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HomeTopics...Garden TypesJapanese Tea Garden
Tea Gardens: Ancient Tradition Witnesses Popular RevivalThe benefits of drinking tea for the purposes of meditation were first introduced to Japan from China by a Zen monk called Eisai at the end of the twelfth century.
Japanese Tea CeremonyIn its early days, the Japanese tea ceremony was a relatively informal affair, when Zen Buddhist monks gathered to drink tea from the same vessel, while engaging in meditation, contemplation or spending long hours reading.
Over the centuries, however, the tea ceremony evolved into an important social and recreational activity in Japan. Ostentatious tea gardens and grandiose Japanese tea houses or pavilions dedicated to the formal art of drinking tea became central to Japanese culture. But as with all forms of excess, a backlash was inevitable. Towards the end of the sixteenth century, the 'rustic tea,' 'cottage' or soan tea ceremony introduced by Sen-no-Rikyu (1522-1591) was beginning to take hold. This new style ceremony emphasized Zen principles. Simplicity replaced pomposity; natural elements dominated over the ornate; meditation and self-awareness once again became the main focus of tea gardens and later Japanese tea houses. Tea gardens as we know them today, with their pared down informality, evolved from the back-to-basics tea gardens shaped by Sen-no-Rikyu.
Japanese Tea Gardens FeaturesTypical Japanese tea gardens have the distinctive elements described in this table.
Design of Tea GardensTraditional Japanese garden design is based on symbolism, and Japanese tea gardens are no exception. The objective is to create an enclosed retreat, insulated from the stresses and strains of the outside world.
Most tea gardens are constructed along informal lines, with a meandering garden path leading to a single enclosure or central Japanese tea house. More formal tea garden designs are divided into three separate sections within the tea garden itself and include an outer garden, a central garden, and an inner garden, which contains the Japanese tea house.
Symbolic Garden PathsGarden paths composed, for example, of winding stepping stones, represent the journey we take into a calmer environment away from everyday distractions; or merely a shift in mood to a world more conducive of meditation.
Garden paths may also suggest the steps taken by esthetes as they wander alone a forest or mountain path that leads to their hideaway. Or, on a more basic level, garden paths, in Japanese tea gardens can also induce a sense of anticipation in strollers approaching the heart of the tea garden, the Japanese tea house.
Tea Garden AccessoriesThe main accessories for tea gardens include ceremonial water basins for ritual cleansing, stone lanterns and arbors usually concealed behind foliage or fences for privacy. Planting is kept to a minimum in most Japanese tea gardens.
Japanese Tea Gardens Witness UK RevivalThe recently restored seven-acre Japanese Garden, with its center-piece formal Japanese Tea Garden, at Kingston Lacy, Dorset, England, UK, has prompted a renewed British interest in Japanese tea gardens and the fascinating etiquette associated with Japanese tea houses.
The National Trust, the UK's leading conservation charity, left no stone unturned in their rigorous research into the history of Japanese tea gardens and tea garden design. The result is a superb recreation of an authentic tea garden, using Purbeck stone, authentic Japanese plants and symbolic elements associated with traditional Japanese tea garden design.
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