Conservation of Japanese Gardens in Gifu Prefecture
Landscape Gardening and Greening Course
Takahashi Soichiro(Instructor: Aida Akira)1. Introduction
I chose the conservation status of Japanese gardens in Gifu Prefecture as a theme fortwo reasons: first, because I was very interested in Japanese gardens and wanted to write
a paper on the subject; and second, I became interested in the management of temple andshrine gardens after having done two internships in Kyoto and managing gardens oftemples and shrines several times during my two years at the International Academy ofHorticulture. This led me to investigate into the conservation of Japanese gardens in Gifu
Prefecture, where the school is located.
2. Japanese Gardens in Gifu Prefecture
I collected information on the number of Japanese gardens in Gifu Prefecture from books
and the Internet. Specifically, I created a list of Japanese gardens in Gifu Prefecture byreferring to the “History of Landscaping in Gifu Prefecture” 1) and garden information media“Oniwa-san” (oniwa.garden). 2)
As a result, I was able to list 67 gardens. The list revealed that most gardens werecreated from the middle to the end of the Edo period, and that most of them were in theChuno region.
3. History of Japanese Gardens in the Neighborhood
I selected ten gardens for their historical value near Kani City, where the school is located.
I researched these gardens, their history, and the history of the buildings. As a result, somegardens were found to have been altered in shape by natural disasters, and others wererelocated.
4. Conservation of Japanese Gardens and Field Survey Methods of Investigation
In researching the conservation of Japanese gardens, I focused on the following threepoints with reference to Mr. Kato Tomoki's paper. 3)(1) History and Caretaker
When researching a garden, it is necessary to find out the history of the garden andits caretakers. Along with history, the landscape of the surrounding environment of thegarden changes, and as a result, the height and species of the trees planted within thegarden change over time. It is necessary to investigate how successive caretakers
have responded to these changes.
(2) Past and Present Landscapes
The past and present landscapes will be compared using old photographs. This will

allow us to examine how the surrounding landscape, plantings, and masonry have changed.
(3) Comparative Findings Between Old Photographs and Those of Current Conditions
When comparing the old photographs with the present conditions, the garden paths,stones, views outside the garden, and trees are particularly comparable.
5. Field Survey
Of the 10 gardens surveyed in the literature review, we conducted a field survey at Gukeiji Temple, which is located near the school and kindly accepted my field survey.
Gukei-ji Temple (2635-1, Naka, Mitake-cho, Kani-gun, Gifu Prefecture) was built in 1396
on the mountainside of the present Gukei-ji Temple (former Gukei-ji Temple) and was later
moved to its present location (1830-1844). It is known for its karesansui (dry landscapegarden) and has gardens such as the 33 Reichi (sacred place) gardens.
The survey was conducted to find out the management of the garden and the changesof the garden from the past to the present.
(1) Management
The Gukei-ji Temple Garden is well managed. Looking at the entire garden, there aremany azaleas, and many red pines and hiba (cypress) are also planted. Daily maintenanceincludes cleaning, trimming, and pruning of azaleas and other shrubs by the head priest.
However, the temple asks contractors and parishioners to take care of the pruning of talltrees, especially red pines, as well as when there are temple events such as Obon andNew Year's festivals.
(2) Changes in the Gardens from the Past to the Present
Past documents and photographs revealed that the garden has changed. Interviews
were also conducted with the head priest.

Photo-1-3: Gukei-ji Temple Garden (from left to right: Taken before 1955, 4) from 1991 to 1994, 5) and in2023)

Comparing photos 1 to 3, you can see that although the placement of the stones has notchanged, the plantings next to the stones have changed significantly. Looking at Photo 1,
you can see that the stones on the far right are planted with red pine and Japanesegardenia, the stones in the center are planted with maples and miscellaneous trees, andalthough they cannot be seen in the photo, according to the chief priest, junipers areplanted on the stone on the far left. However, Photo-2 shows that the Japanese gardenia
on the far-right stone and the planting on the center stone are missing. And, looking at

Photo-3, the red pine tree on the far right is also gone. The junipers on the far left are still
there, and azaleas have been added.
6. Summary
After conducting the field survey, we learned that prior research is very important when
conducting said field surveys. By knowing this in advance, I was able to ask questions fromvarious viewpoints, which made it easier to write my thesis. The changes in the garden
from the past to the present could be analyzed clearly by using old photographs. It was
unfortunate that the trees were gone, but the garden was managed by keeping its current
state rather than adding all the plants.
References

1) Tagami, Kazuo (1980): Gifu Prefecture Landscaping History, Gifu Prefecture Landscape Gardening and GreeningAssociation
2) Garden Information Media [Oniwasan] https://oniwa.garden/
3) Kato Tomoki, Shimizu Kazuki, Sakaue Tomio (2017): A Study of Murin-an's Past Scenery from Old Photographs
Property of General Yamagata Memorial Museum, Journal of The Japanese Institute of Landscape Architecture,
Vol. 80, No. 5, p.447-452
4) Okumura Chisaku (1959): History of the Old Zen temple, Dachisan Gukei-ji Temple5) Courtesy of the Chief Priest of Gukei-ji Temple