by Fumiaki Takanno, and co-fund by a japanese sponsor, Mr. Murata and Conseill Generale du Hauts-des-Seinne. It is composed by 3 axis.
-the axis of life,symbolized by conical form structures.
-the axis of dead, symbolized by conical-inverted buildings.
-and the male-female axis, symbolized by a beech-tree and a cedar.

For more information visit www.albert-kahn.fr or www.albertkahn.co.uk/museum.html this one is in english.

I wish you will enjoy this post.

Write you soon, goodbye.

Le jardin japonais, Monaco.

Konnichiwa, O-genki desu ka? Hello, How are you?

Welcome back everybody. Today we are going to visit this beatiful garden, which is located in Monaco. For more details, it is located in a public park between the beach of Larvotto and the Palace of the Congresses (Grimaldi Forum). It is a very huge park and it is plenty of wonderful landscapes. It was designed, at the request of H.R.H. Prince Rainer III, by the landscape architect Yasuo Beppu, winner of Flower Exhibition of Osaka 1990. Mr. Beppu has created in here a veritable work of art.



Each element in this garden has been considered in minute detail to guide the visitor towards a inner world.
The Wall, The Main Gate, The Lake, The Covered Terrace, The Bamboo Fencing, The Islands, The Gate of The Tea House and the Tea House itself, which was named after the Princess of Monaco, Grace. All you can see around is magnificient.



Since the great Shintoist priest of the Dazaifu Temple, in Fukuoka, on 25th November 1992, blessed the chosen site on the shores of the Mediterranean, within a short distance from the Grimaldi Forum Monaco, every possible care has been given to this garden to enable the visitors to enjoy all the multiple facets of the Japanese landscape.



What else could I say about this work of art. I would like to own one of those for myself to enjoy a lovely spring afternoon just walking around in a good company.




That's all folks. Next time I will come with some of the different species, and different ornaments most commonly used in the japanese gardens.

Good Luck!! Thanks to our friend Mat Col for the third picture.

Write you soon.

A bit of history and different styles of japanese gardens.

Hello, once again. Here we come today with a bit of history and styles of japanese gardens. After a while of reading and looking for information, I could make this brief resume of more or less the different styles in chronological order. Enjoy them!!


SANSUI STYLE

1.PERIOD.
This style had got its maximun magnificence during Ausuka, Nara and Heian era.

2.PROTOTIPE.
These kind of gardens are dominated by lakes and islands.

3.ARCHITECTURE.
Shinden style. It is a kind of ortogonal architecture to build palaces to nobles, and temples to Amida Buddishm.

4.AIMS.
They were conceived to be sailed in a little canoa. This characteristic appear during the Heian era.

5.CHARACTERISTICS.
They were created to be a replica of the environment.

The moss garden could be a very good example of this style.

KARESANSUI STYLE

1.PERIOD.

It begans in Kamakura and Muromachi era. It is during this period when the Zen Buddishn got into Japan.(1185-1573 AD).

2.PROTOTIPE.

These gardens are meant to be dry-landscaapes of sand and stones to suggest the mountains and the sea.

3. ARCHITECTURE.

SHOIN style, is based in a very rough architecture.

4.AIMS.

They are built to be contemplated.

The places to look at the garden are already predefined.

They can be considered still natural, though is such an abstract nature.

5.CHARACTERISTICS.

In the Kamakura era they were built by the Singon monks, an esoteric sect, but later they were replaced by Zen monks.

In the Muromachi era they were created by the Kawaramono (people from the riverside). They were the first gardener-architects.

This is one of our already knows gardens at Ryoan-ji temple, also located in Kyoto.

This is Daisen-in garden located in Kita-ku, Kyoto. It is inside the temple of Daitku-ji and it was built in between 1282-1337.

MEISHO STYLE

1.PERIOD.

They appear during the Edo period.

2.PROTOTIPE.

SANSUI and KARESANSUI styles predominate this gardens in a stereotyped way.

3.ARCHITECTURE.

It is a mixture of previous styles.

4.AIMS.

They are designed as a walking garden, where the visitor along a described footpath, is looking at different MEISHO (famous landscapes).

5.CHARACTERISTICS.

Appear technique Shakkei, wich is based on match into the garden, external elements from the environment.

Meshio could be:

- replicas from real landscapes,

- and also imagenary landscapes brought up from poetry.

They are done by real artists and professionals called by NIWA-ISH.

In this kind of garden we can also included Life of Man, from our first post. Thoug, I don't know what they will think about that. In spite of this garden has been designed by a japanese, Tassa Eida.

This is the garden of KERONKUEN, located in Kanazawa, Ishikawa.

ROJI STYLE

1.PERIOD.

They turned up in the Azuchi-Momoyama and early Edo period.(1600-1868 AD)

2.PROTOTIPE.

They are stereotyped copies of SANSUI and KARESANSUI styles.

3.ARCHITECTURE.

SO-AN style (cottage with hay roof).

SUKIYA STYLE (this style is due to the tea house).

4.AIMS.

The main characteristic of this garden is the ROJI (path) which drive to the SOAN.

This is the tea garden. It was made thinking of the tea ceremony.

5.CHARACTERISTICS.

Mainly, this kind of gardens were built by his owners.

At the begining all the materials and all the sceneries were natural.

Futura Oribe, brought later into the garden, some artificial shapes and landscapes.

Picture of Katsura Imperial Villa, which was created in the Edo period, is located in Kyoto.

MODERN STYLE

1.PERIOD.

They turned up in the MEIJI period. At the beginning of 20th century and they keep their influence until today.

2.PROTOTIPE.

It combines the different styles SANSUI, KARESANSUI and ROJI of the EDO period.

3.ARCHITECTURE.

After the 2nd world war they become as a integrated part of the public buildings and squares.

4.AIMS.

They are not anymore about to suggest a real landscape. They are conceived as an egocentric proyection.
They were born as a product of the fantasy.

5.CHARACTERISTICS.

They are dominated by natural stones, and even sometimes synthetic materials.

The designers are sculptors, architects and landscapers with an university education

We all can appreciate in this kind of gardens the spirit of modern period, where the man and the nature are no longer together.

You can also appreciate the human condition in the way of how we want to take control and dominate the nature.

This is a picture of Keiunkan gardens created by Jihe Ogawa, is located in Nahagama, Shiga.

Well, my friends after this very long post, we should have some rest and think about it for a while.

Write you soon.

At Holland Park, London.

Hello everybody, here we go once again.

This will be my next stop at London. I have been there twice already, and still too much to see, but I have to pay a visit to the place as it deserves. It was described by Detroit Free Press as "one of the three places in London you'll never forget, along with the Cabinet War Rooms and Portobello Road".

The Kyoto Garden, that is how this garden is called. It is composed by a medium sized pond and a waterfall. It was opened in 1991 to celebrate the japanese festival and refurbished in 2001. Both, the original design as the refurbishment were carried out by a team of garden specialists bring over from Kyoto.

In spite of Holland Park is about 22 hectares in area and is considered one of the most romantic and peaceful parks of central London, the japanese Kyoto Garden is only a small corner in it. But I guess it will be worth to pay a visit.

Holland Park is located in Kensington High St. and Holland Park Ave. in the also marvelous and luxury borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

Therefore, I guess I don't need to say anything else.

Go and visit the Kyoto Garden!! Before is too late!!

Write you soon.

Pics taken of from http://www.gardenvisit.com/

MOSS GARDENS

Hi, how are you?

We are still in Japan, Kyoto the ancient capital city, but no for that is less important nowaday. Today we are going to have a look to this magnificent Moss Garden situated in Temple Saiho-ji, which is commonly referred to as "kokedera" meaning moss temple.

The moss garden is situated in the eastern temple grounds. Located in a grove , the garden is arranged as a circular promenade centered around Golden Pond, which is shaped like the chinese character for "heart" or "mind" and contains three small islands. Asahi island, Yuhi and Kiri island. The area around the pond is said to be covered with more than 120 varieties of moss, believed to have started growing after a flooding of the temple grounds in the EDO period.

The temple also contained three tea houses, the temple hall ,study and a three-storied pagoda and a Zen rock garden in the northern grounds. The gardens of Saiho-ji are collectively considered to be both a historical landmark and a special place of scenic beauty in Japan.

As a visitors, If you are planning to visit the temple, and of course this superb gardens, it won't be that easy. First of it all you have to fill in an prior application which have to arrived 20 working days within the day planned for the intended visit to the temple. And the fee 3000 yens, is the highest in Kyoto. Before being permitted access to the garden, visitor must engage in up to three hours of zazen and hand-copying or chanting of sutras. But I guess it will be worth. Not all days you can contemplate such a beatiful gardens. It seems as it someone had taken off from a fairy tale.

It is safe to assert that no other country has such a distintive form of landscape gardening as Japan.The gardens of China and Japan have remained unique; the eastern style of gardening has never spread to any other country, nor is it ever likely to; for, just as no western artist will ever paint in the same manner as an oriental artist because his whole artistic sense is different, so no western gardener could ever hope to construct a garden representing a portion of the natural scenery of Japan, which is the aim and object of every good japanese landscape garden, however small.

Japanese art of gardening was originally borrowed from the chinese, who appear to have been the first to construct miniature mountains, and to bring water from a distance to feed miniature water-falls and mountain torrents. They even went so far as, in one enclosure, to represent separate scenes for different seasons of the year, and different hours of the day, but to the japanese belongs the honour of having perfected the art of landscape gardening.

All pictures had been taken from http://www.gardenvisits.com/

For more astonishing pictures of Japan visit the blog http://www.japan-images.blogspot.com/

Thank you all. Write you soon.!!

The Rock Garden

Hello, once again. Today, we are going to introduce ourselves in the very heart of Zen Buddishm, and what a better place than Kyoto. In fact, we're leading to Temple Ryoanji or Ryoanzi-it depends on different traductions-. Just because it is there, where the very first rock garden was created by the well-known master of Zen Buddishm whose name was Saomi (1480-1525). Garden in the temple Ryoanji is the small rectangular territory from the east to the west of 30 meters and from south to the north 10 meters where 15 rocks are collected in five groups with 3 stones in each group. And the distribuition of each one of these groups have to be done according to the division of a circle into seven equal portions.

This kind of gardens were made to be contemplate and to do meditation. In there, is all about peace and energy flowing. This energy is directly related to us, the universe and the way we perceive all of it, surrounding us. Disposing stones to make a garden is the way to keep the garden as quiet as posible, like in a picture.

The garden-making is considered in japanese culture as one of the finest arts including caligraphy and ink painting. And it is intimately related to Zen Buddishm. After all, gardens need love.

The temple is also one of the Historic Monuments of ancient Kyoto and it is considered by the UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

More info at www.yamasha.org/japan/english/destinations/Kyoto/ryoanji.html