Final Report ofInternational ConferenceFinal Report ofInternational ConferencePreface

Contents
Preface
Ⅰ．Summary
Ⅱ．Keynote Speech
1. Historical Gardens and their Environmental Context ・
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−Present situation and future tasks
Robert de Jong
2. Jiejing (Borrowed Scenery) in the Chinese Garden−The scenic relationship between the garden and its surroundings・
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・21
Yang Hongxun

Ⅲ．Papers by Participants
1. Renaissance Gardens and French Gardens ・
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・35
NAKAMURA Makoto（Japan）
2. From Paradise to Picturesque ・
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・39
Priyaleen Singh（India）
3. The Technique of Borrowed Scenery (Shakkei) in Korean Gardens・
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・47
Key Soo Choi（Republic of Korea）
4. Viewed and Borrowed Landscape in Japanese Gardens・
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・51
MOTONAKA Makoto（Japan）
5. Between Artificially and Nature・
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・55
YOKOYAMA Tadashi（Japan）
6. Landscape Style and the German Garden ・
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・63
Thomas Weiss（Germany）
7. Continuity in Landscape − West and East・
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・67
Wybe Kuitert（Netherlands）
8. Types of Gardens in Japanese Castle Town ・
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SASAKI Kunihiro（Japan）
9. The Gardens and Scenery of Kyoto during Early Modern Times ・
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ONO Kenkichi（Japan）
10. Natural Landscape and Water Incorporated into Modern Japanese Gardens・
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AMASAKI Hiromasa（Japan）

Appendix
1. General Information・
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2. Opening Speeches・
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3. List of Participants ・
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4. Schedule・
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・97

Ⅰ SUMMARY

SUMMARYⅡ−1 KEYNOTE SPEECH

Present situation and future tasks
Robert de Jong
President & ICOMOS-IFLA Committee
Coordinator, Netherlands Department for Conservation
World Heritage UNESCO

Wherever they can, people work the land to suit their own purpose. Man and nature are in a constant stateof interaction. Gardens and man are interlinked. In all cultures, nature and experiencing nature are deeply
rooted in the existence of man.
The garden as a metaphor is used all over the world in religion and philosophy, in painting andcalligraphy, in poetry and politics.
Gardens are a universal phenomenon, all different of nature, significance and design.
All over the world and in every culture, mankind has associated its sacred sites and places of worshipwith Creation and with supernatural powers and forces. Man has traditionally worshipped and maintained
these places. It is where the boundary between the visible and the invisible is broken and crossed.
From Creation to last resting place of the dead, gardens have acquired their place among man.
Gardens can be found in many forms, varying from utopia and micro cosmos to cultural monument
and nature reserve. Gardens and parks are by nature changeable and perishable.
Gardens defined
For the purpose of this conference, gardens have been defined asarchitecture built in a limited outdoor space under a certain
chronological and spatial sense of beauty, as a place for rituals,
ceremonies, feasts, receptions, and as a place to display landscapedesign .
Some twenty years ago, the International Committee of Historic
Gardens-Cultural Landscapes, ICOMOS (International Council on
Monuments and Sites)-IFLA (International Federation of LandscapeArchitects) formulated an international charter, known as theFlorence Charter, as a Charter on the Preservation of Historic
Gardens (1981), that provides the following definition: An historicgarden is an architectural and horticultural composition of interest to
the public from the historical or artistic point of view (art. 1).

5

Fig.1 Caserta Naples(Italy）

Robert de JongHistorical Gardens and their
Environmental Context

Robert de JongThis committee also stated at that time that as such, it is to be considered as a monument , but thenas a living monument (art. 3).
The second article in this charter contains a more detailed description. It states that The historicgarden is an architectural composition whose constituents are primarily vegetal and therefore living,which means that they are perishable and renewable .
Thus its appearance reflects the perpetual balance between the cycle of seasons, the growth anddecay of nature and the desire of the artist and the craftsman to keep it permanently unchanged (art. 2).
The first description emphasises beauty and the garden as a place for rituals, ceremonies, feasts,
receptions and as a place to display landscape design . The second one stresses from a historical andartistic point of view its public significance and sees it as something perishable and renewable .
Does this not express a difference of opinion and appreciation between east and west as to the essence ofgardens?
Landscape, park and garden created by men
Over the ages, gardens lost their metaphysical or allegorical significance in western society. Gardens andparks evolved increasingly towards being spaces for recreation and relaxation. They started to become apart of new spatial designs, like designs for urban development.
During the past few decades, ecological design and management in connection with a growing concern
about the environment, has received public and political response and interest.
Gardens in western society are no longer the symbol of the Garden of Eden, nor do they represent thepower and authority of monarch, royal house or the affluent.
From the 18th century, gardens became increasingly more democratised . The 18th and subsequentcenturies brought major functional and spatial changes to the European landscape, especially in western
Europe. Large scale development of wasteland; the rationalisation, mechanisation and increased
production of agriculture and forestry (which was referred to in England as extensive rural gardening andforest gardening (Stephen Switzer, Ichnographia Rustica, 1718)); the ever growing industrialisation thatbrought about the formation of a new kind of landscape, the industrial landscape ; the network of roads,
canals and railways with its ever expanding branches, irreversibly transformed not only the rapidly
increasing scale of urbanisation but also the morphology of the landscape which at the time was still
empty space .
With the introduction of mechanical means of transport, man s sense of time and perception of
movement, speed, distance and space changed.
The economical and political significance of large land ownership diminished towards the end of the 19th
century due to a succession of agricultural slumps.
Particularly in western Europe, prosperity shifted from the countryside to urban conglomerates. Since
then, urban society has had an insatiable appetite for expanding into rural areas.
18th and 19th century authors, poets and painters, as well as composers in the western world
romanticized the landscape in their works.

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Robert de Jong

Landscapes thus became recognisable symbols ofcountries and regions. Landscapes were
nationalised as it were and were thus allowed to
become a country s icon or logo . Artistic
images were then awarded to these landscapes.
Images that since then have become stereotypical.
Images that have become a part of the dominant
image culture of today. Images that are constantly
transmitted to us through film, television andmagazines as well as just as many lost ideal
landscapes.

Fig.2 Lahore Shalmar Gardens(Pakistan)

The 20th century totalised the landscape and turned it into a science in many parts of the world.
Landscapes changed drastically and rapidly. The rationalised landscape was made subordinate to top-down
rules enforced by the government and subdivided by function. The landscape got caught in a system oflegal and financial schemes, of conventions, charters and recommendations.
Industrialisation and urbanisation left scars in the landscape. The public on the other hand wanted
somewhere they could feel they were one with nature. Garden and landscape architects now letthemselves be inspired in their designs by what can be called ecological nature aesthetics.
Parts of the landscape are differentiated by designating them as national parks or landscapes or scenic
areas or nature reserves. These areas are then structured according to a precisely defined management
plan. In practice, this often results in the area being restructured. Plans, ideal in concept, that reflect ourcurrent ideas, images and perceptions of the past or of nature.
Western societies and those that are becoming westernised are stripping landscapes of their traditional,
metaphysical or uncannily emotional significance by rationalising them or making them more aesthetic orabandoning them again to nature.
Elsewhere, parts of the landscape are being turned into museums as it were, by creating the illusionof the past on the basis of a carefully worked out design.
The great natural diversity of landscapes in the world is being changed as it were into a motley
hotchpotch of large-scale nature parks.
Cities, or rather the ever expanding urban societies in the world and all sorts of internationalorganizations, scientific or otherwise, determine where what will happen with and in the landscape.
The phenomenon of a park, which was originally an enclosed stretch of woods particularly intended for
hunting, developed there over time into what we now know as green spaces for the public at large, as fixed
elements in 20th century town planning.
During the Fourth International Congress for Modern Architecture held in Athens in 1933, principles
were formulated for these green spaces in the Athens Charter, in response to the rapid, uncontrolled
development , that in most cases has led to a chaotic situation in the structure of the city .

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Robert de Jong

It was felt that amenable towns would be created by separating functions (dwellings, recreation, work,transportation). As a requirement for relaxation, the charter included the realisation of green areas inresidential districts and of general recreation areas . These views on modern urban development havebeen applied all over the world.
The 20th century has affected and changed the continuity in the private ownership of historical gardens andparks with its global wars, revolutions and dominant political power blocks, with its financial crash at theend of the 1920s, and with its issue concerning the finiteness of natural resources no matter how difficult it
was to place it on the political agenda in the early 1970s.
It is not known how much heritage has been lost during that century. For instance, the political situation in
Eastern Europe after the Second World War was such that country estates and manor houses were
nationalised there and turned by the central government into hospitals, homes for the elderly andchildren s homes; others were left to fall into disrepair.
Now, after the political revolution a good ten years ago, those countries are confronted with anapparently unsolvable issue, namely, what is to be done with these many remnants of historical buildings
and with what remains of their former parks and gardens?
This situation was different in Western Europe. Stately palaces with their parks and gardens became stateowned property and were turned into museums.
Many a town expanded where once the aristocracy and affluent merchants and industrialists had theircountry estates.
Private organisations, such as the National Trust in England, were established and took up ownershipof historical gardens and parks with their houses and other buildings. The Trust now owns 161 historicalgardens and 63 landscape parks.
Garden and park as cultural heritage
Modern history shows that living with nature is changing ever more into controlling nature and theenvironment for economic reasons.
The traditional connection of man with nature is giving way to increasing concern about the environment
and the loss of ecosystems.
Cultural landscapes, nature sites, historical gardens and parks are being particularised with much
effort and legislation and are considered in broad international circles to be bygone but better worlds.
Conservationists usually direct their attention to historical buildings. That a garden, park and building areclosely linked to each other compositionally and iconographically as a concept and design, and that agarden or park can constitute an architectural and horticultural composition (Florence Charter, Article 1)
in its own right, appear to be unfamiliar territory to them or to escape them.
Town planners view public parks more as open and public areas within urban patterns, rather thaninquire into their artistic or aesthetic significance or what their import is to the identity of the locality or
the image of the city or town in question.

8

rationalised administration and regular garden maintenance, against land-price politicking, against
dynamically expanding towns and cities, or in the case of landscapes, against the global search for sourcesof energy.
Particularly during the second half of the 20th century, dozens of international declarations, charters,
conventions and recommendations were drawn up that either mention the advisability or point out thenecessity of the preservation and conservation of cultural heritage, of historical cultural landscapes or
scenic areas.
Influential organisations that can be mentioned in this respect are that of UNESCO with suchachievements as the very successful Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural andNatural Heritage (1972); the Council of Europe with its European Landscape Convention (2000); theInternational Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), a non-governmental organisation that drew up
various international charters for cultural heritage; and the IUCN (The World Conservation Union) with its
Two Conservation Goals , comprising

Facing the extinction crisis and Restoring and maintaining

ecosystem integrity , as well as the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA).
Legislation pertaining to cultural heritage seldom includes articles aimed at the specific significance ofgardens.
Japan, however, already had specific articles with the implementation of its Historic Sites, Areas of
Scenic Beauty and Natural Monuments Protection Act in 1919. This Act gave significance to the meishou ,that not only included scenic spots but sites associated with popular poems or typical scenes depicted in
pictures. Meishou can be said to be an early and typical Japanese perception of cultural landscape (Yukio
Nishimura, Outline of Japanese Historic Sites and Monuments: Its Past and Present . Monuments andSites Japan. National Committee, 11th General Assembly, ICOMOS. Sri Lanka National Committee of
ICOMOS, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 1996 (Central Cultural Fund Publication No. 207)).
It was not until the 1990s that UNESCO s World Heritage Committee decided to include articles oncultural landscapes, on gardens and park landscapes (par. 35-42), in its Operational Guidelines for the
Implementation of the World Heritage Convention.
These parks and landscapes were interpreted in the restricted meaning of a clearly defined landscapedesigned and created intentionally by man (par. 39, i) or as an associative cultural landscape (par. 39, iii).
Only a few parks and gardens have been placed on the World Heritage List to date.
However, in actual practice most countries have no well-reasoned surveys of historical parks, gardens orcultural landscapes. Nor are there many countries around the world where research is done into thehistory of their own garden and landscape architecture or into the historiography of gardens and parks
there.
In today s world and particularly in the western world, tradition has faded increasingly into thebackground or has been lost entirely in favour of notions such as development, progress, standardisation
and rationalism.

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Robert de Jong

Several reasons may be cited as to why gardens, parks and landscapes are virtually defenceless against

Robert de Jong

Architectural designs are required to be innovative, surprising, unique. They must catch the eye.
The loss of tradition and continuity has enormous consequences for being able to pass on practicaland traditional knowledge and experience in the maintenance of parks and gardens. Garden maintenancebecame mechanised and rationalised with the result that people put in less effort, machines were used
more frequently and maintenance was simplified.
It is also apparent that public taste and assortment are determined by the large garden centres thatcan be found everywhere.
All over the world, historical gardens and parks are protected as cultural monuments. Some of them, asWorld Heritage of UNESCO, have been declared of universal and outstanding significance .
Incidentally, it was UNESCO that already at a relatively early date, in 1962, drew up a
recommendation about safeguarding the beauty and character of landscapes and sites , stating that For
the purpose of this recommendation, the safeguarding of the beauty and character of landscapes and sites
is taken to mean the preservation and, where possible, the restoration of the aspect of natural, rural andurban landscapes and sites, whether natural or man-made, which have a cultural or aesthetic interest or
form typical natural surroundings ( Recommendation Concerning the Safeguarding of the Beauty andCharacter of Landscapes and Sites , 1. Definition, 1).
The question as to the significance and value of historical gardens as cultural monuments is complex.
The answers are usually limited to a date, an analysis of design, later changes and possibly an
iconographical programme, to stylistic characteristics and a description of composition, structure andconstructions, to given particulars about the principal or the designers, to listing dendrological and floral
features. The property is also given a place in the history of garden art.
What the significance of such a monument is or could be for us or for future generations is almost always
left out of consideration. Only in general terms does one speak of identity, the impossibility of replacing it
and historical awareness. Or something is mentioned about its economical value, such as for cultural
tourism.
Once declared a monument, it acquires something inviolable, as if it has become timeless.
But we also see social questions arising about the worldwide volume of cultural heritage that is
growing by the day and the possibilities for and advisability of preserving that heritage. This can be seen,
for instance, in the debates about the magnitude of the World Heritage List as determined by the World
Heritage Committee of UNESCO.
Scattered over the continents are over the years several
historical gardens that have become icons .
Some of them have been incorporated in the expanding
circuit of international and national cultural tourism and havetherefore now become a part of what is also called theheritage industry . What will this lead to on the long term?
Fig.3 Garden, Utrecht (Netherlands)

10In this respect the terms heritage industry (Robert Hewison) and culture industry are often used −complete with all the development and management strategies such words imply.
Nowadays, historical gardens and parks are usually open to the public, which uses them for walking andrecreation. They are often places of initial, hasty, furtive human contact.
Although they are not designed for this purpose, historical parks are increasingly used for publicdemonstrations, concerts, exhibitions of contemporary sculpture, shows and mega-shows, fairs, meetings,
processions, sport or love parades .
People imagine themselves in natural surroundings, in the middle of an inviting déor. Organisers do
not listen to anyone who raises the question as to whether such a park is capable of hosting events of thisnature. Only the available space and the nature of the surroundings count. In the most favourable
situation, financial compensation is forthcoming if any damage occurs.
Threats
With some exceptions, historical garden culture is seriously threatened virtually everywhere. In actual
fact, these monuments are constantly in great danger everywhere and most are at risk of obliteration.
Gardens and parks are particularly at risk by their very nature due to the change of the seasons andthe passing of time. Or as it is put in the Florence Charter (1981), which was drawn up in respect ofhistorical gardens and parks:
Its appearance reflects the perpetual balance between the cycle of the seasons, the growth and decayof nature and the desire of the artist and craftsman to keep it permanently unchanged. (Article 2)
When is there a threat? And what is threatened? Are material conditions at stake or is it the loss ofauthenticity or integrity? Or is the entirety of the design at risk or disappearing? Or is the historical natureof the place, the genius loci endangered?
This begs the question as to how one can measure all of this. Often one cannot draw firm boundaries
except where an intervention has occurred that can be clearly described in terms of size and time. Change,
decay and loss usually follow each other stealthily in the course of time. Usually, their transition can only
be determined in retrospect.
There are many different kinds of threats. Almost everywhere, parks and gardens occupy a subordinate
position in the ranking and practice of monument conservation.
For the most part, inventories and registries mention and describe buildings and their past. A single
word suffices to refer to any accompanying historical garden. However, garden adornments such aspavilions or statues are given a bit more attention, certainly if one can link them to the name of an architector artist.
There is also an internal threat to this heritage in that it comprises living organisms. Parks can die ofold age. A lack of maintenance can soon transform parks and gardens, letting nature have free rein.
Nature conservationists often regard an old, preferably overgrown park as an important biotope whichshould be conserved.

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Robert de Jong

Heritage is not only part of cultural politics, but has now gained huge economic significance.

Robert de Jong

The public cherish old trees, rejecting moves to chop them down and replant on emotional grounds.
They do not realise that by doing this, a historical park can be lost to future generations. The subject does
not rate high on the political scale.
Restorations
The international debate on restoration is being conducted from the experience of a relatively small
number of garden and park restorations and reconstructions.
The issue concerning the conservation of the authenticity of cultural heritage, discussed on aninternational level here in Nara in 1994 and expressed in the Nara Document on Authenticity, remains acomplex matter.
For instance, authenticity can refer to aesthetic, material and functional originality.
The debate held in 1994 clarified that a cultural, intellectual, spiritual or historical context can also be
determinant factors for what authenticity is understood to be.
The history of the conservation of cultural heritage shows that monuments, too, change over time making
it impossible to give a conclusive answer to the question as to what is original , nor can its significance be
explained as such.
For many years, later additions were considered to have an adverse effect on the authenticity of amonument and were therefore removed during restorations. Much historical material information has
been lost in this way.
According to western ideas about cultural heritage, copies are considered to be falsifications. In principle,
international charters, strongly influenced in their formulation by that western thinking, rejectreconstructions, or, as the Venice Charter of 1964 as international charter for the conservation andrestoration of monuments and sites says, restoration........it must stop at the point where conjecture
begins, and in this case moreover any extra work which is indispensable must be distinct from thearchitectural composition and must bear a contemporary stamp...... (art. 9).
The Florence Charter speaks in general terms about authenticity when it says The authenticity of an
historic garden depends as much on the design and scale of its various parts as on its decorative featuresand on the choice of plant or inorganic materials adopted of its parts (art. 9).
The charter emphasises the material authenticity of historical gardens. Now, more than twenty years
after its implementation, we know that cultural heritage stands for more than just physical material values
and that it can also hold other values, such as psychological, traditional, spiritual or an abundance ofartistic creations.
What is stated in the Nara Document also applies to historical gardens and parks, namely, The diversity ofcultures and heritage in our world is an irreplaceable source of spiritual and intellectual richness of all
humankind.... (par. 5).
In connection with this conference it is interesting to see how well the principals pertaining to restoring, as

12The Venice Charter has four clauses on restoring. The purpose of restorations is to preserve andreveal the aesthetic and historic value of the monument and is based on respect for original material andauthentic documents , according to the charter.
Restoration ends where conjecture begins . Moreover any extra work which is indispensable must be
distinct from the architectural composition and must bear a contemporary stamp , states Article 9.
The charter also emphasises preliminary archaeological investigation. Modern techniques may be
applied instead of traditional ones should they no longer suffice.
The contents of Article 11 merits being quoted in its entirety here: The valid contributions of allperiods to the building of a monument must be respected, since unity of style is not the aim of a
restoration. When a building includes the superimposed work of different periods, the revealing of theunderlying state can only be justified in exceptional circumstances and when what is removed is of little
interest and the material which is brought to light is of great historical, archaeological or aesthetic value,
and its state of preservation good enough to justify the action. Evaluation of the importance of theelements involved and the decision as to what may destroyed cannot rest solely on the individual in chargeof the work .
Many historical gardens and parks in Europe as we know them today are made up of superimposed
work of different periods .
The charter states the following about parts that have been lost over time: replacements of missing parts
must integrate harmoniously with the whole, but at the same time must be distinguishable from theoriginal so that restoration does not falsify the artistic or historic evidence (Art. 12).
The last of these four Articles speaks of introducing additions, so far as they do not detract from theinteresting parts of the building, its traditional setting, the balance of its composition and its relation with
its surroundings .
This Article is certainly important now that larger numbers of the general public visit historicalgardens and they have been included in international cultural tourism for which facilities of all sorts must
be made available.
Three Articles of the Florence Charter deal with restoration and reconstruction . Such work is
scientifically executed.... is greatly emphasised as a matter of importance (Art. 15).
This charter, too, stresses the need for respect for ﾔthe successive stages of evolution of the garden
concerned.

In principle, no one period should be given precedence over any other .

Only in exceptional cases where the degree of damage or destruction affecting certain parts of agarden may be such that is decided to reconstruct it on the basis of the traces that survive or of
unimpeachable documentary evidence (Art. 16).
The charter is very clear when it states where a garden has completely disappeared or there exists nomore than conjectural evidence of its successive stages a reconstruction could not be considered anhistoric garden (Art. 17).
The Florence Charter (1981) acknowledges reconstruction more or less indirectly when it says no
restoration work and above all, no reconstruction work on an historic garden shall be undertaken without
thorough prior research to ensure that such work is scientifically executed and which will involve
everything from excavation to the assembling of records relating to the garden in question and to similar

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Robert de Jong

formulated in the Venice Charter and in the Florence Charter, are applied in practice.

Robert de Jong

gardens (art. 15).
If we look at what has happened during the past decades in Europe we can see that several gardens andparks have undergone major reconstruction based on their 17th and 18th century designs.
As an example, during the 1970s and 1980s the formal gardens were reintroduced at Het Loo, once aroyal palace, now a museum. In the late 17th century the palace had a baroque garden with a linear design;in the 19th century, however, it was changed into the artificial naturalness of a romantic landscape park.
The intention of the principal, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and the recruited restoration architect was
to reintroduce the original architecture and former spatial effect of the building and its gardens which up
to then had been used as a royal residence but which over time had been changed and enlarged.
Other, more recent, reconstructions were carried out in England on what is called the King s Privy Garden
dating from the late 17th century and part of former Hampton Court Palace situated near London along theRiver Thames; in France on the baroque park of Versailles and, for instance, in Austria on the baroquepark of Schloβ Belvedere in Vienna (designed by Lukas von Hildebrandt, Anton Zinner and DominiqueGirard (1700-1723)).
To our knowledge, nowhere in Europe has a park as yet been totally reconstructed in the later
landscape style.
The purpose of restoring those parks is to restore what has been neglected for many years. To open
up views. To replace trees and shrubs in view of their age. To restore roads and ponds and such.
The results of these efforts in restoration projects in countries such as England and Germany are
impressive. History is being made in Germany in the former 18th century Garden-Kingdom of DessauWörlitz ; in Postdam and Berlin where starting with Sanssouci (Frederick II, 1712-1786) in the second halfof the 18th century and during the 19th century a varied pattern of large parks and gardens wasconstructed by successive rulers; in the late 18th century, early 19th century park along the banks of theRiver Ilm in Weimar, where Goethe s garden house stands (occupied in 1776); in Kassel, in Wilhelmshöhepark which was given its architecture as a landscape park during a campaign that lasted for many years(1763-1821); and in the 19th century landscape park in Muskau, started after 1815 by Prince Heinrich
Ludwig Hermann von Pückler-Muskau (1785-1871) and which after the Second World War lay partially inGermany and partially on Polish land due to newly defined country borders. This prince wrote atheoretical paper on what he had done there, called Andeutungen über Landschaftsgärtnerei (1833) which
had a great impact on garden and landscape architecture in Europe. Mr. Shintaro Sugio, Vice President of
ICOMOS Japan, recently told the members of the ICOMOS-IFLA Committee that this book has also beentranslated into Japanese.
As food for thought, the following can be said about restorations. Practice proves that successive
generations of conservationists in Europe are usually of the opinion that, based on their historicalresearch, the interpretations and work of their predecessors must be put right if necessary.
That monuments can therefore in the long run (and this is also true for historical gardens and parks)
become the puzzling tangible result of successive interpretations, restorations and reconstructions −something that is not uttered or even acknowledged.
The general public is entirely unaware of this. They still imagine themselves in direct contact with the
past.

14

Should the main question around restorations still concern originality and its normative significance?
(Cultural)Tourism
In many places we see that a stately park forms the ideal venue for any number of events. From the ever
popular home and garden fair, through festivals to an exhibition of modern sculpture or the launch of a
new car. And many historic houses have been converted into heritage hotels .
Only seldom do governments take care of the high costs of maintaining historical gardens.
Funds must therefore be accumulated through sponsoring, lotteries and other means.

Fig.6

Fig.4

Fig.7

Fig.5
Fig.4 Het Loo, Apeldoorn (Netherlands)
Fig.5 Belvedere Palace,Vienna (Austria)
Fig.6 Park ILM, Goethe's Garden House,
Weimar, (Germany)
Fig.7 Park Wilhelmshoe Kassel (GERMANY)
Fig.8 Park Muskau(Germany)

Fig.8

15

Robert de Jong

So should we not ask ourselves whether restorations lead to what one could call staged authenticity ?

Robert de Jong

Tourism has developed worldwide into an economic factor of no mean importance. It engages inmarketing historical landscapes, parks and gardens by providing cultural historical excursions to an
apparently insatiable market.
Cultural tourism has discovered gardens. Gardens are placed in the market as products after amarketing concept has been developed for them.
Cultural heritage involves use and abuse alike. Cultural tourism demands reconstructions of the past, or
what is known as living history .
Macro economically speaking, our cultural heritage is acquiring ever greater financial value andsignificance. Micro economically, the yields often do not meet the costs of regular upkeep. So there
remains a social task to be fulfilled by the government.
Where necessary, landscapes and historical gardens and parks are touched up or dressed up in order tocall up the character and charm that visitors expect to encounter there. They are evoked by lyricaldescriptions in colourful travel brochures or edited film and television images full of atmosphere.
Well presented travel guides usually only tell their readers what they can expect to see and provide somehistorical information, which in some instances is only summarised, and in others is provided in the formof a story or an anecdote.
The reader is in danger of drowning in the flood of magazines and books.
But does this help the readers and visitors to know more about these gardens and parks and to see
and understand how they are structured in terms of space and composition?
How and whether use was made of the site or whether it was modified to accommodate the garden or
park? How a park can cross over into the surrounding landscape or how park and landscape can beinterlinked in a compositional sense? What the meaning of an iconographic programme was? How one
experienced the flora and fauna in a landscape park? Which changes were made in the course of time andwhy? How a certain garden was used?
Generally, only marginal mention is made of dendrological particulars. Modern history, too, is usuallyleft aside or mentioned only briefly.
A new trend is developing in that historical gardens are starting to function more frequently in society as
cultural amusement parks and as public spaces.
That gardens are a vulnerable as well as changeable heritage from the past is apparently becoming
less important.
ICOMOS speaks in one of its international charters, the International Cultural Tourism
Charter/Managing Tourism of Heritage Significance (1999) of the dynamic interaction between tourism
and cultural heritage .
This massive worldwide tourism, no matter how complex it may be to manage, also has positive
aspects. Or, as the charter says, domestic and international tourism continues to be among the foremost
vehicles for cultural exchange, providing a personal experience, not only of that which has survived fromthe past, but of the contemporary life and society of others.........Tourism itself has become an increasingly

16

aesthetic dimensions
In closing
Caring for cultural heritage is not a matter of unchanging truths, nor is it something that goes without
saying.
Changes to society usually also affect monuments as regards interpretation, appreciation, use andsubject matter. This is what makes working on the care for cultural heritage so interesting.
But at the same time, it also involves responsibilities. That care does not only have to do with ethics,
respect or tradition, but also with culture, with cultural life, with creating culture.
Working on and with cultural heritage means that by doing so we give shape and content to our daily
lives and this will have an effect on future generations.
The justification for the conservation of cultural heritage lies not only in the value of the monument as
a historical document as if it is something sacrosanct. In this work, political and social reality, no matter
how difficult and how fickle, may not be excluded.
The task does not only involve restoring and revitalising. The world behind the idea and concept of former
garden and park designs is not readily discernable, so it also involves making that world visible, accessible
and understandable.
In general, it is the social task of monuments conservancy to show and explain how the past and thepresent are always linked to each other.
In doing so, it must be recognised that the past is irreversible and cannot be reproduced.
In our current experience culture and image culture , it is both a tremendous and a complex task for
those who are professionally involved in historical garden art and landscape architecture to clarify andmake legible the intention of the world and the image that these gardens, parks and landscapes once hadin them in order to give them a living meaning without lapsing into nostalgia or falsification.
Without falling into collecting empty, shallow quotes from the past, prompted by economical or political
opportunism.
One talks about our modern experience economy . It is aimed at providing its customers, the public, inconformity with the market, the experiences they are looking for and are expecting in order to satisfy adeliberately created consumptive penchant for entertainment.
But does one really know the public that visits and experiences historical gardens and parks? The
marketing world within the cultural sector assumes that 80% of the public does not know the supplier.
So this should mean that a company that provides a cultural product , in our case historical gardens
and parks, should take a good look into how the public can get to know the company and how the public
really experiences what that company provides.
The conservation of cultural heritage has created its own icons . The large numbers of people who visit

17

Robert de Jong

complex phenomenon, with political, economic, social, cultural, educational, biophysical, ecological andRobert de Jongthem expect to see in situ what the media has already shown them.
In other words, they expect to get value for money. It therefore competes with the professional
leisure sector, with what is called the leisure industry, because there is a generous supply of leisurefacilities.
A garden is, first and foremost, a manmade design and structure. Its purpose is to serve man − thereligious, the philosophical, the working, the playing, and the departed.

(Zeist/the Netherlands, January 2004)18

Ⅱ−2 KEYNOTE SPEECH

Yang Hongxun

Key terms:
shikong yishu（時空藝術）: the art of time and space
jingxiang（景象）: scenery, scenic image
jingmian（景面）: scenic plane, one scenic aspect of a scenic image
jiejing（借景）: borrowed scenery
yuanjie（遠借）: borrowing of distant scenerylinjie（鄰借）: borrowing of nearby sceneryyingshi erjie（應時而借）: borrowing of opportune scenery

Abstract:
The traditional Chinese garden―yuanlin（園林）―differs from thegardenorpark

in the Western

tradition. Described by the West as the natural-style or landscape-style garden, yuanlin is an artfulrecreation of natural landscapes. Similized to a three-dimensional painting and solidified poem, theChinese garden is a space of leisure and relaxation that haspoetic and pictorial

quality where theartificial and natural environments are integrated.
The art of Chinese garden making is not only an art of spatial composition but also that of timeplanning. From the perspective of garden viewing, the aesthetic experience with a yuanlin does not end at
the static observation as with a painting; the yuanlin's artistic impact is released through the viewer's
physical movement, which is often referred to as youlan（遊覽）, or perambulatory viewing. The
sequential and non-sequential progression of garden viewing is an art of time coordination. Suffice it to saythat the classic Chinese garden is an art of time and space that has functional value.
There is a whole set of profound theories conventional to Chinese garden making, among whichjiejing（借景）is an important concept and technique. Jiejing, or borrowed scenery, originally refers to
drawing on the extramural views that do not belong to the garden proper and incorporating them into
the garden's own scenic arrangement. Borrowed scenery embodies a structural relationship between thegarden and its surroundings.

21

Basically, there are three types of borrowed scenery: yuanjie（遠借）―distant scenery, linjie（鄰借）―nearby scenery, and yingshi erjie（應時而借）―opportune scenery. Yuanjie is to take in a view that is in
the distance（a distant mountain or a distant pagoda, for instance）and incorporate it into the backgroundof the garden's scenery. Linjie is to borrow an adjacent view that happens to be on the ulterior side of
the garden wall and integrate it with the garden's scenery. Yingshi erjie refers to the loan relationshipbetween the garden and the transient or varying scenic factors brought about by natural dynamics, namely
the four seasons, different times of the day, or climatic variations: rain, snow, dawn, dusk, sunshine,
Yang Hongxun

moonlight, clouds, and even flying birds and chirping insects can all beborrowed―howevermomentarily―and incorporated into the garden's scenic ensemble.
As a matter of fact, the significance of jiejing has far transcended the realm of garden making itself
and become a design concept for a greater undertaking. The concept of jiejing and its design andtechniques hold great referential value for the human race in its present-day as well as future constructionsof a gardenized, ecological living environment.
Differences between the Eastern and Western Cultures
The traditional Eastern and Western cultures that are represented by Asia andEurope respectively are two major systems that form the foundation of thecivilization of mankind. In the same way that yin and yang work in the taiji circle（Figure 1）, the two cultures, while antithetical to one another, complement eachother and jointly complete and perfect the wisdom of mankind. The ancient Great
Fig.1
The taiji circle

Four Inventions by the Chinese（compass, papermaking, printing, and gunpowder）
enhanced man's productivity and pushed forward the progression of the entire
human history. Similarly, the steam engine invented by the English a quarter

millennium ago and the material civilization created thereafter in the Western world have been shared by
the whole humanity and helped accelerate the development of human society.
Philosophically, the Bible, which is the embodiment of the fundamental rationale of the Westernworld, says that God created man based on His own image; in other words, man looks like God. The Bible
also says that God entrusts the world to man who shall take care of and enjoy the use of it, which betokens
that man is the master of the world. At such, the Western tradition sees that human beings are lauded;
painting, sculpture, and other forms of art are dedicated to expressing the beauty of the human body. In
the art of traditional landscaping and garden making, man-made beauty is conspicuously manifested
through the form of the garden and garden constituents―the use of strict geometry and the topiary art asseen in embroidered parterres,green sculptures,fountain constructs, and so forth. The Westernculture emphasizes the power of man, who is established as a challenger to nature and who will conquer
nature.
By contrast, the ancient Chinese philosopher Lao zi, whose ideas represent the elemental philosophyof Eastern thinking, revered nature, of which man is considered an organic part. He emphasized the unityof man and nature. The traditional Chinese garden, therefore, aspires to emulate nature, extol nature, andartistically recreate the beauty of nature as embodied in her free-form landscapes.

22

The Chinese Garden―A Unique Creation
The Chinese garden―yuanlin, which is different from the garden

or park in the Western tradition,is an architectural space where artfulness and artlessness combine. There is no English counterpart for
the term yuanlin, and landscape architecture is perhaps a close rendering of the word.
The Chinese landscape painting, known as shanshui hua（山水畫）― literally meaning
and-water painting,

mountain-is three-dimensional natural scenery represented on a two-dimensional sheet of paper

surface. Described by the West as the natural-style or landscape-style garden, the Chinese yuanlin
is not only an accessible reality of space but also an artistic description of space, just as in a painting. It is aspace of art.
The technique of making a garden is sometimes analogized to the skill of the performing arts. On atheatrical stage, a comedy has the power to make the audience laugh and a tragedy, cry. The actors, who
are people from real life, by following the law of theatrical art, are able to portray the characters in thedrama within the limited space of the stage and provide the audience with a true-to-life performance that isboth artistically affecting and realistically convincing. Similarly, the Chinese garden, by following theprinciples of garden making and using natural materials like sand, stone, water, soil, vegetation, and evenanimal life, is able to create a naturalistic landscape in a restricted garden space, which affords the visitor
with a true-to-nature environment that is both artistically appealing and realistically enjoyable. This is as
much as to say that, while the art of the theater recreates life, the art of the garden recreates nature.
Creation of the Chinese garden is a process of artistic condensation and even necessary formulization
as in the Beijing opera performance or the xieyi（寫意）-style painting, which is an abbreviated, abstract
brushwork that aims at capturing the spirit of the object rather than its physical likeness. Garden scenes
are often inspired and modeled after famous scenic spots in nature, landscape paintings, and evenlandscape poetry and idylls. Regardless of the form of the inspiration―whether it is a forest stream
flowing through a remote ravine, a placid lake nestling in a tranquil mountain, a winding path meandering
through a hilly village, or a pond of lotus swaying by a waterfront pavilion, the creation of a garden scene
always follows a certain thematic subject, which is why it is said that garden scenes are a product ofhuman subjectivity. While nature is grander, richer, and more dynamic, the garden―the recreation ofnature―is more condensed, more epitomized, more idealistic, and more intriguing.
Chinese garden scenes are emotive and affective, which is the often-described personified quality ofshiqing huayi（詩情畫意）― poetical sentiment and picturesque overtone.

This explains why a yuanlinoften has greater propensity to charm and fascinate its visitors than its raw landscape counterpart innature. An accessible

three-dimensional painting

andsolidified poem,

the Chinese garden is aspace of leisure and relaxation where the environment of artifice and that of nature are integrated.
That the art of Chinese garden making differs from the art of painting lies not only in that the garden
describes a space in the space, but also in that, from the perspective of garden appreciation, the garden is
intended not merely for static observation as with a painting. The aesthetic experience with a garden
comes largely from the physical movement of the viewer, referred to as youlan（遊覽）, or perambulatory
viewing.

This is because a scenic image carries innumerous scenic planes that unfold to and flow by theviewer as he perambulates and his viewpoint shifts.
The sequential and non-sequential progression of garden viewing is an art of time planning. The

23

Yang Hongxun

by means of the painter's techniques and artistry. In other words, it is a manipulation of space on a flataspect, duration, and sequence of the revelation of each scenic plane speak for the intrinsic structure of thegarden art. In music, notes, chords, timbre, tempo, etc. are interwoven and composed into tunes andrhythms bearing a certain motif or interest, which are to be enjoyed over the course of time played.
Similarly, with the passage of time spent in perambulation through the garden, layers of scenic planes are
revealed in an intended sequence with the movement of the viewer and thus complete the artistic effect of
the garden scenery.
The garden viewing experience is also infiltrated with varying manifestations of the garden scenery
Yang Hongxun

that result from natural causative factors, such as the change of the seasons, the lapse of time（from dawn
to dusk, or from day to night）, and climatic variations（rain, snow, sunshine, clouds, etc.）. This, too, is
an issue of time planning. As with a piece of sculpture that gives off its finest effect only when placed in a
specific lighting condition, some garden scenery unleashes its more appealing artistic effect only at a
certain time of the day, in a certain season of the year, or under a certain condition of the weather. The
traditional Chinese garden is consciously planned and created to take advantage of these properties oftime. This is why making of the Chinese garden is said to be not only an art of spatial composition but alsothat of time planning; in other words, the Chinese garden is an art of time and space that has functional
value.
Borrowed Scenery―Intensifying the Garden's Depth of Field
In the making of Chinese gardens, Jiejing is a creative concept as well as technique that address thecompositional relationship between the garden and the scenic features in its surroundings. The borrowed
view, albeit not

owned

by the garden, becomes part of the garden's scenic composition through theborrowing device.
In Yuan ye（園冶 The craft of gardens）, a treatise on classical Chinese garden-making authored by
the noted garden maker Ji Cheng of the Ming dynasty during the fifteenth century, the concept of jiejing
was first advanced. Ji Cheng says,

The ingenuity of a garden lies in that it conforms（to the natural

conditions of the site）and borrows（existing features thereof）. In early eighteenth century, renowned
garden making scholar Li Yu of the Qing dynasty, in his Yi jia yan（一家言, Views from one school ofthought）, also explicates the principle that finding views lies in virtue of borrowing.
The advancement of the theory and techniques of jiejing marks a significant contribution to theclassical garden making. Borrowing of scenery is not merely a means of increasing the depth of field but
also an important landscaping principle. It allows the creation of the garden to transcend the physical andnon-physical confines of a restricted garden space and avail itself of all scenic elements around―far, near,or opportune―so as to reap the full benefit of the views drawn from beyond the garden enclosure and toincrease the aesthetic value of the garden itself.
In Yuan ye, Ji Cheng has the following to say on borrowed scenery in the chapter On Construction :On the issue of borrowing, although the garden proper discriminates the interior fromthe exterior, the garden's acquirement of views does not―be they nearby or far away.
Clear mountains that tower graciously in the distance, rosy clouds that ride high above
the sky, or even the crisscrossed paddy fields that loom in the misty rain―any fineprospect visible to the eyes should be drawn in; those that are unsightly, however,should be screened（off the view）（. Borrowing as）such is what I call ingenious and seemly.

24This is to say thatborrowing

predicates itself on the garden ground and draw on the contributory

features―both complementary and complimentary―from beyond the garden's boundary, which areincorporated into the garden's own landscape makeup.
The borrowing of scenery means an extension of the garden that is traditionally encompassed by tallwalls and ostensibly inaccessible to the outside world. Borrowed scenery breaks such enclosure andplaces the garden in contact with its outer environment through the connection between the internal andexternal scenic prospects. The integral concept embodied in borrowed scenery is an invaluable andJiejing is the mostessential in the make of a garden.
In designing and creating a garden's scenery, borrowing only relates to the views that are taken infrom outside the garden. Reciprocal interactions among the interior scenes that originate with the garden
proper are not warranted as borrowing. What is borrowed is tohave what one does not own. To

address the compositional relationship among the scenes within the garden confines, other techniques are
employed, such as duijing（對景）―offsetting scenery, zhangjing（障景）―screening scenery, and dianjing（點景）―spot scenery. Spot scenery refers to the small, discrete embellishment planted to fill up a blankspace in the garden, animate a dead corner in the courtyard, or serve as an adornment at the turn of apathway. Offsetting scenery and screening scenery are two antithetical approaches in defining scenic
relationship: an offsetting scene links two or
more scenic space cells in the garden by
establishing a corresponding counterpointview（Figures 2 and 3）, while a screening
scene compartmentalizes a garden space
into different scenic cells of usually
distinctly different thematic subjects.

Fig.2
Sketch showing a taihu rock placed on the far
side of a doorway, which serves as an offsetting
scene to the entrance hall of garden Jichang
Yuan, Wuxi.

25

Yang Hongxun

fundamental ideology in Chinese garden making, as Ji Cheng remarks in Yuan ye:

In Ji Cheng's Yuan ye, occasionally the ornate prose style of the language compromises the substance ofthe content and ambiguity of certain concepts transpires, particularly in the notion between borrowed
scenery and offsetting scenery. At places in his discussion, some scenic features coming from within thegarden are inaptly described as borrowed scenes. For instance,
dreamy willow,

andflakes of drifting petals,a grove of green plantain partially revealed outside the window

threads ofshould not beclassified as borrowed scenery, as are in Yuan ye, for they are but part of the vegetation disposition of thegarden. Instead, scenes such as the dreamy willow and a grove of green plantain are more likely to
Yang Hongxun

be duijing―offsetting views, which function as a correlative counterpoint scene from the viewer's
perspective.
Considering the realistic significance and relevance of jiejing, we deem it necessary to further clarify
scientifically and impart accurately the intrinsic meaning of this important garden-making concept.
In Yuan ye, borrowed scenery is classified into four types: yuanjie（遠借）―distant scenery, linjie（鄰借）―nearby scenery, yangjie（仰借）―scenery above, and fujie（俯借）―scenery below. Rigorously
speaking, however, there should be simply three types: distant scenery, nearby scenery, and yingshi erjie（應時而借）― opportune scenery.
Borrowed scenery stands for a compositional relationship between the garden and the views taken infrom beyond the garden, and the classification of borrowed scenery should proceed from such an objective
structural relationship rather than the subjective behavior of the viewer. For example, differences inspatial distance create views that are far away and those that are nearby, which therefore gives rise to thedefinitions of

distant sceneryandnearby scenery.

In Yuan ye, Ji Cheng classifies the following

scenes as yangjie, or scenes captured when the viewer looks up:
A line of fleeting egrets comes into view upon lifting up my eyes
and,Raise my lone cup（of wine）to invite（the company of）the bright moon;
He classifies these next scenes as fujie, or scenes obtained when the viewer looks down:
Lean over the grass to listen to the whispering insects
and,Look down at the flowing stream to admire the play of the moon's reflection.
Nevertheless, scenes complemented or set off by such transient, variable natural occurrences such as
those described above should be categorized based on their yingshi（應時）, oropportune,

naturerather than the viewer's physical activity―looking up or looking down, which leads to the bipolardefinitions ofscenery above

andscenery below.

Opportune scenes are a gift from nature that isbeyond the control and contrivance of people's subjective manner. Intelligibly then, it is expediently
opportune of

the fleeting egrets,

the bright moon,

the whispering insects,

andthe play of thereflection in the water to come across our eyes and complement the garden views with added aesthetic value.

26

Fig.3
The Luojiting Pavilion viewed frominside the waterfront Huafang Zhai（畫舫齋 Pleasure-Boat House）in
Yi Yuan（怡園 Garden of Delight）,
Suzhou, affords an offsetting viewthat interrelates the two garden
spaces.

Yang Hongxun

Fig.4
The distant Western Hill borrowedby the Summer Palace, Beijing, isincorporated in the backgroundscenery.

27

Examples of the borrowing of distant scenery include Yihe Yuan（頤和園）―better known as the Summer
Palace―in Beijing, which borrows the view of the Western Hill（Figure 4）; Zhuozheng Yuan（拙政園）―
Garden of the Inept Politician―in Suzhou, which borrows the view of Beisita Pagoda（Figure 5）; and
Jichang Yuan（寄暢園）in Wuxi, which borrows the view of Longguangta Pagoda on the XishanHill(Figure 6）.

Yang Hongxun

Fig.5
The Beisita Pagoda looming in the distance blends in the backgroundof Zhuozheng Yuan, Suzhou.

Fig.6
The Longguangta Pagoda on the
distant Xishan Hill is drawn in
into the backdrop of Jichang
Yuan, Wuxi.

Examples of the borrowing of nearby scenery include
Zhuozheng Yuan in Suzhou, which borrows the view of
Yilliangting Pavilion from the adjoining garden, Bu
Yuan（補園）（Figure 7）; Jichang Yuan in Wuxi, which
borrows the view of the Huishan Hill（Figure 8）;
Canglang Ting（滄浪亭）in Suzhou, which borrows
the waterscape outside the garden（Figure 9）. As forthe borrowing of opportune scenery, examples areomnipresent―a floating cloud, a glowing rainbow,
flying wild geese, colors of turning leaves, a full moon,
falling snow, swift-flowing waters, dancing butterflies,
sunset, trilling crickets, so on and so forth, which
defies enumeration.

Fig.7
Sketch showing the Yiliangting Pavilion from the adjoining
garden, Bu Yuan, which is borrowed as a complementary
view to Zhuozheng Yuan, Suzhou.

28

Fig.8The adjacent hilly scenery of
Huishan is taken in by Jichang
Yuan, Wuxi.

Yang Hongxun

Fig.9
The pond alongside the exterior ofgarden Canglang Ting, Suzhou,
affords a waterscape for garden
visitors.

29

The Historical Origin of the Concept of Borrowed Scenery
Chinese garden making has a long history, which can be traced back to as early as the Shang dynasty inthe sixteenth century B.C. According to the archeological findings that have uncovered the ruins of the
Shang capital（in today's city of Yanshi in Henan Province）, the remains of a garden pool were found in
the rear courtyard of the king's palace. In the eleventh century B.C. during the late Shang period when
the capital was moved to Yin（today city of Anyang in Henan Province）, an imperial retreat palace wasYang Hongxun

built in the environs of the capital, availing itself of the landscapes of the nearby pleasant scenery of the
Huan River. This can be considered a nascent practice of jiejing.
In the third century B.C., with the unprecedented formation of the unified vast empire of the Qin
dynasty, creation of palatial gardens was all the more inflated into making prodigious pleasure grounds
that covered massive amount of land. The new imperial palace designed for the founding emperor of Qinin the capital city Xianyang in Shaanxi Province was actually a monumental palatial architectural villagethat spread over three hundred li.

It was in effect a super-size imperial yuanlin that was incorporated

with the sceneries of the natural mountains and rivers in the region.
By now, the idea and techniques that addressed the garden's connection with its scenic environment
had basically taken shape. Take the construction of the aforementioned Qin's new imperial palace as an
example: the front hall of the palace―the legendary

A Fang(阿房）―was so designed that its front

central axial view was extending all the way into the South Mountains that were miles away, reachingexactly between the two grandest peaks of the mountains, which were taken to personify the que（闕）ofthis expansive palatial spectacle（que, pronounced

chiueh,are traditionally the two stone towers

symmetrically erected in front of the main gate of an imperial palace）. This device of drawing in the
distant view from an area that was far removed from the planned structural periphery and incorporating it
as a compositional constituent into the established architectural landscape is in fact an execution ofjiejing, which theorized in Yuan ye nearly two thousand years later. Again, the borrowed scenery acts
as the scenic connection between the designed artificial structure and its outer natural environment.
The guiding ideology of creating a greater environment that extends itself through association with its
extramural landscape was also applied in other architectural projects of the Qin empire. For instance, inthe creation of Jieshi Gong（碣石宮）, an outlying imperial palace otherwise known as theGate to the

Nation that was built on the coast by the East China Sea（Bohai）, a pair of large sea-born rock pillars
jutting up in the offing were adopted to complement the peripheral structure and serve symbolically as thetwo que towers of this majestic seaward palace（Figures 10.1-10.2）.

30

Yang Hongxun

Fig.10.1 An aerial view of the restored imperial palace, Jieshi Gong, built on the coast of the East China Sea during the
Qin dynasty, which takes the two natural sea-born rock pillars as the que gate to the palace.

Fig.10.2

Gate to the Nation, the two sea-born rock pillars taken as the que towers at the symbolic gate of the palace.

The Qin-established greater environment design concept that unified the man-made structure with its
natural environment has been carried on as a tradition in many imperial architectural undertakings of later
periods. In the A.D. sixth century during the Sui dynasty, Renshou Gong（仁壽宮）, an imperial summer
palace built in a scenic area amid natural mountains, was a commendable creation that conformed to thegreater environment concept. Better known as Jiucheng Gong（九成宮）, which was renamed during theTang dynasty, the resplendent Renshou Gong took advantage of the surrounding fine views of theundulating mountain peaks that were perceivable through the doors and windows of the palatial halls andchambers. Similarly, when the profligate Emperor Yang of the Sui dynasty built his second capital in
Luoyang, Henan Province, at the beginning of the seventh century, the new metropolis was positioned toreap the view of the distant Yi River valley, whose bilateral elevations stood as the symbolic que gate to the
new capital. This nature-lent feature was incorporated into the far prospect at the southernmost end of thecity's elongate central axis, which dramatically extended the perceived scale of the city and intensified thesublimity of the capital well attuned to the awe-inspiring imperial sovereignty.

31Carrying forward the Concept of Borrowed Scenery―Integration of Artificial and Natural Environments
The concept and techniques of jiejing in the realm of garden-making have far transcended the significanceof garden-making itself. They have in actuality revealed an environmental design ideology that combines
the two opposite worlds― nature and artificiality. This revelation has provided us with significant
Yang Hongxun

referential value toward our present and future efforts in constructing a gardenized, ecological living
environment, which the human race has always aspired towards―consciously or intuitively―ever since
the early civilization when we severed ourselves from a life once at home with the mountains and forests innature. Advances in civilization and materialism have drifted man away from nature but have not changed
man's love of nature, and gardens and gardenized environments are a product born of man's affinity tonature.
A sensible living environment for man is one that becomes one with the natural environment.
Structurally, future urban areas should be so planned that they integrate man's habitat with his natural
surroundings, which, in other words, is to draw in the virtue and beauty of nature into man-madestructures. This is an inevitable trend in which the concept of borrowed scenery will be carried forward
and play a key role in the development of future gardenized urbanism.

32

Ⅱ−2 KEYNOTE SPEECH

Renaissance Gardens and French Gardens
Comparisons of Landscapes
NAKAMURA Makoto
Visiting Professor
Kyoto University of Art and Design

In the history of European gardens, symmetry was consistently the garden design principle up until thedevelopment of the early 18th century French garden. With respect to landscapes viewed from thegardens, however, one can observe dramatic changes over time. The Italian Renaissance terrace-garden
and the French baroque garden, in particular, showed marked development in terms of landscape.
Before the Renaissance, namely during
ancient and medieval times, gardens in thecities were completely "enclosed," making it
impossible to see any landscape beyond thegarden. However, it is evident from theletters of Pliny the Younger that thelandscapes viewed through windows ofbuildings and from the gardens were highly
appreciated at the aristocrats' country villas.
2. Landscape viewed from the ItalianFig.1 Terrace Graden, Italy 1

Renaissance garden
The landscape that extended far down the hilland beyond the garden of the Italian
Renaissance villa was of unprecedentedly
distinctive nature. Beyond the garden, says
Alberti, describing the location of villas in"The Ten Books of Architecture," is the city,
beyond which are farm villages, and in the far
distance from the villages are the mountains.
This is the composition of the landscape as
seen from the villas of those days. In thisFig.2 Terrace Graden, Italy 2

35

NAKAMURA Makoto

1. Introduction

NAKAMURA Makoto

Fig.3 Terrace Graden, Italy 3

landscape, one could enjoy a clear view of the city and the farm villages. The development of thislandscape design apparently originated from the growth of inter-city transactions and the expansion of theworld that liberated humanity came to enjoy in the Renaissance period.
The Italian Renaissance garden, which is called the terrace-garden, had several terraces over a hillslope that were connected with each other in an organic fashion by beautifully designed stairs. Thisgarden style is characterized by the landscapes that unravel one after another when one goes up from one
terrace to another as well as by the method of emphasizing the landscapes by expanding or narrowing thevista of the garden.
3. Landscape viewed from the French garden
After the Renaissance period, a number of attempts were made in vain to incorporate the Italian terracegarden into the French environment. One of the reasons for this failure is that land is generally flat inFrance and is not suitable for the construction of terrace-gardens. Another reason, which is more
important, is the rise of huge gardens as a symbol of tremendous royal power. It can be assumed that thiswas an inevitable development under the absolute regal government that appeared during a shift fromfeudalism to capitalism.
In terms of landscape, the major characteristic of French gardens as represented by the garden of
Versailles Palace is that one can see nothing but a vast garden, with no background or borrowed landscapewhatsoever. The entire landscape is enclosed in the garden and is monopolized by the king. Thisabsolutism of the garden space makes the French garden fundamentally different from the Italian
Renaissance garden. In France in those days, the king, who held absolute power, was the symbol of the36

Fig.4 Garden, France 1
NAKAMURA Makoto

Fig.5 Garden, France 2

Fig.6 Garden, France 3

37

public. In the same way, the French garden, an immense and absolute space that denied any landscapebeyond its boundaries, epitomized the feudalistic public life. As it turned out, however, it was a sign of theemergence of public landscape in modern times. In fact, it functioned as a pioneering model for thecreation of modern landscape in Paris in the 19th century.
4. Comparison of the landscapes provided by the two styles of gardens
Since both the Italian Renaissance garden and the French garden were created in the process of dialectic
development of European gardens, it is inappropriate to make a simple comparison of the two. In terms oflandscape, however, it can be pointed out that the Italian garden provided not just natural landscape but aprospect for a future-oriented cultural scene relevant to the expanding worldview of the day.
The French garden, on the other hand, materialized the gargantuan fiction of the monopolizing oflandscape, which is an important feature that was inherited and preserved by subsequent English
NAKAMURA Makoto

landscape gardens that appeared under the capitalist regime. The period of absolutism, which made theemergence of the French garden possible, was an era in which one can observe the shift from feudalism tocapitalism. At the same time, however, the French garden raises one of the most contemporary issues: thepublic nature of landscape.

Fig.7 Terrace Graden, Italy 4

38

From Paradise to Picturesque
Changing design vocabularies of Mughal gardens in India
Priyaleen Singh
Department of Conservation
School of Planning and Architecture

Human relationship with nature, has found expression in all civilizations, manifesting itself in myriad ways,
articulating the cultural aspects of the people, the place and the time. One such beautiful expression ofthis relationship with nature in the Islamic culture was that of the paradise garden which developed in avery sophisticated and refined manner in the Mughal period in Indian history from the sixteenth century
became an integral part of fort and palace complexes as well as of the larger urban landscape. The charbagh essentially means a quartered garden. It derives from the fact that the easiest way to irrigate a pieceof land is by dividing it into squares. But this very simple geometry developed into the highly stylized
design form with a range of underlying symbolisms and meanings − both religious and secular in thegardens of the Mughals in India as also elsewhere in the Islamic world.
Garden design was a grand imperial heritage with the Mughals. Babur, the first Mughal emperor is
known to have preferred building gardens to palaces and enjoyed camping in gardens rather than residing
in permanently constructed palaces. For him the manipulation of natural

untamedlandscape into arational, ordered creation was a metaphor for his ability to govern over the land and the people, where
garden building also helped mark out places of beauty, religious values and territorial control. The design
vocabularies adopted, additionally helped impose a familiar spatial and aesthetic order in a foreign land,thus reinforcing the conquerors tenuous senseof identity in a foreign land.i Under imperial
patronage the char bagh became the model for
all garden design not only in the Mughal empire
but also influenced significantly, over the next
threehundredyears,

severalothercontemporary provincial garden design styles ofthe smaller kingdoms of the Bundelas, Rajputs,
Jats and the Sikhs. The importance of the charbagh garden in the period is evident in theinitiative to use gardens as sites for entombmentof imperial family members and important Fig.1 Kesar bagh, Amber, Rajasthan

39

Priyaleen Singhonwards. As an essential vocabulary in the architecture and urban planning of the time, the char bagh

nobles. In understanding the Mughal gardens from thefunctional standpoint, two broad typologies of gardens canbe identified − the pleasure gardens and the tomb
gardens. Often gardens would function as pleasuregardens in the lifetime of the royalty and become tomb
gardens on their death. The gardens over a period of time
were established as new centers for courtly life. Becauseof the climate they functioned as outdoor rooms with arange of activities, which normally would be held indoors,
taking place within them. Mughal miniature paintings ofthe time are a valuable record of the cultural life unfolding
against the backdrop of these gardens. They depict
garden feasts and celebrations under awnings or within
pavilions, carpets laid out to receive dignitaries, exchangeof gifts with foreign emissaries and other forms ofrecreation such as wrestling and animal antics.
Aurangzeb, the last of the famous Mughal emperors was
Priyaleen Singh

Fig.2 Dara Shikoh relaxing in a garden pavilion
Mughal miniature:c.1725

also crowned in a garden in Delhi before ascending thethrone in 1658 A.D.

The gardens were not mere expressions of refined aesthetics or fulfilled social functions, but had a strong
utilitarian dimension to them too. The fruit trees of the gardens of Taj Mahal, as also the other imperial
gardens, are known to have been auctioned annually to contribute to the finances necessary for the upkeepof the gardens. The gardens were also centers of experimentation and botanical studies, where exotic
fruits and other flora were introduced. Court historians record the pineapple received from the Portugese
being introduced in the imperial gardens in Agra first by Emperor Jehangir in the early seventeenth
century.ii The Babur nama, chronicling the life of Emperor Babur, is also known as the first illustrated
Natural History of India. It contains a large number of studies of natural life that are infused with not just a
sense of wonder at the new flora and fauna being discovered but also reveal an element of scientificenquiry.
To appreciate the design vocabularies adopted within the Mughal gardens it is necessary to understandthe very interesting synthesis between religious orthodoxy and imperial symbolism that Mughal garden
design represents. While religions are known to have shaped the landscapes of the world, the landscapesin turn have also shaped religion. For a Muslim practicing Islam, a religion originating from the desert,
worldly life was just a pilgrimage before reaching paradise, just as after a hard journey through the desert
one would reach the comforts of a garden. For the Muslim mystic, the garden was a miraculous Godly
reflection, while for the orthodox Muslim, the garden was the rewarding paradise promised in the Quran.iii
For both the ideal of the paradise garden became the char bagh. The result was a design replete withmeanings and symbolisms, some literal and others metaphorical of a paradisiacal experience. For
example one of the most common expressions of paradise seen in carpets, tiles, embroideries andpaintings is that of the entwined cypress and fruit tree, symbolizing life and eternity, that was taken

40Priyaleen Singh

Fig.3 Humyun's tomb garden, Delhi:
The symbolism of water

directly from the garden avenues. Water as a symbol of eternal life was also implied in the image ofparadise as an irrigated garden. The four water channels within the garden not only symbolized the four
rivers of life, but their intersection also represented the meeting of human beings and God. At Humayuns tomb garden the association is all the more explicit, as the water channels vanish beneath themausoleum to appear in the same straight course on the opposite side, evoking a Quranic verse that
describes

rivers flowing beneath gardens of paradise .iv Similarly in the fountain design in the later

Mughal gardens, when water bubbled it spoke of the origin, the beginning of the source of life and as it
seeped into the earth it evoked the cyclicity of life. It is interesting to note that while Humayun s tomb sits
at the cross axis in the center of the garden, a position according to one interpretation matching thelocation of Gods throne above the gardens of paradise, in the Taj Mahal complex this location has theEmperor s throne from where he could view the Taj Mahal.v
To understand the visual composition in Mughal gardens two other typologies of garden design emerge −the gardens in the hills and the gardens in the plains. The gardens of the hills were more extrovert intheir layout where they borrowed extensively from the scenery around. In Srinagar, the Dal lake and themountains across are an integral part of the experience of the Shalimar and Nishat gardens. The gardensof the plains on the other hand were more introvert with a very visible boundary wall cutting off the hostileand hot environment and instead creating an environment of their own within. But here too, whenever
there was an element that would contribute to the visual experience and symbology within the garden, thegarden was opened up to it. In Humayun s tomb, sited on the west banks of the river Yamuna, a pavilion

41was designed to overlook the river and theboundary wall reduced along that edge toinclude the river in the experience of thegarden.

In the gardens of Taj Mahal acompletely new approach toborrowed

scenery was adopted where the tomb garden
was designed as a part of a larger complex that
extended to embrace an entire river and thelandscape beyond within its composition. Thislarger complex consisted of the Taj ganj and a
Fig.4 Pinjaur gardens: Borrowed scenery of the hills beyond

forecourt to the south of the char bagh, andthe river Yamuna and Mehtab bagh across to the north. The Taj Mahal complex bears testimony to a
design tradition where the gardens, the mausoleum and the wider landscape were so integrated that it wasdifficult to imagine one without the other.
An understanding of the idea and the vision of the designer reveals that the full view of the Taj Mahal wasmeant to be enjoyed from only two locations. The first view was from the threshold and platform at thePriyaleen Singh

south entrance gateway. The second, relatively unknown but most important view was from the northfrom the Mehtab bagh across the river. With an emphasis on a changing visual experience within thegardens, the views were linked by a carefully scripted and choreographed path. Here the height of thevarious platforms, the walkways, the sunken beds, the location of trees within, the selection of other plant
species, the axial arrangement of the water channels and their carefully calculated widths, were all criticalto the composition.vi The narrow inner path around the central water channel was for the exclusive use by
the Emperor, to walk on a hot Agra summer day in the cooling comfort of the fountain spray. It was not anedge to the pool as is commonly perceived today. The platform in the center was also for the exclusive useof the Emperor with a direct access from the central walkway. The best views of the Taj Mahal were fromhere and from across the river from Mehtab Bagh, both of which were the Emperors exclusive domain. In
the process the river in between also became an essential part of the scenery.
Mehtab bagh meaning moonlight garden was designed as a pleasure garden across the river meant to beviewed especially at night. It would indeed have been magical to view the Taj Mahal against a moonlit sky,from a pavilion in the Mehtab bagh with the reflection of the mausoleum in the octagonal pool, the sweet
smell of the white kamini flowers and the song of the nightingale wafting through the air. Flowers in
Islamic culture, as symbols of the divine realm are often described in Persian poetry as springing from thewaters of paradise.vii Flowers and fragrance thus became essential features of the paradise gardens.
From other points from within the char bagh the Taj Mahal would have been visible in parts with theminarets rising above the trees. In continuation with the narrative of paradise, this was a deliberate ploy tocreate the effect of the mausoleum to be poised above ground, the minarets symbolically connecting to theheavens. It also made Taj Mahal appear as a light ethereal structure, inspite of its grand monumental
scale.

42

Order and symmetry were two other parameters determining the layout of the char bagh in the Mughal
period. In the Taj Mahal gardens both the buildings and the plantation within conformed to a grid, evident
in Hodgson s plan of 1799 A.D. that is perhaps one of the earliest survey drawings of the site available.
But the grid extended far beyond the immediate garden to include the Taj Ganj at one end and the Mehtab
bagh at the other.
The whole experience of viewing the Taj Mahal changed in the late 19th century in colonial India because
of introduction of new vocabularies of design that were essentially derived from another culture andanother context. The new aesthetic preferences and ideologies that came from England in fact changed
not only the gardens of Taj Mahal but also the entire view of nature and landscape design in India.
Design in England, seventeenth century onwards, was guided by the

picturesque , a view which

influenced painting and landscape design alike. The picturesque was introduced in India through thepaintings of artists like William Hodges and the Daniells and published works such as Oriental scenery
by Daniells, Pictureque tour along the river Ganges and Jumna in India by Charles Forrest and Views
in the Himala Mountains by James Baillie Fraser. The ruins of architectural monuments were invariably
an integral part of the compositions. A facet of this interest in antiquarian and archaeological pursuits
was seen in the design of landscapes when English style gardens were laid around existing monuments
in 1926 A.D. as an English landscape garden, using the Lodi tombs of the fifteenth century as follies, theTaj and other historic Mughal gardens in the care of institutions such as the Archaeological Survey ofIndia (ASI) acquired completely different vocabularies.
The ASI was set up in 1862 A.D. by the British, initially to survey and catalogue India s ancientmonuments and later at the turn of the century to undertake their conservation. With engineers at thehelm of affairs of most British institutions set up at the time, landscape schemes of the time were based on
manuals prepared by Agricultural and Horticultural Societies. So while in the early nineteenth century
British artists created the romantic view of Taj Mahal, early twentieth century saw drastic changes in thegardens that replaced the paradisiacal views the paintings had earlier portrayed. The ASI with its
engineering skills was governed by other cultural and aesthetic demands of which the cultural themes of

Fig.5 The Taja Mahal, Agra Aquatint by William
and Thomas Daniell, 1789 A.D.

Fig.6 The Taj Mahal, Agra taken in the garden Aquatint
with hand colouring by Thomas and William Daniell,
1801 A.D.

43

Priyaleen Singh

which were treated as follies . But while Lodi gardens was one such site developed by Lady Willingdon

the original concept were not in any way a part of. The garden was in fact put to a number of uses vastlydifferent from its original use. There is evidence of the gardens becoming a favorite resort for Agra s
cantonments in the evenings while the regimental band played on the mausoleum terrace. There is alsomention of picnics and moonlight parties, of morning walks, exercising within the garden and of playing
sports on the terrace of the mausoleum. The Mehtab bagh was used as elegant camping grounds .viii
The visual experience within the gardens began to change first when A.B.Westland took charge of the Taj
Mahal gardens in 1891 A.D.. By this time over a long period of neglect and periodic flooding of the riverthe Mehtab bagh had all but disappeared, taking away with it all traces of the original concept. The charbagh of the Taj Mahal was now viewed in isolation as an independent entity with a diminishing relationshipwith the river. It in a way turned its back to the river. While the mausoleum had initially stood in thecenter of the grand complex, it was now seen to be located at the edge of the garden. Historical studies
have also till very recently rationalized this location ignoring and undermining the role of the river as
being central to the theme of borrowed scenery .
Within the gardens, A.B.Westland s dictum, no stiff nor continuous screen be allowed to impede theview of the tombencouraged athinning out

policy.ix The natural look orappealing to the artists a few decades earlier, was replaced by aPriyaleen Singhvocabulary of

lawns

and

neat seasonal beds

rampant disorder , sowell maintained look by engaging thewhich catered to the then prevalent English tastes inlandscape design. This was done inspite of the knowledge that in the Indian climate a stretch of lawn is in
ecological terms an unsound proposition compared to a grove of trees, as it makes high demands on themaintenance and water resources and provides no benefits such as shade. The gardens of Taj Mahal
received much attention after 1901 A.D. under Lord Curzon, then Viceroy of India.x In the process, while
the gardens weremaintained

theirhistoricity

was lost.xi Schemes continually made in 1906 A.D.,

1914 A.D., 1923 A.D. planned neat lawns, borders, rockeries and trellises.xii The changes in the ambience
were not just confined to the visual. The preferences of the British also contrasted sharply with theolfactory tastes of the Indians. The artist William Hodges painting the views of the Taj Mahal was
repelled by the overpowering perfume within,xiii as a result of which the gardens of the Taj Mahal lostout on all the scents and fragrances that would have significantly contributed to the sensuous experienceof the char bagh of the Mughal period. While the garden did retain colour, it was restricted to the annuals
or seasonals that were confined to the flower beds along the edges of paths. The colour schemes adopted
were also vastly different from the original bright yellows and reds of Tagetes, Marigolds and Hibiscus,that were replaced by paler shades of lilac . What was lost was a Mughal garden that had been originallydesigned to respect all the human senses and had encouraged a participatory relationship with nature. The
Taj Mahal gardens also lost out on all the meanings, views, symbolisms and most importantly theexperience of paradise.
What we have today in the gardens of Taj Mahal is a post colonial interpretation of a colonial intervention
in a Mughal garden. The colonial legacy also implies that all landscape schemes within historic gardens,
be they Mughal, Buddhist or Hindu, continue to have the same vocabularies of lawns and the ubiquitous
Bougainvilleas within. And in the surroundings unplanned development continues to change the physicaland ecological context. Today, in Humayun s tomb the river over time has receded by over 2 kms. For
several years the land was used as a garbage dumping site and only recently has been converted to a park.

44

Priyaleen Singh

Fig.7 The gardens of Taj Mahal today

A railway line built by the British, adjoining the tomb, however continues to be an integral and unavoidable
part of the borrowed scenery .
In the Taj Mahal complex, while the river has stayed on course, it is the lack of vision by the planners andpoliticians that has resulted in the infamous

Taj corridor controversy , where the development

authorities had proposals of reclaiming land along the river and building plazas as a backdrop to the Taj.
Its status as a World Heritage Site and its high visibility have saved the Taj today. But other historicgardens have not been so lucky. There are innumerable historic gardens that have fallen prey tounplanned urbanization and the accompanying land speculation that have altered the contexts beyond
recognition. In Delhi what were once verdant greens in urban areas have totally disappeared or havebecome little more than green specks in the urban jungle.
With changing contexts and vocabularies it is evident that in India, design with nature has come a longway from being a subject complete with social meanings and intents, to an object merely to be viewed. In
the secular world of today there is an urgent need to recover and retrieve these paradisiacal experiences
imbibed in the Mughal gardens, not merely as a plea for historic authenticity, but because they are also
representations of a richer and wholesome human existence.
Acknowledgement: The text pertaining to the Taj Mahal is developed from the research conducted for
TMCC (Taj Mahal Conservation Collaborative).

45

――――――――――――――――――――――
i

Wescoat, J. 1991 Landscapes of Conquest and Transformation: Lessons learnt from the earliest Mughal gardens in India

1526-1530 in Landscape journal Vol 10 No 2 pgs 105-114
Habib, Irfan. 1996

ii

Economic and Social asopects of Mughal gardens

in Wescoat, J (ed) Mughal gardens: sources,

places, representations and prospects. Washington D.C.: Trustees for Harvard university.
Evyapan, G.A. 1986. pg 10-15

iii

The Intrinsic values of the Traditional Anatolian Turkish garden

in Petrociolli,A.(ed)The City as a Garden. Environmental Design. Journal of the Islamic Environmental Design Research Centre.
Wescoat, J. 1986 The Islamic Garden: Issues for landscape research in Petruciolli, A (ed) The Garden as a City. pgs 10-

iv

19.
v

Asher,C. 1992. New Cambridge history of India. Cambridge: Cambridge university press.

vi

Singh, Priyaleen, 2002 Gardens of Taj Mahal : Concept Plan . Taj Mahal Conservation Collaborative. Unpublished reportvii

Leoshko 1989 pg 63

Mausoleum for an Empress in Pal, P (ed) Romance of the Taj Mahal. New Delhi: Times Books

International.
Moynihan, E. 2000. The moonlight garden: new discoveries at the Taj Mahal. Washington D.C.: Arthur M. Sackler

viiigallery, Smithsonian institution. Pg. 30

Priyaleen Singhix

Desmond, Ray. 1992. The European discovery of the Indian flora. New York: Oxford University Press.

x

Raleigh, T.S. 1906 pg 198 Lord Curzon in India. London: Macmillan. .

xiVilliers Stuart C. 1983 (1913 reprint) pg 62 Gardens of the Great Mughals. New Delhi: Cosmo publications.

xii

Singh, Priyaleen. 1998 Changing attitudes to Design with nature: the Urban Indian context. PhD theisi, University ofYork, U.K. (Unpublished thesis)
xiii

Desmond, Ray ibid pg 282

46

The Technique of Borrowed
Scenery (Shakkei) in Korean Garden
Key Soo Choi
Professor, University of Seoul, College of Urban Sciences,
School of Architecture, Urban Planning & Landscape Architecture

Korean gardens constructed within its environmental context
Since the Korean cultural inheritance is mostly made of wood, we have to go back to the era when theremains have been still preserved. Therefore, the investigating target on the technique of borrowed
scenery, which has been one of major techniques among Korean gardens, would be the cultural
inheritance of Chosun Dynasty era about 600 years ago. First, approximately 70% land of Korea as thepeninsular country is composed of mountains. The climate of Korea is temperate with four seasons. Thechange of season is gradual but distinct. With its natural condition, the entire country of topography isgeological backbone（正幹）, and 13 sub-geological ranges（正脈）in the basis of mountain ranges andthe drainage divide between the western and eastern slopes. I would like to explain the factual aspects
that each different culture was developed based on the Korea's topography with the ideologicalbackground of Confucianism during the period of Chosun Dynasty.
The technique of borrowed scenery from an angle of location
Looking at a relationship with the nature in selecting the location of a city, a village, and a temple, thelocation had been selected based upon a traditional ideology that emphasized the harmonization with thenature and Confucianism that included Confucius manners and Feng Sui philosophical ideology.
Even though Korea is peninsular, mountains are about 70% of topography.
- The best location was thought as the living near the streams, which was known as the best land, theliving near the rivers and the oceans in this order.
Topographically, the scenery of mountains is a major element.
- Mountains became the subjects of worship and many different cultures were developed upon mountains.
- After selecting a guardian mountain, the location of city was selected through environment from Feng Sui
philosophical ideology and psychological complementation for the purpose of carrying on well-balanced
life.

47

Key Soo Choi

formed of one major geological backbone（大幹）which is so called Backdudaegan（白頭大幹）, one sub-

<Example 1 ― City> - Naturally introduced the technique of borrowed scenery under the harmonizationof the nature and falling into the nature.
Many cities were located upon placing a guardian mountain. ― For example, Seoul as a present nation's
capital was called Hanyang（漢陽）during Chosun Dynasty. It was located upon a guardian mountaincalled Mt. Samgak （三角山）from Backdudaegan that was the geological backbone that divided the
Korean topography by East and West.
- The most centered place was a major palace, so Mt. Buckak（北岳山）was selected as a guardian
mountain in order to place the Kyungbok palace（景宮）as a palace where a lawful wife of a kingstayed.
- The most centered place surrounded by four mountains in the inner and in the outer circle of the capitalfrom the concept of Jangpoung Duksu（藏風得水）, which the wind should be enclosed within mountains
and the water should be coming in but not being seen as running out, was the location of the major palace.
- The palace was placed in an area with a mountain behind and looking at water, so it was located in thesite of Mt. Buckak as a guardian mountain behind, a propitious site of small stream called Chunggaechun（溪川）running from West to East, and unwanted water of Han River, which crossed the city from East

to West.
- The king's bedroom of the major palace called Kyotaejeon（交泰殿）was structured of Mt. Ami（蛾眉山）upon Feng Sui philosophical ideology and built 4 stages of the flowering stairs（花階）upon
Confucius manners. This place was decorated with a flowering brick wall, a hexagonal chimney, an oddly
shaped stone, a stony pond, and so forth as gardening structures. On the stony pond, Hamwallji（涵月池）Key Soo Choi

and Nakhadam（落霞潭）were engraved. Hamwallji was meant as a moon sinking pond and Nakhadam
was meant as a glow of sunset sinking pond.
- Kyunghaeru（慶曾樓）was constructed as well as located in the harmonization of natural condition in a
mountain behind. Around Kyunghaeru, the water was blocked so that the neighboring nature wasreflected upon by the technique of borrowed scenery.
<Example 2 ― Village> - The location of a village upon a rank, a manner, and a view of nature and agarden with a main and a guest wing of a house.
According to the Bokgauchongron（ト居總論）of Tackriji（擇里志）published during 17th century, whena site has a geographical feature, profits, hearts of people, and a beautiful landscape on about couple milesof road, it was thought of being a good place to live.
The head of family house was situated in the best site of the village called Daksil in Bonghwa of Kyungbuk
Province. Therefore, looking at topographical features, the qualities of a land would be decided upon theideology of similar material and type or the ideology of good quality objects. Upon the rank of the family, asecond son and so forth were located in the village in that order.
- Since Korean buildings were leaned against mountains, they were formed with a house in the front anda garden behind the house. Moreover, this family was taken a formation of living alive and staying deadcalled Sanggeosayue（生居死留）in the same place.
- They have the best scenic place of Utopia called Chunghadongchun（
Sukchunjungsa（石泉霞洞天）and in this place,舍）was placed in teaching young scholars and being seen people who

medicated in the nature.

48

< Example 3 ― Temple> - The landscape demonstrated upon falling into a mountain.
It was approximately 1,500 years ago when temples began building such as from temples built on flat to on
the edge of mountains. During Chosun Dynasty, a national policy was set on worshipping Confucianism
but suppressing Buddhism. At present, mostly temples built on mountainous areas are still existed.
Unlike many buildings affected by Confucianism against the major mountains, temples still exist in major
mountains and the outlook of universe from Buddhism was applied to the arrangements of temples.
Facilities that obtained various effects of the technique of borrowed scenery
Since Korean garden was situated and constructed by adopting the nature, the features of borrowed
scenery could be seen in almost all facilities. Particularly, various types of technique of borrowed scenery
were demonstrated in the buildings of Lu（樓）and Jungja（亭子）.
< Example 1 ― Lu（a two-storied house）and Jungja（a pavilion）> - A location with the appearance of
100 Li（approximately 30 miles）and the use of various techniques of borrowed scenery upon the concept
of unoccupied and empty.
A two-storied house and a pavilion were facilities that were built the most many in Korean scenic
environment. According to the topographic book of Chosun Dynasty, two-storied buildings existed about
2,000 and pavilions had around 2,500 under the influence of the nature. Among Korean literatures,
Saryunjungki（四輪亭記）by Kyubo Lee（the year of 1251）during the late Koryo was first defined a twoand the floor of Lu was a lot higher than a land surface so people were able to walk under the floor. It wasusually for the public use and built around places held many events such as the entrance of private schools
and Buddhist temples, politics, examination, and archery. Also, it was generally built upon the structurewith the length longer than the width and mostly built without rooms. However, Jungja was opposite fromLu. It was usually used for private reasons such as a pleasure party and a rest and defined as a place forpeople to take a rest so that it was built in a certain distance. Later, as the meaning of Jung, Jungja wasmeant for a house built on a higher ground so that it gave an open space and a feeling of unoccupied andempty.
- The concept of landscaping technique in Lu and Jung is unoccupied and empty.
- The location was used the technique of borrowed scenery for being seen and shown.
<Example 2 ― Byulseo（別墅：a cottage built near a farm）> - The technique of borrowed scenery
contained human desired nature.
Byulseo was a place where literary men enjoyed rural life while avoiding the mundane world. It has ameaning of choosing a life embraced with the nature by secluding themselves for working at gardens andfarms apart from a huge house to find a place with a quiet neighboring environment. The meaning ofutilizing behaviors of gardens in Byulseo was a living place for a life in seclusion and studying as well as a
poetical life by having a demonstration through many literatures and poets. The major example of Byulseo
would be Soshaewon（瀟灑）designated as a Korean cultural asset of historic number 304 in July of 1983
built by Sanbo Yang（梁山甫）during Chosun Dynasty.
- An appearance of a decision maker who desired for having something could be read in the title of49

Key Soo Choi

storied building called Lu and a pavilion called Jungja. Lu contained two-storied building and construction

building constructed at Byulseo or plants.
<Example 3 ― Seowon（書院）: a private school for Confucianist services to honor distinguishedscholars and politicians> - The utilization with the purpose of learning the nature.
Oksan Seowon（玉山書院）was a private school with a memorial hall built in 1572 to honor a teacher,
Unjuk Lee（李彦迪：1491-1553）. The teacher as a Korean philosophic scholar became famous for ethics
and was worshiped as one of Eastern five sages.
- Oksan Seowon was located in a best scenic place of four mountains and five standing places with
Dokrakdang（獨樂堂）for having a secluded life by Jagaechun（紫溪川）.
- The private school was built as an enclosed space in specifically Bongsan Seowon（屏山書院）, but it
was built attracting the neighboring nature in the inside of the enclosing buildings by seeing throughoutside from the inside.
The technique of borrowed scenery demonstrated in Korean gardens
A city, a village or a residence, a temple, and so forth were placed in the location in harmonizing withneighboring natural environments such as mountains and waters, so neighboring natural environment wasarranged from artificially built spaces in the perspective of the borrowed scenery. Looking upon thelocation, those with the topography of looking at water behind a mountain contained the characteristics offacing towards sky in a cross section and the frontal side of buildings were placed with the attitude of
Key Soo Choiborrowed scenery to adopt the nature facing mountains.
A place with beautiful scenery such as a palace, a residence, a private school, a temple, and so forth had aLu（樓）which used to be built a two-storied building and a Jungja（亭子）which used to be built a nonwalled building such as a pavilion established scenery harmonized with the nature by only its location.
Not only neighboring environments have been seen from the building but also scenery shown between
pillars and folding-up doors established the unguarded atmosphere of structures to become one with allneighboring scenery.
Passing over a wall as an element of garden or attracting the outside of natural environment to theinner space by making a lattice window of the wall allowed people to feel the nature not only by seeing
scenery but also by listening sound. It also contained the borrowed scenery including past traces bydemonstrating in the scenery from collecting life experiences on artificial environment and nature formed
during the past in one's microcosmic structure. Furthermore, even ancestors' traces were wanted to be
demonstrated with the symbolical and recognizable utilization of the technique of borrowed scenery byplanting and hanging a board with a picture or some calligraphy as an architectural element and to be
decorated a garden of borrowed scenery by engraving letters on the edge of the stone bowl or vase.

50

Viewed and Borrowed Landscapein Japanese Gardens
MOTONAKA Makoto
Chief Senior Specialist for Cultural Properties,
Monuments and Sites Division, Cultural Properties Department,
Agency for Cultural Affairs of the Government of Japan

Introduction
This article describes how visual linking of the garden and its external landscape changed during thecourse of history, in view of the cultural and natural environment of the Japanese garden.
The landscape designs of three gardens in Nara, which were constructed in three different eras, arecompared, focusing on the significance and treatment of external landscapes.
In addition, mention is made of the religious meaning of mountains and their place in the design ofgardens, touching upon gardens of Jodo sect temples that date from 8th century to 14th century.
1. Three historic gardens in Nara

This garden, dating from the 8th century, was discovered in 1975 during an archaeological excavation andrestored in 1984. It is located on 6-no-tsubo in 3-jo 2-bo (6th block, third avenue, second street) in Sa-kyo(the eastern part of the capital). In the late 8th century, the block was divided into 9 equal parts, and thepalace and the garden occupied the central part surrounded by a fence. At the center of the site was astone-bordered pond. To the west of
the pond, standing on foundationstones was an 8 ken by 4 ken (one ken
is 1.8m) building. The vacant space
between the building and the pond
was considered to be used for rituals
and garden parties.

At present, theview from the garden is rather limited
because of the urbanization of its
surroundings; but in the 8th century
one could command an extensive view
over the eastern mountains.
The landscape design of thisFig.1 Nara Palace Garden

51

MOTONAKA Makotoa) Garden at the archaeological site of the Sa-kyo 3-jo 2-bo in Heijo-kyo (Imperial Capital of Nara)garden had the following three features.
The first was that the view of the eastern mountains from the garden was not specifically intended for
those who were in the building facing the garden: the view of the mountains could be seen from any placein the residence as well as in the city.
The second was that, since the building had only one room, there was no special correspondence
between the garden and the external landscape that could be seen from specific rooms.
The third was that the garden was intended for rituals and garden parties, not for the appreciation of
the contrast between the garden view and the external landscape.
The garden had these three features. Mt. Kasuga, to the east, may have been viewed from thisgarden, but the view was not designed specifically for any one room in the building facing the garden;
presumably it simply served as a background landscape to the rituals and garden parties held in thegarden.
b) Jiko-in Garden
Jiko-in is a temple that Katagiri Sadamasa, a famous master of tea ceremony, built in 1663 to perform
memorial services for his deceased father. The temple has a shoin (study-cum-parlor), a teahouse and atea garden. The main garden in front of the shoin offers a distant view of Mt. Kasuga and the Yamato Plainto the east. The garden was planned with this view as the most important element of its landscape design.
The first feature of the design of the main garden was that visitors to Jiko-in were led into a space in which
their range of vision was limited, as soon as they entered the gate and until they reached the shoin, which
was a room of 12 tatami mats. The view of Mt. Kasuga, which they had seen before entering the temple
compound, was enjoyed again from the 12-mat room as something special. This was made possible by thefact that the external and internal spaces were segmented. Visitors had to pass through and experience
MOTONAKA Makoto

each space, after which their temporarily blocked vision was opened to the garden and its externallandscape. Katagiri Sadamasa designed Jiko-in in imitation of a mountain hermitage. One had to prepare
oneself for tasting a quiet cup of tea while one passed along the path to the shoin and the teahouse. Oneﾕs
mind should not deviate from the tea ceremony to other things. This was why the visitorsﾕ view was
always blocked.
The second feature was that the garden was not used for any activities: it was simply designed for theFig.2 Pass from the entrance to the shoin Jiko-in

Fig.3 View from the shoin, Jiko-in

52

appreciation of the contrast between the garden and the external landscape. The tea ceremony was always
performed in the 12-mat room and teahouse, and never in the garden. From the fixed point of the 12-matshoin, one could view the main garden in front and Mt. Kasuga and the Yamato Plain behind and savor
their visual contrastﾑthis was the intent of the design. The garden was planned for the sake of enjoying
scenery.
The third feature was that a hedge was used to draw a boundary between the garden and the external
world. There were no other contrivances such as ponds and stone lanterns. The simple design consisting
only of trees made the contrast between the garden and the external landscape the more distinct.
Jiko-in Garden was designed so that visitors could see the view of the external scene only from one
fixed point. In addition, the path to the fixed point was designed as a closed space in which visitorsﾕ view
was blocked. These had the effect of changing a common landscape into something special obtained only
at a special point. Soft textured material was used as a boundary between the garden and the outside
world to make a clear distinction between the inner and outer landscapes and at the same time combine
them visually.
c) Isui-en
Isui-en is a landscape garden with a pond, in the stroll garden style, made in the late 19th century by Seki
Tojiro, a wealthy merchant in Nara. There is a gently sloping artificial hill on the east bank of the pond.
Water is drawn from the adjoining Yoshiki River to supply a waterfall in the central part of the artificial hill.
An arbor named Hyoshintei occupies the west bank of the pond, and a teahouse with an attached waiting
room is located on the south bank. The garden path connecting the two buildings goes around the pond.
The style of this garden is a mixture of a stroll garden and a teahouse garden. From Hyoshintei, one
can view Mt. Kasuga and the South Gate of Todai-ji Temple, one of the components of the World Heritage
the artificial hill.
The first feature of the landscape design of Isui-en is the fact that the part of the path from theentrance up to Hyoushintei is a space in which visitors vision is blocked. The view of Mt. Kasuga seenoutside the garden becomes a special landscape at Hyoshintei after the visitor goes through this closed
space.
The second feature is that the externallandscape is a part of the scenery thatdevelops as one walks around the pond.
The external landscape can be viewed only
from particular points of the pathsurrounding the pond; it is only one ofmany views one can enjoy along the pathwinding around the pond.
The third feature is that a soft texture
boundary fence is used to visually combine
the garden and the external landscapes. A
small zone of forest on the east side of theFig.4 View of Mt Kasuga and the South Gate of Todai-ji from Isui-en.

garden functions as an effective medium

53

MOTONAKA Makoto

site of Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara inscribed on the List in 1998, to the east over the pond andthat separates and at the same time combines the garden and the external landscapes; it partially screens
the external landscape, and yet it gives a sense of a continuation of the garden to the external world.
The landscape design of Isui-en has features common with that of Jiko-in Garden. However, unlike
Jiko-in, in which a panoramic view from a fixed point is the major element in garden design, the externallandscape of Isui-en is only one of its many design elements. It is something of an annex landscape. The
role of the external landscape in Isui-en is less prominent than in Jiko-in Garden.
2. Garden design from antiquity to the medieval ages
Seen from the viewpoints of design (materials and structures) and usage (rituals, garden parties and soon), gardens of the style of residential buildings of the aristocracy in the 9th to 11th centuries were notclearly differentiated from their natural surroundings. A garden was appreciated simply as an aggregate ofnatural objects introduced from fields and mountains into the frontage of a house.
In the 11th to the 13th centuries, many Jodo sect temples were built. Gardens of these temples were
designed with the tripartite visual correspondence between temple, garden and mountains in mind, partly
because mountains were considered to be symbols of Jodo (the Buddhist Elysian fields). However, theview from a garden to mountains symbolizing Jodo was appreciated through the medium of religious
doctrines. Jodo gardens were not designed for the sake of appreciating natural beauty itself or enjoying
landscape scenery from artificial gardens.
3. Borrowed landscapeThe treatment of mountains in garden design underwent many changes in the course of history, just as the
MOTONAKA Makoto

styles of garden developed from early simplicity through full maturity to decay. The phrase and techniqueof borrowed landscape, which uses external landscape as an important element in garden design, wasborn in China. In Japan, the technique of borrowed landscape was clearly established by the late 17th
century, as we can see from the highly developed treatment of external landscape in Jiko-in Garden.

54

Between Artificiality
and Nature
YOKOYAMA Tadashi
President, Institute of Advanced Media Arts and Sciences
International Academy of Media Arts and Sciences

It goes without saying that a garden is something artificial. Nevertheless, since ancient times it has been
said of gardens all over the world that they should reflect nature, that a garden should be created referring
to nature. Gardens are sometimes called the second nature . However, this does not mean to say that agarden should be an identical copy of the natural scenery of a particular place. What is meant, of course, isthat a garden should recreate nature in its ideal form. In Japan there is a text about garden design called
Sakuteiki that is thought to have been written in the late Heian period (latter half of the 11th Century). It
begins with the instruction to create a garden by first forming a mental picture of natural surroundings .
However, reading on, it is evident that this is not a direction to simply copy nature, but to recreate thesurroundings as natural scenery should ideally be. On the other hand, in China, as Professor Yangmentioned yesterday, the first gardening design treatise, Yuan-ye , was published in the 17th Century.
Since China was so developed in terms of garden design, one may be surprised that there was no such text
in China much earlier on, but this was unnecessary because China had the Treatise on Painting instead. In
this treatise it is said that one must create mountains and valleys in one s heart . Thus, the message is the

However, with regard to such gardens, which artificially create nature in this way, the degree of artificiality
is sometimes questioned. The art style known as manierism, which was influential in European gardensfrom the 16th Century, distinguished between giardino and bosco according to the degree of artificiality.
This distinction was first made in Italy, and giardino was translated into English as garden , but it isunclear whether the English expression refers to gardens in general or the part of a garden that is
artificially created, as opposed to the forest for example, which is what I wish to emphasize here.
Therefore, I will use the Italian distinction for the time being. In gardens since the beginning ofmanierism, the elements of giardino and bosco always appear as a pair, but in a variety of combinations.
They may be created side by side, or the bosco may be intricately set in the giardino. There are evenexamples of the bosco being created so large as to overwhelm the giardino, which would be small andcreated right next to the house.
Now, when one talks of gardens, one usually refers only to giardino, and bosco is often forgotten about,
but in discussing gardens since manierism, the existence of bosco is very important. Bosco can be thought

55

YOKOYAMA Tadashi

same: to create a picture in oneﾕs mind of ideal natural scenery.

of as a style of garden existing from medieval to early renaissance times, where the natural forest setting
found outside of the walled or fenced garden, or when this had been turned into a park for hunting, thisexternal environment, was incorporated as part of the garden. A giardino was created near the house andhad a high degree of artificiality. In contrast, a bosco, despite being artificially created still retained a senseof the wild, and strongly projected the image of a natural forest, a dark and unknown environment
untouched by human hands and threatening human existence. The method of creating this kind of garden
was also very different from a giardino.
Yesterday, Professor Nakamura talked about the Villa
Lante in Bagnaia, and this shows an overall view of
the Villa when it was first built. It was built in the 16th
Century, and its garden is typical of Italian manierism.
As you can see here, it is composed of a bosco on theright-hand side facing the diagram, and a giardino on
the left. According to US researcher Claudia LazzaroBruno, the bosco on the right represents the Golden
Age before humans provoked the wrath of God, whenFig.1General plan by Giacomo Lauro, Villa Lante,
Bagnaia

people used to live by gathering food, and thegiardino on the left represents the history of humans
since our ancestors descended from the summit of
Parnassos after the Great Flood that was caused by
God s anger.
This garden composition based on the two elementsof giardino and bosco continued until the landscapegardens of the 18 th Century. The garden at the

YOKOYAMA Tadashi

Chateau of Versailles described by Professor
Nakamura yesterday is typical of 17th Century Frenchgeometrical style gardens. It was designed by Le
Fig.2 View of Grand Canal from Fountain of Latona,
Versailles

Nostre, a genius in the world of garden design, who
skillfully used the two elements of bosco and giardino
as compositional materials to enhance the garden.
The giardino part of the garden extends from theback of the Chateau, and further ahead, the bosco
makes this appear narrowed down to a large extent,
thereby emphasizing the axes and creating an infinite
perspective. At the same time, Le Nostre has
incorporated several small gardens within the bosco,
giving the impression of an infinite number of houses
hidden deep in a forest. Furthermore, the unusual 16th

Fig.3 Theatre and Learning House, Sacro Bosco,
Bomarzo

Century Italian garden of Bomarzo is often said to be
unique, compared to the Villa Lante and others, but in56

actual fact there used to be a separate giardino here as well, so what is known as the garden of Bomarzo
today is just the bosco part that remained. The designer of the garden, Vicino Orsini, was intent on
creating a kind of bosco that had never been seen before. It was for this reason that only the bosco
remained until today and made this garden famous.
Returning to the issue of a garden s degree of artificiality, an interesting debate occurred in the mid-Edo
Period in Japan. This was the argument that too much artificiality was undesirable. Rock gardens, in otherwords the karesansui (dry landscape) style typified by the garden at Ryoanji Temple that I m sure you
know well, and the numerous topiary style or karikomi gardens such as Jikoin, Raikyuji and Isuien
described by Professor Motonaka yesterday were frowned upon. First I would like to outline the views thatformed part of this debate and then I will present the case of nobles who developed this debate in line with
their own unique aesthetic sense and manipulated the relationship between the internal and external partsof a garden in a very refined way.
I would like to base my discussion on a book known as Kaiki (The Book of the Pagoda Tree). It was
written by Yamashina Doan, the servant of Konoe Iehiro, a noble and great cultural figure who lived in thefirst half of the 18th Century (mid-Edo period), and records in detail what Iehiro said and did. Konoe Iehiro
was well versed in all cultural pursuits including tea ceremony, flower arrangement, calligraphy, painting,and incense burning, and since he had good taste, by reading this book we can learn much about theculture of that particular time. Iehiroﾕs mother was the daughter of the Gomizuno o emperor who built the
Shugakuin Villa that Professor Motonaka described yesterday and I will also talk about soon. It is evident
from what is said in this book Kaiki, that Iehiro had also read the Sakutei gardening treatise that I
mentioned before.

YOKOYAMA Tadashi

Fig.4 Stone Garden, Daisen -in, Daitoku-ji, Kyoto

57

I will outline the contents of the book relevant to our discussion. The servant, Yamashina Doan, says thefollowing, in a sort of flattering way. The garden at Ryoanji is very famous, but I can t tell whether it sgood or not. The Kinkakuji garden appears to be well-crafted but it s too difficult for me to understand . It
is a matter of debate whether the Ryoanji garden we see today has the same design as when it was firstcreated. We are told that it has not changed, but reading this story it appears that before the fire in the 18th
Century, the garden had a more complicated composition than it does today. In any case, Iehiro replies: I
know both those gardens of course. There is also a garden in Daitokuji created by Soami. This is thegarden inside Daisen in and is now thought to have been designed in the 16th Century by the priest who
founded the temple, Kogaku Soko himself. However, at the time, this garden as well as the garden at
Ryoanji was believed to be the work of Soami, a famous garden designer who lived at a slightly earlier
time.
Iehiro continues: from today s perspective, it s hard to see what s good about this kind of rock garden .
This is a somewhat surprising response. Today, no-one speaks negatively about the gardens at Ryoanji andDaisen in, and at that time, as Doan says, they received high acclaim. But they were incompatible with theaesthetic sense of people like Iehiro. They were overly contrived and artificial. However, Iehiro qualifies
his remark as follows: But in fact there was a proper reason for its creation. Some time ago, there lived aprince who was 26 years older than me. His name was Gyojo and he was a high-ranking priest. It s now 30
years since his death. (Like in Europe, where a prince who would not inherit the throne would often
become a Catholic priest and aim to become a cardinal, in Japan, a member of the imperial family who was
not in line for succession would become the head priest of the temple controlled by the imperial family for
generations (Monzeki)). Gyojo was told a story by his uncle, Doko, who was also a prince and a priest. His
uncle thought that the topiary garden created by the samurai Nagai Naomasa at Yodo Castle was awful. It
doesn t say here what kind of garden this was, but from what follows we gather that it had a topiary theme.
He thought this was contrived and uninteresting. However, he happened to journey into the mountains
for buddhistic training, and came upon a valley where all the trees looked like they d been shaped in the
YOKOYAMA Tadashi

topiary style. Some were rounded and others formed exact rectangular shapes, just like topiary. So, maybe
the people of those times made topiary gardens because they wanted to recreate the scenery they
discovered deep in the mountains. And maybe similar reasons also apply to the gardens created at the
temples of Ryoanji and Kinkakuji , said Iehiro.
The topiary style became very popular in Japan in the Momoyama period in the 16th Century and soon
became a common element in Japanese gardens, but in China there was no tradition of such gardens. The
Momoyama period was a time when European culture began to be introduced to Japan and right at thattime, topiary gardens were flourishing in Europe, making it highly likely that the techniques were adopted
in Japan during this period.
The prince s story has an interesting add-on. There is an essay written by famous early 20th Century
Japanese natural historian Minakata Kumagusu. In 1928, he visited the state-owned forest in themountains of Kumano to do research. It was the middle of winter and icily cold. He happened upon rocks
that looked as if they had been deliberately placed there by humans, but upon inspection were discovered
to be natural. The trees were also shaped in ways that appeared artificial and his records quote the58

Fig.5 Grand Topiary, Jiko-in, Yamato-Koizumi, Naracontents of Kaiki and describe the scene as being exactly like the prince s story. In the manner of a true
scientist, he observes that the harsh climate was probably responsible for shaping the vegetation in suchways.
To return to the bookﾕs story, the servant Doan says: Speaking of that, last year I visited the famous
Nezame no Toko, where the scenery is identical to a rock garden. So the temple rock gardens may havecopied that kind of scenery. Nezame no Toko is a place that is famous for the view of oddly-shaped rocks
at the upper reaches of Kisogawa River. Iehiro said, Yes, a priest I know said that Nezame no Toko wasthink he s right . This was the end of their conversation.
What is interesting about this story, is that despite the fact that a garden is inevitably artificial, there is anattempt to limit the extent of artificiality. The view is expressed that topiary techniques and making agarden solely out of rocks goes beyond what is acceptable. Today we are more accepting than the peopleof that time, and regard both styles as worthy, but the nobles back then were more close-minded. To them,a garden was supposed to be as stated in Sakuteiki . While the popular styles continued incorporating
new elements such as topiary and the steppingstones and lanterns of tea ceremony gardens, and kept up
with the vocabulary, the nobles could never truly approve of them. I would now like to describe cases of
how these nobles, who had great sensitivity, thought about the relationship between internal and external
parts of a garden, not just in terms of being able to see the outside from the inside, but also encompassing
mental and social associations.
The princes introduced in Iehiro s story earlier, in reality were close kin of the emperor who built the
Katsura Villa and Shugakuin Villa at the beginning of the Edo period, and as I said before, Iehiro himself

59

YOKOYAMA Tadashi

an example of a rock garden produced by nature, so we really can t say that all rock gardens are bad. Iwas related to them. Therefore, the gardens at Katsura Villa and Shugakuin Villa that I will now describe
were very familiar to them.
The Katsura Villa garden, which was built over a period from the beginning to the middle of the 17th
Century, has a large pond in the center. This pond was created using the old path of the Katsuragawa
River, which you must cross when you visit the villa from the direction of Kyoto. For that reason, the villa
has a close connection with this river, but the villa building is carefully separated from the actual river. A
beautiful bamboo fence surrounds the villa, and only the pond can be seen from inside the building.
Thus, water is the central theme of the villa. Visitors to the villa first get the pleasure of a boat trip acrossthe real river outside. Then they enter the villa and after a chat, they enjoy a second boat ride, this time on
the pond inside the compound. It is said that in the Heian period, in the 11th Century, the most powerfulnoble, Fujiwara no Michinaga, built a villa on these riverbanks, and so the visitors take part in a kind oftime slip, in re-creating these boating activities. Of course the visitors can think back to their boat trip on
the river outside the villa, and since they had this experience it makes their boating on the pond, which is
closed to the outside, even more interesting. The villa garden is formed so a person is able to walk aroundthe pond. There used to be a small pavilion witha view to the outside, but this was removed,
probably in order to give the internal garden aperfect sense of wholeness and completeness.
Sometimes they would go boating on the river
outside before going inside the grounds but attimes they would first go into the villa building
to be greeted by their hosts and then go backoutside to be taken boating. Sometimes theywould be taken far upstream and only go inside
YOKOYAMA Tadashi

to the pond after it was already dark.

Fig.6 Katsura River and Bamboo hedge of Katsura Villa

The Shugakuin Villa garden, which was also
created in the mid-17th Century, has an evenmore complicated composition. Its creator, theGomizuno o Emperor wanted to construct thegarden three-dimensionally. In other words, hedivided the villa into a section at the base of themountain and a section on the mountainside.
Much later, a villa was also built in the middle
section, but this was not part of the Emperor s
original plan. The two sections are independentof each other and on the slope of the mountainFig.7 Pond, Katsura Villa

between them are fields farmed by local
farmers. Guests are first shown to the villa at the base of the mountain. It is a simple building but is wellthought out, and from the parlor one can view a smallish garden with a stream flowing from left to right.

60

Fig.8 View of the large crest of the dam of the Upper Villa, Shugakuin Villa

From this point the second villa on the mountainside is not visible at all.
After a chat, the guest is invited to the upper villa. Going out of the back gate, the large crest of a dam built
on the mountainside can be seen, but because it is covered in greenery it is impossible to know that that iswhat it is. The guest walks up a narrow path through the rice paddies owned by local farmers, and there isa fast-flowing stream originating from further up and heading downward along the side of the path. The
guest then goes through the gate of the upper villa and continues up a small path through the thickgreenery before emerging in front of the main pavilion, where a stunning view awaits. Immediately below
there is a huge pond formed by the dam that captures water of a river introduced to this garden, and inin view capture the sunlight from the south and glow beautifully. The setting shows no sign of having been
artificially interfered with and is superbly designed, incorporating the man-made garden into the natural
surroundings.
After exploring the many pavilions located around the pond, guests are led back down to the lower villa.
When they descend the narrow path through the rice paddies, they realize that the stream flowing besidethe path comes from the dam above. Then, when they return to the parlor in the lower villa, they realizethat the stream they see in the garden is a continuation of this and the upper and lower villas become
linked together in their minds. There also used to be a pavilion in this garden with a view to the outside,
but it was later removed. The lower villa is therefore entirely closed to the outside world and for this very
reason, the sudden view that one gets when one reaches the upper villa has such a dazzling effect. This
does more than blend the garden with the surroundings; it is like the whole scene is a garden.
I think that we need to re-examine the aesthetics of the gardens and the view of nature that the Japaneseimperial family has held since the Heian period. Even the dam of the Shugakuin Villa garden in fact had a

61

YOKOYAMA Tadashi

the distance one can see the northern mountain range. Since this vantage point faces north, the mountains

precedent in the dam created by the Saga Emperor at the beginning of the Heian period. This is the pondof the Daigakuji in the northwest outskirts of Kyoto. From the vantage point of this pond that was createdby capturing the mountain spring water, the Emperor hoped to look upon Kyoto from afar.
This theme of

Gardens and their Environmental Context is a very interesting subject. We can gaininteresting insights if we consider this subject not only from the direct visual perspective, that is, theperspective of borrowed landscape, but also from psychological and sociological angles.

Fig.9 View from Rin-un-tei Pavilion, Shugakuin Villa

YOKOYAMA Tadashi

62Landscape Style and theGerman Garden
The example : the garden realm of Dessau-Woerlitz
Thomas Weiss
Director, Kulturstiftung Dessau Wörlitz,
Hauptverwaltung, Schloss Grosskühnau

"It is now infinitely beautiful here... The gods have allowed the Prince to create a dream around himself..."(Johann Wolfgang von Geohe, 1778)
Introduction
The great German poet had been closely attached to the 'garden realm' of Dessau-Woerlitz throughout hislife. Time and time again his journeys took him from the classical Weimar (UNESCO World Heritage
since 1998) to the unique cultural landscape of the Prince of Anhalt-Dessau (inscribed on the World
Heritage List in 2000). Many of his contemporaries shared his sentiments and enthusiastically hailed what
they saw, acclaiming the garden kingdom "the ornament andepitome of the 18th century" (Christoph Martin Wieland, poet ofgerman rococo period).
What had happened in the little country circa 80 kilometres
southwest of Berlin?
A young prince succeeded to the throne and realised his
dreams. He stopped taking part in wars, cared for his subjects,
lowered taxes, practised religious tolerance, modernised theThomas Weisseconomy, built schools, planted fruit-trees and transformed his
little country into an expansive garden. One might hardly
believe what has just been said, especially since at the sametime German princes sold their soldiers to England to fight in
the American War of Independence. What reads like a fairytale
was physical reality in a small territory of the Holy Roman
Empire of German Nations more than 200 years ago.
The garden kingdom of Dessau-Woerlitz was created in thesecond half of the 18 th century during the reign of Prince
Leopold III Friedrich Franz of Anhalt-Dessau (1740-1817). It
still comprises the parks and gardens of Woerlitz, Mosigkau,

63

Fig.1 Luisium-Parc, Herme-Sculpture at
the Fountain© Archive Cultural Foundation DessauWoerlitz, Photo: Uwe Quilitzsch

Oranienbaum, Luisium, Georgium, the Sieglitzer Berg and Grosskühnau. The small principality was anagrarian country inhibited by about 36,000 people.
In line with family tradition the young prince received a commission as an officer in the Prussian armyand started a military career. In his youth he engaged in the study of the ideas of European
Enlightenment, which made a deep impression on him. Shortly after the outbreak of the Seven Years' War
he fell out with King Frederick II of Prussia. In 1757 the prince left the Prussian army when he was 17. At
the beginning of his reign 1758 Prince Franz undertook extensive travel to England and Italy. The
experience gained there had a lasting effect on his future policies.
Large parts of the country, mainly fields and woodland, were owned by the Prince who was theabsolutist ruler of his principality. His farmland was leased to demesne tenants.
As his grandfather, the famous "Alter Dessauer", expelled the entire landed nobility and appropriatedtheir land to himself, his grandson could reign without opposition and implement his reform programme
without any problems. The prince's sphere of activity comprised social, economical and cultural aspects.
Since 1758 he realised a series of well thought-out reforms which were to remain unparalleled in German
history.
First and foremost it was essential to improve the economic situation. Following the English model,
farming was modernised, the medieval three-field system abolished and stall-feeding and soil fertilisation
introduced. In accordance with the principle of combining beauty and utility, fields and pastures became
part of landscape gardens. These had to be protected by dikes from the floods of the rivers Elbe andMulde. At the same time social reforms were carried out. A great sensation at the time was the religious
tolerance practised amongst the Christian, Jewish and atheist communities. With particular dedication theprince attended to the education of his subjects. The Philanthropin, founded in Dessau in 1774, wasThomas Weiss

Fig.2 Map of the Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Woerlitz© Archive Cultural Foundation Dessau-Woerlitz.

64considered the most modern educational establishment inGermany. It followed the naturalistic ideas propagated by the
French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau. In reforming the
educational system, the prince fulfilled one of the key demandsof the Enlightenment: education of the people.
Parallel to the far-reaching reforms to rehabilitate thecountry, the entire principality was also beautified. In Woerlitz
emerged the first "English" landscape garden, the first country
house in the Palladian style and the first neo-Gothic
architecture in Germany. Subsequently further gardens werecreated along the Elbe and Mulde. They were interconnected
through vistas, also integrating older grounds, which graduallycreated the impression of a 'garden kingdom'. Out ofeducational considerations, but also to manage costs, theinhabitants of the country were involved in all of theseundertakings. This resulted in a feeling amongst theFig.3 he Rousseau Island in the Woerlitz
Garden© Archive Cultural Foundation DessauWoerlitz, Photo: Uwe Quilitzsch

population to be actively participating these innovations.
Palaces and gardens were open to the public to acquaint themwith the latest developments in art and technology.
Appropriately the " Gesamtkunstwerk Dessau-Woerlitz" ishailed as an outstanding example of Enlightenment philosophy
put into practice.

The creation of the Dessau-Woerlitz Garden Realm"All gardening is landscape painting" (Alexander Pope)
Reason, liberty, the pursuit of happiness−these are the watchwords of the 18th century, the age of
Enlightenment in Europe, a complex phenomenon that may be approached from many different
perspectives. Science and art engendered a view of the world liberated from theology. Publications thatappeared as journalism grew and expanded communicated new values to a broad public: humanity,
The Prince of Dessau was regarded as an enlightened monarch in an age of absolutism. He wasstrongly influenced by European enlightenment literature and personal experiences gathered on his own
frequent travels, which took him to England four times. The new world power attracted considerable
attention for a number of reasons: its modern system of government; the mobility permitted by its social
constitution, wich opened a wide range of opportunities to the middle class; the attitude of public spirit
evident in its population; its flourishing manufacturing industry; its productive agriculture and not least of
all its architecture and accomplishments in landscape gardening.
Complex social developments, popular striving for emancipation and stimulus from literature andphilosophy combined during the first third of the 18th century to foster the growth of a new ideal in garden
design in England that found its most noteworthy expression in the landscape garden.
Characterised by a unity of garden design, architecture and visual art, the garden of Woerlitz became the65Thomas Weiss

independent thought, the stature and dignity of man, the quest for social utility, toleration.

vanguard of the English style in Germany. Horticultural designers were no longer guides by the ideal of
the formal baroque park wich bowed to the requirements of architecture. In its place, "true", untouchednature was elevated to the measure of all things in garden culture. Trees were permitted to assume
their natural forms, paths to follow irregular courses; the boundaries between artifically shaped nature andlandscape became flexible. The pathways along which visitors wandered, led them to deliberately chosenscenes and lookouts. A structured system of vistas radiated from bends in paths, rest spots and bridgecrowns. More than 300 such vistas have been identified in the garden of Woerlitz alone.
After his first journey to England in 1763 to 1764, where he carefully studied the gardens of William Kent
and Lancelot Brown, Prince Franz undertook the design of an English-style garden in Woerlitz. Work
continued there until about 1800 and was enhanced by experience gained on further travels in England
and aided by the study of contemporary literature.
Buildings, sculptures and particularly appealing scenes are the focal points of vistas radiating, often ina fanlike manner, in different directions and linking discreet garden sections with one other. Substantial
portions of the garden were put to agricultural use. Evident in this practice and in the policy ofincorporating works of art and architecture for the purpose of moulding taste and encouraging imitation is
the influence of enlightened, didactic tendencies underlying the design concept for the publicy accessible"Woerlitzer Garten."
As the point of departure for beautification measures in Anhalt-Dessau, Woerlitz was followed byother English-style landscape gardens which were interconnected by a network of thoughtfully designed
avenues and vista. Older grounds were also intergrated into the gradually flourishing garden realm whichdrew great praise from contemporaries.
Many thanks to Uwe Quilitzsch for assisting in the Research and Daniela Clare for translating
the text.

T.W.

Thomas Weiss

Fig.4 The Woerlitz Country House© Archive Cultural Foundation Dessau-Woerlitz, Photo: Uwe Quilitzsch

66

Continuity in LandscapeWest and East
Wybe Kuitert
Visiting Professor, Landscape architect,
Kyoto University of Art and Design

The landscape in which we live has become an environment of science, technology and economy. As
reminders of a different time and space, we cherish our historic gardens as memory-islands of aparadisiacal, man-made harmony with nature. Having become monuments we easily forget that once they
were part of a more continuous landscape. Continuity in human activity over time and space fixed thegardens harmoniously not only in the occupation patterns of a wider landscape. Also the appreciation of
the gardens was a continuous extension of man's sensual and sensitive appreciation of his landscape.
With some examples, I will try to distill a lesson to learn from the past, adding some generalsuggestions intended to repair at least a little of the continuity in some historic gardens. Representative ofWest and East, I will talk about Holland and Japan, two countries with which I am most familiar.
Seventeenth century Dutch gardens of the rulingprinces and regents are sometimes shown in a glorious
bird-eye perspective. Looking more in detail these
illustrations show us how the intensity of human labordecreased with the increasing distance from the mainhouse. Most work was required for the parts of thegarden close to the house; the further away, the more
was left to nature. In front of the house we find theFrench style flower bed, with the espalier fruit garden
around it. It had the finest varieties of French pears.
Wybe Kuitert

Then we find the plantings of dwarf apple trees that
could be maintained without laborious transport ofladders. In between are sections of the garden that haveherb and vegetable fields. Running through the wholearrangement we find wide, sanded alleys planted withtrees. Woods, maintained with forestry methods
provided timber. Further away we see the farmland,
sometimes with tame deer, but mostly with the farmer's
cows for milk and cheese. The most remote distance67

Fig.1 Bird-eye perpective of the garden andsurrounding landscape of heemstede(Stoopendael, after De Moucheron, 1700-1702)

shows a seemingly untouched nature, a wilderness, usually an undulating land of sloping hillsides. It issaid that the wilderness showed in its contrast to the geometrical arrangement that the owner controlled
his estate as a king his country. But actually also the "wild" nature was controlled by man. The hilly heathlands were basically the fields to herd the sheep. The sheep again provided profit from the land in form ofwool and meat. In a nice spatial arrangement of intensity of human labor we see the ideal landscape
depicted as a continuous arrangement of profit taken from the land. There is no severe disruption orsudden ecological barrier.
Turning to the appreciation of this landscape, we see a continuity of a different dimension. We have to turnto our five senses. A joy to the eye and sometimes the nose is the colorful arrangement of (fragrant)
flowers in the French beds in front of the house. Close-by the trained espalier attracts the eye as does thebeauty of the fruits grown. Most remarkable though is the fine taste of the French pears that in Holland
reach an optimum of their aroma along the brick walls. It brought a rare and southern flavour to the misty
landscapes of Dutch autumn. Poems glorifying life on the Dutch estate laud the Rousselet, the Cuisse
Madame, or the Gutedel grapes, etc. The aroma of musk and bergamot are noticeable appreciations of aglorious harvest season in autumn. The apples further away were mostly meant for sale, or were otherwise
to be enjoyed in the course of winter when they were reaching their utmost sweetness on the shelves in
the cellar of the house, either slowly ripening, or otherwise peeled and dried. Walking along the alleys
planted with lime trees was another enjoyment. In
spring the heavy, sweet smell of lime blossom isalmost intoxicating. It is from earlier ages on
associated with merrymaking and love. In mid
summer the cool air under the dome-like crowns oflinden is again appreciated in particular. The Dutch
variety of lime became so well known as a pleasantand elegant planting material that it was exported toother European countries, for instance to Englandand Sweden. The most remote and wild nature withthe shepherd and his sheep, served to assure that the
kingly level of appreciation was well elevated above
the wild and the barbarian. Understood as a contrast,
it formed a complementary and necessary part of acontinuity in appreciation; it was appreciated forWybe Kuitert

horse riding and hunting as well. In the course of theseasons we find various appreciations relying on
various of our five human senses throughout various
sections of the garden. There is an intricate, but selfevident continuity in time, space, and sensualFig.2 Apples and pears grown in the front garden,
the decorative flower bed is to be seen in front of
the house (De Nieuwe en Naaukeurige
Neederlandse Hovenier, 1713)

appreciation. The appreciation of the garden throughthe taste on the tongue, the fragrances in the nose,
the feeling of the cool air in summer, etc. isexpressed in typical poetry of the time.

68Almost at the same time in the history of mankind we find in China and Japan a similar continuity in time,
space and appreciation of the garden. It centers around the concept of Shakkei, borrowed scenery. The
theory of borrowing scenery for the garden comes to the written sources with Yuanye (1634). It's writer
Wufou, or Li Ji Cheng had supervised the construction of various gardens, for which he was appreciatedamong his friends. He had seen the landscape of China on his travels and was able to put it all together in aconsistent text. He combines the elementary consciousness of landscape, the genius of garden creationand on top of that he has a poetic sensibility. At the start, and at the end of the Yuanye we find profoundlessons on the garden under the concept of borrowing the scenery. In the earliest stages of garden
planning elements outside the garden are surveyed and should be taken to form part of the scheme toenrich the garden. There should be continuity in time and space by appropriating outside scenery. The
meaning of "scenery" is not narrow-minded with Ji Cheng. Whether it be the garden scenery of neighbors,the sound of sutra-reading monks in a nearby temple, swallows carried on the early summer air, etc, etc., it
is all scenery intended to connect time and space; and the trick is to borrow or appropriate it. Thus youcome to stand into contact with the ever evolving cycles of the day, of the seasons, of time. One can not but
be impressed by the richness of perception found in the landscape, as proposed in Yuanye. The text has
much more to offer than I can explain here, also my own understanding is limited *).
In history, only shortly after Ji Cheng we find this technique of garden design expressed in someborrowed scenery gardens in Japan. Speculating onsome of these seventeenth century gardens gives
us enough food for thought to justify a shortpresentation here.
The garden of Entsu-ji (Kyoto) was part of acountryside setting appreciated by the seventeenthcentury elite of the Imperial Court in Kyoto.
Personally, I had a chance to spend several days in
Entsu-ji in different seasons. The poetic
appreciation of this garden is greatly enlarged
exactly because of the borrowing of a view on the
nearby mountain Hiei. One sees the autumn colors
on the slopes of Hiei, pointing to an omnipresent
cycle of the seasons when the maples turn red in
the garden. The priest rakes the fallen leaves andWybe Kuitert

the smell of the fire that burns them adds on to theappreciation in our mind. In early summer themountain is steaming with mists after a heavy rain,
whereas the air is earthy and humid in the garden.
Summer gives a cool breeze with the rustlingsound of the bamboo, just outside the garden
whereas the mountain shows itself in tones more

Fig.3 Rice fields in the borrowed scenery of Shugakuin, Kyoto (photo by author, september 1985)

dimly.
Shugakuin Villa (Kyoto) came about in the69

same cultural setting. Again, it heavily relies on appreciating the time and space quality of the wider
landscape. It borrows a landscape to the extent that it even includes the rice fields and the narrow paths
where the farmers cross the scenery to maintain the fields. One sees the yearly cycle of the agricultural
work that concords with the evolving seasons of the garden landscape. The garden was used as a base to
depart for season-related excursions, like outings to gather mushrooms in autumn, or horsetails in spring.
Prepared as dishes the taste added to the joy of the season. A similar sight over the farmland was had informer days from the Shoiken tea house in the Katsura Villa, that in architecture resembles a countryside
tea shop along the roadside, rather than a typical "tea ceremony" house for receiving guests.
Shisendo (Kyoto) still makes it possible to imagine how it once borrowed the scenery of the city,while overlooking a lower part of the garden. In this lower part vegetables were grown in earlier history.
The founder of Shisendo was well versed in classic Chinese poetry of the Tang period, and admired poets
like Bai Juyi or Tang Yuanming, who wrote on the joys of appreciating the countryside landscape living ina small retreat. Regretfully the vegetable garden was changed to an aesthetic garden, and the site is now
too crowded with trees to see the city.
Jiko-in (Nara) still suggests how one could see the plain, with the city of Nara in the distance, andvillage children fishing in the river that runs just in front of the garden. One could see the expected visitors
approaching the place, see them cross the river and the fields, warning the host that preparations for aproper welcome should be done by now. In the course of the seasons the color of the plain would change
from brown grey in winter, into fresh and verdant green of spring, and finally to the gold of the rice fields
in the harvest season. Contemporary poetry in Chinese appreciates the garden on time and space in its
borrowed scenery.

Wybe Kuitert

Fig.4 From the hall of Jiko-in one overlooks the plain Nara over the low hedge that lines the garden.
(Photo by author, May 1984)

70

The gardens, either in Holland or in Japan, discussed above were all high in quality. They were developedby an elite that was well aware of the perceptiveness of man towards the innate qualities of the natural
world in the garden. It was expressed in poetry. Whether we speak about pears or rice, about lime
blossom fragrance or mushrooms, the continuity is the same. The garden landscape and its appreciation
did not end at the boundaries of the garden as is clear from poetry and it did not end with a simple visualappreciation.
Now, in 2004, one can only be sad seeing a bus load of tourists that come to see their sight, take their
pictures, and go home. Satisfied? Is this all a historic garden has to offer? Can't we do a little more to makethe meaning of the garden better understood? A good example are the efforts made in Jiko-in. Visitors are
asked to sit down in front of the garden and are offered a cup of tea and sweets. This simple action pins thevisitor to the appreciation. Sit down and look. Inhale, taste, appreciate! Jiko-in, in spite of the advancing
hectic of our modern world, has managed to continue presenting the garden together with most of its
original appreciation. Even more, what used to be an elite experience has become an appreciation ofnature accessible to just anyone who pays the entrance fee. Jiko-in makes clear what the garden was meantfor. It makes us feel at comfort with all our five senses that appreciate the garden with its borrowed
scenery: it brings us the continuity of landscape, of time and of space. The example is so clear that it's notdifficult to see what the lesson should be to improve any effort of preserving a historic garden. On the levelof town and country planning we should make efforts to work on a more continuous land use planningaround the historic gardens, to preserve more of the original idea. We must enlarge the islands, allow thegardeners to occupy the land around. They should for example, be able to grow rice, or apple trees in the
traditional way. Then, as for composition, the rice or apple fields should be made part of the garden andshould be enjoyed by the visitors, and not only visually: we should offer them rice or apple wine.
If we could only transmit a little more of the original continuity in landscape to our modern visitors,
the better, the easier gardens are understood. Rice and apple wine, a cool walk under the lime trees, it isall easy to appreciate, of all times and all cultures. The more of the past we can make part of the present,
the better gardens are understood and understanding is in the interest of preservation.

*For my notes on Yuanye I acknowledge the help of professor Che Bing CHIU in Paris and strongly
recommend his annotated translation "Yuanye, le traite du jardin (1634)", Besancon, 1997.

Wybe Kuitert71Fig.5 At Jiko-in the borrowed scenery lost its
meaning, after rice fields were lost to the expanding
urban environment. To mitigate the loss, the temple
management bought land in front of the garden andplanted large trees as a camouflage, but so far no
permission to grow rice was granted (Photo byauthor, 25/5, 1984).

Wybe Kuitert

72

Types of Gardens in JapaneseCastle Town
SASAKI Kunihiro
Professor, Department of Forest Science
Faculty of Agriculture, Shinshu University

1. Matsushiro as a castle town
Early in the Edo Period (1600-1867), many castle towns were formed in Japan. The plans of these towns
had a common feature: at the center was a castle, which was surrounded by samurai quarters andtownsmen's quarters. Samurai residences had gardens, and sometimes had ponds.
The town of Matsushiro is located about 10km south of the center of Nagano City. Takeda Shingenbuilt Matsushiro Castle here, on a hill south of the Chikuma River, presumably in about 1560. The castle
and the town around it were gradually developed. Especially after Sanada Nobuyuki, who had been thelord of Ueda, was transferred to Matsushiro in 1622, the castle town was expanded and improved. To theeast and south of the castle was formed Tono-machi, the residential block for upper-class samurai.
Hokkoku Waki Kaido (Byroad of the Hokkoku Highway) ran along the south and east sides of Tonomachi, forming a hook shape. On either side of the road were the townsmen's quarters, to the south ofwhich were the residential districts for the middle andlower ranking samurai. Ura-machi, Takeyama-cho,
Daikan-cho, Baba-cho and Omoteshiba-cho were thenames of these districts, which still retain something of
the characteristics of old samurai residences (Figure-1).
From the northeast to the southwest of these districts isa semi-circle of mountains: Amakazari-yama, Minakamiyama, Noroshi-yama and Zozan. The three rivers
Fujisawa-gawa, Hiru-kawa and Kanda-gawa flow
northward into the Chikuma River. The town of
Matsushiro was formed on the compound alluvial fan of
SASAKI Kunihiro

the Hiru-kawa. Because the castle was built on arelatively low hill on the Chikuma River (whose course
was different from its present one), the town graduallyascends as it sprawls southward.
Fig.1 Castle town Matsushiro（1823）

73

2. Gardens remaining in Matsushiro
Tono-machi is the only district of the town that suffered considerable change after the Meiji Restoration(1867). In other districts, the allotment of land has remained basically unchanged, except that some lots
have since been divided or combined. The features of the old town are well preserved, especially in thesouthern part or the former samurai quarters, where many lots remain as they were. Samurai residences
had gardens with ponds in the center, and a considerable number of such gardens still remain. Nagano
City's municipal law concerning the preservation of the traditional environment designates the four
districts of Takeyama-cho, Daikan-cho, Baba-cho and Omoteshiba-cho a

traditional environment

preservation area , where buildings, gates, fences and ditches and gardens are to be preserved andmaintained. There are some 100 gardens with ponds in this area.
3. Network of watercourses
One of the features of Matsushiro is the existence of a network of watercourses in the area that was theformer castle town. The watercourses cover the whole area except Tono-machi, although the volume ofwater is not very abundant. Figure-2 shows a map of the watercourses. With water provided by the
Kanda-gawa or springwater, a number of watercourses run from south to north, branching off and joining,
forming a complex network.
Many watercourses remain in the former samurai districts in the southern part of Matsushiro. They
are in especially good state of preservation in Takeyama-cho, Daikan-cho, Baba-cho and Omoteshiba-cho(the traditional environment preservation area).
There are three types of watercourses in the area: kawa (stream), segi (irrigation ditch) and sensuiro(garden-pond-watercourse).
Kawa

refers to watercourses that run along roads. The

volume of water is relatively abundant in kawa. There used
to be freshwater clams (Corbicula) in these watercourses,
where people did washing.
Segi

denotes watercourses that run at the backs ofestates and along their boundary lines.
Sensuirorefers to watercourses that run between

garden ponds. In the Edo period, sensuiro water was used
for drinking. People washed their faces and dishes in thewater. Carp were kept in garden ponds.
Outside of this area, there is no differentiation ofwatercourses into three types; only some sensuiro remain.
SASAKI Kunihiro

Matsushiro features a complicated network of watercourses,
which are connected with one another but are differentiatedinto kawa, segi and sensuiro. However, there are fewer
Fig.2 Water courses, water springs andgardens with pond

watercourses in the traditional environment preservation
area than there were 18 years ago when the area wasdesignated; some gardens with ponds have since74Fig.3 Kawa (stream)

Fig.4 Kawa (stream)

disappeared. This is a problem we must address.
When and how this unique network of watercourses was formed is not known. Among the historicalmaterials are some maps of the castle town and a map of the watercourses. Four of the maps of the town
show watercourses. Each of them shows how watercourses crisscrossed the town. By comparing them,
we can see how water intakes increased with the expansion of the town. The watercourses drawn on themaps are mostly kawa. One map made toward the end of the 18th century shows some segi, whichsuggests that the segi type of watercourses may have been added to the network later. The map of thewatercourses shows kawa and sensuiro. It also shows traces of many changes in sensuiro courses. We
can gather from the map that the system of sensuiro dates back to the early 19th century.
Sensuiro watercourses connect adjoining garden ponds: each garden pond receives water from its
upstreamgarden pond and delivers water to its

downstream

one-this unique system may havespread throughout the whole town of Matsushiro during the Edo period.
4. Features of gardens
Some 120 such gardens with ponds remain in Matsushiro (surveys are being conducted as to the exact
number and other details). Most of the remaining gardens are those of middle and lower samurai. They
are not luxurious gardens but relatively simple ones, in which daily lives went on and are still going on.
Each garden has a pond, whose water is supplied by the watercourse running from the adjoining
The pond shapes are irregular, square or partly rectilinear. Some have small stone islands in them. Pondbanks are made of smaller pieces of stone (large pieces are rare). Around the ponds are trees, usuallypines, sometimes maples and cherries or fruit trees such as apricots.
The corridor of a house presents a vista from the garden in front to the mountains far behind. This iscalled a borrowed landscape . Especially, Zozan to the south and Noroshi-yama to the southeast were75

SASAKI Kunihiro(mostly south side) garden. For this reason, most ponds are located in the south side parts of gardens.

very convenient for borrowed landscape. Since some mountain could be seen from any part of
Matsushiro, landscape borrowing must have been an important element in the planning of gardens. Thereis a picture of Sanada Yashiki, the residence the lord of Matsushiro Castle built for his mother in the mid19th century. The picture shows the garden against the backdrop of mountains, which suggests thatmountains were integrated with the garden layout.
Most of the remaining gardens were made during the Edo period, although their original features may
since have been changed. These gardens, as well as the ponds and watercourses, may have changed inshape somewhat, but have survived a long history-this is something very worthwhile.
5. Summary
During the Edo period, Matsushiro was formed into a castle town abundant in samurai residence gardens
with ponds. There still remain some 120 such gardens with ponds. Matsushiro was a garden city.
A network of watercourses was a characteristic feature of the garden city. Taking in water from the
Kanda-gawa, which runs from the southern mountains, or from springs in the southern and eastern partsof the town, watercourses crisscrossed the entire town. They were divided into three types according touse. Garden ponds were part of the watercourse network.
The borrowing of mountains as backdrops was a distinctive feature of garden landscapes in
Matsushiro, where one could view mountains from any house.
There were in Edo Japan many castle towns, which had watercourses for water supply. Matsushiro
was simply one of them, except that its watercourses formed a most complex network. Since Japan is a
mountainous country, mountains form the backgrounds of many cities. Castle towns had many samurai
residences with gardens that offered views of distant mountains. Such landscape borrowing must havebeen one of the features of Japanese cities.

Fig.6 Picture of the garden Sanada samurai residence （1867）
SASAKI Kunihiro

Fig.5 Gaeden 0f Shakkei

76

Gardens and Scenery in Kyoto during Early Modern Times
Effect of Shakkei (borrowed scenery) and Chobo (vista) on gardens,
based on analysis of “Miyako Rin-sen Meisyo-zue”
ONO Kenkichi
Chief of the Conservation Technology Section,
Independent Administrative Institution
National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Nara

Miyako Rinsen Meishozue, written by AKISATO Rito and published in 1799, is a guide to gardens in
Kyoto. Akisato's descriptions, interspersed with quotes from the classics, appeal to readers; but above all,what makes this book outstanding is its detailed bird's-eye view pictures of the gardens, drawn by three
painters. Comparison of these bird's-eye view pictures with the extant gardens show clearly that thesepictures are highly realistic. Such reality gives the pictures considerable value as historical material.
A considerable number of pictures in the book represent not only the inside of the garden, but also thesurrounding landscape.
This paper classifies the gardens presented in the book into four types, according to the following four
aspects: (1) Style of the garden; (2) Distance of the outside scenery from the garden; (3) Significance ofthe outside scenery in the garden design; (4) How the outside scenery can be seen from the garden(upward view or downward view).
This paper also introduces representative examples of the gardens of each type and describes thelocation and design features of those gardens.
Type A: (1) Pond garden (2) Close-range view 1(3) Borrowed scenery 2 (4) Upward view 3
Figure 1 shows the garden of Kodaiji temple, located at
the foot of the Higashiyama mountains. The garden isviewed eastwards from above the large and small Hojo
halls (abbot's quarters) on the west side. In theforeground of the picture is a pond called Engetsuchi,
beautifully arranged stones (ishigumi), a bridge
spanning the pond and the founder's hall (Kaizando). In
the trees behind the hall is the hall enshrining deadFig.1

spirits, called Otamaya, with the Higashiyama mountain range in the background. It is noteworthy that the(from south to north). This shows that these mountains were considered integral components of thegarden. This garden still maintains the appearance of the time when the picture was drawn.

77

ONO Kenkichi

name of each mountain of the range is given - Otowayama, Juho (Ryojusen), Hakusanho and KachosanOther gardens categorized in this type are the gardens of Sekizan no yashiro shrine, Ginkakuji
temple, Kounji temple, Nanzen'in temple, Choshoin at Nanzenji temple, Jojuin at Kiyomizudera temple,
Sokushuin at Enichiji temple, Tojiin temple, Seigen'in at Ryoanji temple, Kinkakuji temple, the abbot's
quarter of Tenryuji temple and Ungoan at Tenryuji temple. In addition, two more gardens may be
categorized in this type. One is the garden of Choukian of Sorinji temple, which has a stream instead of apond. The other is the garden of Mon'ami at Sorinji temple, whose pond was filled with white sand insteadof water, because of the difficulty of drawing water into the pond.
The pond garden is the most common style of Japanese garden. In the Kyoto basin, it is not always
easy to supply water into a pond. Since olden times, however, many temples located at the foot ofmountains have built pond gardens making use of spring water. In designing these pond gardens, atechnique called Shakkei (borrowed scenery) has often been employed, taking advantage of the location.
Surrounding mountains are used as a backdrop to the garden; when looking upward, beautiful mountains
can be seen at close range. The garden skillfully takes in the outside scenery as if it were part of thegarden. The outside scenery is in splendid harmony with the garden.
Type B: (1) Karesansui (dry landscape garden) 4(2) Distant view (3) Borrowed scenery (4) Upward view
Figure 2 is the garden at the abbot's quarters of
Daitokuji temple. The picture, viewed from above theabbot's quarters, shows the South and the Eastgardens in the dry landscape style. In the picture Mt.
Hiei, which lies northeast of the East garden, is drawn
near the center, farther southwards than its actual
position. This shows that Mt. Hiei constituted an
important element of the garden, as borrowed scenery.
Also, it can be inferred that Mt. Hiei had a symbolicFig.2

meaning to the East garden. Now we can no longer

see Mt. Hiei from the garden at the abbot's quarters of Daitokuji temple, because tall hedges and trees
have been planted behind the low hedges that form the boundary of the East garden.
The garden at the abbot's quarters of Nanzenji temple belongs to this type, although the mountainused as borrowed scenery is close to the garden, not in the distance. Also, the garden of Ryoanji temple
can be categorized in this type, because Miyako Rinsen Meishozue indicates that Mt. Otokoyama
originally served as borrowed scenery, though it could not be seen due to trees and other obstacles out
side the garden at the time of the book's publication.
The garden categorized in this type seems to be designed to create acompleteworld with thegarden alone, without using the outside scenery as an integral visual element. Therefore, mountains in the
distance that serve as borrowed scenery do not necessarily have a harmonious relationship with thegarden. It may be considered, however, that each element of borrowed scenery has its own implication.
ONO Kenkichi

78

Type C: (1) Flat garden 5 or pond garden (2) Close-range view-Distant view (3) Vista 6(4) Downward view 7
Figure 3 shows the garden of Tafukuan Yaami at
Maruyama, viewed from high above the eastern side of
the garden. In the foreground is a common flat garden
with pruned trees, arranged stones (ishigumi) and snow
viewing (yukimi) lanterns. Beyond the garden is seen
the city of Kyoto, and Nishiyama mountains further
away. The book says: this building commands anextensive fine view of the city of Kyoto and mountains
beyond, from Mt. Atago and Mt. Takao in the north to
Mt. Yawata and Yamazaki district in the south. As is

Fig.3

clear from this description, it is not the design of the garden itself but the outside scenery that plays theleading role in the garden. It is therefore appropriate to call this type of garden a garden for enjoying a
grand vista rather than a garden with borrowed scenery.

It should be noted here that the picture of

Shuami at Maruyama does not show the garden; instead it represents people who are enjoying a wonderfulvista of the city of Kyoto and the Nishiyama mountains.
These two gardens (Tafukuan Yaami at Maruyama and Shuami at Maruyama) no longer exist.
In addition to these two gardens, the gardens of the following temples are categorized in this type:
Chojuan Saami at Maruyama, Mon'ami at Sorinji temple, Gen'ami at Ryozen, Hoshoin at Kiyomizudera
temple, En'yoin at Kiyomizudera temple, Enmeiin at Kiyomizudera temple, Nanmeiin at Tofukuji temple,
Keiun'an at Fushimi, Jizoin temple at Takao and Sanzon'in at Kozanji temple in Toganoo.
Like the gardens of type A, most of the gardens mentioned above are located at the foot of mountains andmake use of that location. Unlike the gardens of type A, however, these gardens are laid out to haveadjacent mountains at the back, so as to command a spectacular vista of the Kyoto basin. In the case of thetype C garden, the design of the garden itself is not very important. This is clear from the examples of theEnmeiin and En'yoin of Kiyomizudera temple and Jizoin temple at Takao, in which no artificial garden
design was employed.
It can be said that the outside scenery itself was regarded as a garden.
Type D: (1) Tea garden 8 (2) Distant view (3) Borrowed scenery (4) Downward view
Figure 4 is the garden of Hogoan at Saioin in Kurotani, a teahouse located on a hill in the eastern part of
the Kyoto Basin. This teahouse is also known as Yodo-mi no Seki (Seat for viewing Yodo river) because in
olden times it presented a fine, long vista down to the Yodo river. In the picture, villages in the east andHigashiyama mountains are drawn beyond the garden hedge, as important constituent elements of the tea
garden, which features stepping stones that lead toward the teahouse. The garden of Hogoan at Saioin in
The tea garden attached to the grass-thatched hut style teahouse was originally designed to serve
as a secluded place in the middle of a town. In the late 17th century, the concept of borrowed scenery

79

ONO Kenkichi

Kurotani is the only example of the type D garden in the Miyako Rinsen Meishozue.

began to be adopted into tea garden design. Thismeans that outside scenery began to be considered as
a visual treat for guests at the tea ceremony, whichattaches great importance to entertaining guests.
As mentioned above, the pictures of the gardens
presented in Miyako Rinsen Meishozue can be
categorized into the four main types, based on therelation between the garden itself and the outside
Fig.4

scenery. Also, it can be inferred that in the late 18th

century, the people of Kyoto appreciated gardens in conjunction with the surrounding landscape. Some
gardens presented in the book no longer exist, and some have few vestiges of the time in which they werecreated, even though they have survived to the present; the surrounding landscapes have largely changed
or can no longer be seen from the gardens.
It is virtually impossible for owners of gardens to preserve the surrounding landscape (either borrowed
scenery or a vista), because they do not own it. If we are to preserve gardens with borrowed scenery or avista in present-day Kyoto city, which has a population of some 1.5 million, administrative measures are
required. I strongly hope that such measures will be implemented, so as to enhance the value of eachgarden as a tourism resource and to help improve the beauty of the city as a whole.
――――――――――――――――――――――
1 This paper determines close-range view or distant view based on relative evaluation, not on the specified value.
2 Natural surroundings beyond the garden's actual borders, used as a constituent element of the garden.
3 When viewing the landscape, the viewer looks upward.
4 A garden style in which the scenery with water is expressed symbolically, without using real water. This style wasestablished in the 16th century and has developed as one of the major styles of Japanese gardens.
5 Relatively flat garden in which no water is used, unlike the pond garden; nor are any symbolic expressions used, unlike
the dry landscape (karesansui ) garden. This type of garden typically features pruned trees, arranged stones, steppingstones and stone lanterns.
6 Main scenic attraction in the extensive view stretching far beyond the garden
7 When viewing the landscape, the viewer looks downward. This paper uses the term downward view to express thelandscape, which lies around and below the horizontal plane of the sight line.
8 Garden as a stage set for the tea ceremony; the style of the tea garden was established during the period from the late
16th century to the beginning of the 17th century.

ONO Kenkichi

80Natural landscape and Water Incorporated
into Modern Japanese Gardens
AMASAKI Hiromasa
Vice-president,
Kyoto University of
Art and Design

Introduction
Japanese gardens are joint works by people, nature, and time. One reason renowned historic gardens
still capture our attention is that these gardens, which harmonize with the natural environment,
incorporate the sensibilities of people in the ages when the gardens were designed and the great
enthusiasm and ingenuity of landscape gardeners, as well as the deep and continuous involvement ofcountless people.
Needless to say, one of the most basic components of Japanese gardens is the natural and culturalenvironment surrounding them. Therefore, to identify the essence of Japanese gardens, it is necessary toinvestigate how landscape gardeners viewed the surrounding environment, and how they recognized thespace when laying out the gardens.
As for the natural environment surrounding gardens, from visual perspectives, we should first consider thesurrounding natural landscape as a target for viewing, or the shakkei method, a technique using distantvistas as parts of gardens. In addition, we should not forget water, an important component of gardens.
Both elements have a close relationship with a garden's surrounding environment.
In this paper, I will focus on villa gardens
located around Nanzenji Temple, gardens
developed through the modernization of Kyoto,
and will trace back the history of the distinctive
garden culture area formed by using naturallandscape of the Higashiyama district andwater from the Lake Biwa Canal.
1. Origin of modern gardens
In 1890 the Lake Biwa Canal, which played a

Fig.1 The Lake Biwa Canal
AMASAKI Hiromasa

81major role in the modernization of Kyoto, was completed. This canal system was constructed as a lastresort to upgrade the urban infrastructure. That is, it aimed to obtain water, a power source indispensable
for industrial development, to overcome an inland city's lack of vessel transportation, and to secure water
for use in extinguishing fires.
Originally, the foothills of the Higashiyama mountain range (from the area around Nanzenji Temple,
where the canal water flows into the Kyoto Basin, to Shikagatani) were expected to develop as anindustrial site. However, since the power source planned for use in such development was changed fromwater turbines to hydroelectric generators, it was decided that the foothills would be developed as a scenic
zone. This policy change paved the way for transformation of the Nanzenji Temple area into a villa site,and made it possible to supply canal water to the villa gardens in this area.
One of the first gardens landscaped in accordance with this policy was Murin-an, a villa of Aritomo
Yamagata. Supported by the Kyoto municipal government, this garden was built in 1894 - 1897. Murin-anfeatures space structure incorporating the grand scenery of the Higashiyama mountain range, vibrantdesign characterized by water flow from the Lake Biwa Canal, and bright lawn open space, as well as
tastefully designed modern space consisting of a tea-ceremony room and garden. When viewing Murin-an,
you realize the fusion of modern sense and traditional space principles.
Murin-an was landscaped by Jihei Ogawa VII, who was called Ueji. Starting with the design of Murinan, Ueji was actively engaged in landscaping a variety of gardens, mainly in the area around Nanzenji
Temple. Along with his commitment to his works, the modern garden style had been established, whichbrought about epoch-making achievements. That is to say, a distinctive garden culture area incorporating
the natural landscape of Higashiyama and water from the Lake Biwa Canal was formed around Nanzenji
Temple.

Fig.2 Murin-an, Kyoto
AMASAKI Hiromasa

82

2. Method of harmonizing natural landscapeMurin-an was designed to ensure continuity with the natural landscape of the Higashiyama mountain
range. Thus, the style of Murin-an varies with the conventional shakkei style, as we see at Entsuji Temple,
a style borrowing background vista as if it belonged to the garden itself, by setting artificial lines such ashedges. In contrast, it can be said that Murin-an resembles a British-style landscape garden, rather than
shakkei style.
Ueji planted Japanese red pines inside thegarden precisely because he intended to show
continuity and unity with the backgroundHigashiyama scenery. Before being greatly
damaged by the Muroto Typhoon in 1934, theHigashiyama mountain range had secondary
forest, wherein Japanese red pines tookprecedence over other species, and since thedistance between Higashiyama and thegarden was short, forest conditions in thismountain range could be observed from thegarden.

Thanks to these location

characteristics, Ueji could incorporate theFig.3 Ukimi-do in Lake Biwa, Shiga

Higashiyama scenery into the garden. At present, however, since Japanese red pines in the Higashiyama
mountain range have decreased in number, Ueji's landscaping technique regrettably does not yield
optimal effects.
Ueji showed additional great ingenuity in laying out Murin-an, by visually linking cultural heritage(temples and shrines), or artificial objects, dotting the surrounding natural landscape with the garden.
Adding human works to the overall garden scenery can help naturally harmonize the surrounding
landscape with the garden. Other good examples of this are Itsukushima Shrine in Miyajima, Ukimi-do in
Lake Biwa, and stone lanterns placed in the forest that can be viewed from the Joju-in of Kiyomizu Temple.
We should not forget that this was one of the basic and traditional methods in landscaping Japanesegardens.
3. Water network
Ueji incorporated water into gardens in a sensuous manner. In these gardens, you can hear the
murmuring of a stream. Following stepping-stones across the stream, you can directly feel water flowing
under your feet. It is a novel idea to place Nagare-tsukubai (stone basin) and Jakago (long bamboo
basket) on the bank of the stream.
Realization of such vibrant flow design was owing to the fact that the necessary amount of water could beconstantly supplied to the gardens from the Lake Biwa Canal.

AMASAKI Hiromasa

83

Fig.4 Tairyu-sanso, Kyoto

In the Edo Period, canal water was already supplied to gardens. In addition to the Kanda and Tamagawa
water systems in Tokyo, the Tatsumi water system was constructed in Kanazawa to supply water toKenrokuen. Moreover, in Ako, Hyogo Prefecture, water from the Ako water system flowed around thecastle town and was supplied to gardens of the Honmaru and Ninomaru of Ako castle. All these channels
were constructed as part of urban infrastructure improvement activities, and were used as water sources
for gardens. The Lake Biwa canal system is no exception. That is, under the pretext of fire prevention,water from the Lake Biwa Canal was supplied to villa gardens around Nanzenji Temple.
After circulating around a garden, canal water flows into the next garden, or along streets, and returns to
the Shirakawa River, or the canal. The water then flows into the Kamogawa River, or the Seto Inland Sea
via the Yodo River.
In this way, while gardens located around Nanzenji Temple shared the natural landscape of Higashiyama,
the water network based on the Lake Biwa Canal was formed there. Through this significant process, adistinctive garden culture area was developed in the abundant natural and historic environment of theHigashiyama mountain range. Moreover, the development of this garden culture area can be regarded as
the creation of new urban environment in modern Kyoto.

AMASAKI Hiromasa

84

APPENDIX

1. General Information of the Conference
Cultural Heritage Protection Cooperation Office, Asia/Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO (ACCU)International Conference− Gardens and their Environmental Context −(Nara, Japan, 16-19 January 2004)

General Information
The Cultural Heritage Protection Cooperation Office, Asia/Pacific Cultural Centre for
UNESCO (ACCU) will organize an International Conference entitled “Gardens and their
Environmental Context”, in Nara, Japan, from 16 to 19 January 2004 in co-operation withJapan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs, the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties,
Nara Prefectural Government, and Nara Municipal Government.

1. Objective
Gardens are defined as “architecture built in a limited outdoor space under a certain
chronological and spatial sense of beauty, as a place for rituals, ceremonies, feasts,
receptions, and as a place to display landscaping design.” Styles of gardens vary
according to time and place. In any garden, builders are much aware of the relationshipwith their surrounding natural environment. There could be diverse such relationships,
and they would also change as the gardens and the environment change with time.
ICOMOS (International Council of Monuments and Sites) and IFLA (International
Federation of Landscape Architects) have made research on the preservation of historicalgardens since 1971. This International Conference is held under the theme of “Gardens
and their Environmental Context” in correspondence with these efforts at ICOMOS andIFLA.
This conference aims to discuss from many aspects of gardens and their relationshipwith the surrounding environment in Asia and Europe, seeking future possibilities.

2. Main themes
1) To compare gardens of western (Europe) and eastern (Asia) cultures, focusing on thegardening technique of “borrowed scenery”. We will examine the ways in which thescenery beyond a garden is utilized in the composition of the garden itself.
2) To consider the social role of gardens (for example, for leisure, as public places etc.)
and to discuss plans for future developments.
3) Case studies of historic gardens87

3. Date and Venue
・Friday16 − Monday 19 January 2004 (4 days)
・Nara-Ken New Public Hall 101 Kasugano-cho, Nara City, Nara 630-8212

4. Participants (12 participants from 7 countries)
China

Dr. Yang Hongxun,
Honorary Professor, Institute of Archaeology, CASS

Germany

Dr. Thomas Weiss
Director, Kulturstiftung Dessau Wörlitz, Hauptverwaltung,
Schloss Gro_kühnau

India

Dr. Priyaleen Singh
Professor, Department of Conservation, School of Planning andArchitecture

Japan

Dr. MOTONAKA Makoto
Chief Senior Specialist, Cultural Properties, Monuments and Sites
Division, Cultural Properties Department, Agency for Cultural
Affairs of the Government of Japan
Dr. ONO Kenkichi
Chief, Conservation Technology Section, Independent
Administrative Institution, Nara National Research Institute forCultural Properties
Dr. SASAKI Kunihiro
Professor, Department of Forest Science, Faculty of Agriculture,
Shinshu University
Dr. YOKOYAMA Tadashi
President, Institute of Advanced Media Arts and Sciences
Dr. AMASAKI Hiromasa
Vice-president, Kyoto University of Art and Design
Dr. NAKAMURA Makoto
Visiting Professor, Kyoto University and Art and Design88Netherlands

Dr. Robert de Jong
President, ICOMOS-IFLA Committee
Coordinator, Netherlands Department for Conservation World
Heritage UNESCO
Dr. Wybe Kuitert
Visiting Professor, Kyoto University of Art and Design

Republic of Korea Dr. Choi Key Soo
Professor, University of Seoul, School of Architecture

5. Provisional Schedule
DayⅠ(Fri. 16 January)
10:00- Opening ceremony
Presentation of the conference theme
11:00- Keynote speechⅠ “Historical Gardens and their Environmental ContextPresent situation and future tasks”, Dr. Robert de Jong (Netherlands)
13:00- Keynote speechⅡ “Shakkei in Chinese Gardens ”, Dr. Yang Hongxun(China)14:10- Participants’ reports I
DayⅡ(Sat. 17 January)
09:30- Participants’ reports II
14:20- General discussion
15:40- Conclusion
DayⅢ(Sun. 18 January)
09:30-11:00 Field Trip (Gardens in Nara)
13:00-16:30 Symposium at Nara-Ken New Public Hall
DayⅣ(Mon. 19 January)
10:00- Field Trip (Gardens in Kyoto)

6. Working Language
The working language of the conference is English. Simultaneous interpretation between
English and Japanese will be provided when necessary.

89

7. Financial Arrangement
Cultural Heritage Protection Cooperation Office, ACCU will provide each of theparticipants with:
1) International Travel: Round trip air ticket (economy class) designed by ACCU,
between the international airport nearest to the participant’s residence and KansaiInternational Airport; and limousine bus fee between Kansai International Airport andNara.
2) Daily Subsistence Allowance (DSA): A fixed amount of DSA to cover fromThursday15 to Monday 19 January 2004. The hotel room will be reserved by ACCU.

8. Correspondence
All enquiries and correspondence concerning the Conference should be addressed to:

Mr. USHIKAWA Yoshiyuki
Director
Cultural Heritage Protection Cooperation Office,Asia/Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO (ACCU)
757 Horencho, Nara City, Nara 630-8113
JAPAN
TEL: + 81-742- 20-5001
FAX: + 81-742-20-5701
E-mail: nara@accu.or.jp

90

2. Opening Speeches

International Conference on Cultural Heritage
USHIKAWA Yoshiyuki, Director of ACCU Nara Office
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.
It is my great pleasure to welcome you all to the International Conference on Historic Gardens
and Their Environmental Context, held by the Cultural Heritage Protection Cooperation Office,Asia/Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO (ACCU). I am particularly grateful for your efforts
to participate in this Conference, despite your tight schedules and long journeys here to Nara.
The ACCU Nara Office was established in 1999, with the aim of contributing to the protectionof cultural heritage sites, including those registered as World Cultural Heritage, in the AsiaPacific region. Ever since the Office’s establishment, it has been committed to 1) collecting
and disseminating information on cultural heritage, 2) organizing seminars to develop humanresources vital to cultural heritage protection, and 3) organizing international conferences andpublic symposia. Through these activities, the Nara Office promotes information exchange
among Japanese and overseas researchers, experts and governmental officials responsible forcultural asset protection.
As part of our commitment to cultural heritage protection, we have organized a series ofinternational conferences and symposia as a means of sharing recognition regarding the current
situation and problems of world cultural heritage sites, and of exchanging views and opinions
regarding solutions. The themes of previous conferences have been: Cultural Heritage
Protection in the Asia-Pacific Region, Historic Roads and Their Cultural Landscapes, andMysteries of Megalithic Cultures.
For today’s conference, we have selected the theme of historic gardens, with particular focus
on “borrowed scenery.” Needless to say, the concept of and approach to borrowed scenery vary
greatly from time to time and region to region. By comparing different garden designs andseeking historic and cultural backgrounds that explain such differences, we hope that theconference will spotlight both the diversity of world cultures and the originality of each
respective culture. At the same time, we hope that we can seriously consider how we should
maintain and ensure effective use of historic gardens, which are essential cultural assets.
Before concluding, I thank you in advance for your kind cooperation in this conference.
I would also like to express my gratitude for the generous support given to us in organizing thisconference, and the symposia, support received from many related organizations, particularly
Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs, Nara Prefectural Government and Nara Municipal
Government.
Thank you.

91

International Conference on Gardens and their Environmental Context
SATO Kunio, Director General of ACCU
Dear eminent and distinguished participants,
It is a great honor, and also a genuine pleasure, for me to make a few remarks on behalf of theorganizer, ACCU, on this occasion of the opening of the International Conference on “Gardens
and their Environmental Context” in Nara.
Allow me to take this opportunity, ladies and gentlemen, to introduce very briefly the activitiesof the Asia/Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO, or ACCU for short. ACCU is a non-profit
organization established in Tokyo in 1971, for the promotion of mutual understanding andcultural cooperation among people in Asia and the Pacific, in line with the principles of
UNESCO. For more than three decades, we have been implementing various programmes in
the fields of culture, literature development, and literacy promotion in close collaboration with
UNESCO and its member countries in the region.
In our programme on the preservation and protection of cultural heritage, we have long been
participating in UNESCO’s International Campaign for Safeguarding World Cultural Heritage,
including projects at the Katmandu Valley in Nepal and Bamiyan in Afghanistan. In order tofurther promote international cooperation in this field, in 1999 we set up a new office named
the Cultural Heritage Cooperation Office here in Nara, as Mr. Ushikawa has alreadymentioned.
As you all know, there are numerous cultural properties, both tangible and intangible, in Asiaand the Pacific region. It goes without saying that intangible heritage, such as oral tradition, is
now widely recognized as an important factor for preserving cultural identity, and ensuring
cultural diversity. Today, however, many forms of cultural expression are in danger ofdisappearing due to globalization, the ageing of the tradition-bearers, conflict, etc., andimmediate action to safeguard this intangible heritage needs to be undertaken.
You may already be aware that in response to this urgent need, UNESCO adopted theInternational Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage at its 32nd
General Conference. ACCU is organizing a follow-up conference in Osaka this February, incooperation with the Japanese government’s Agency for Cultural Affairs, to discuss ACCU’sregional strategies and medium-term action plan for Asia and the Pacific countries.
The theme of the current conference is “Gardens and their Environmental Contexts.” While
there is no need to point this out, in the presence of the specialists in attendance here today,with regard to the history of gardens and their significance, gardens may surely be regarded asa fusion of both tangible and intangible cultural traditions. This is because gardens are thought
to be the harmonious result of human work with nature.

92

But humankind’s one-sided intervention with nature has also led to environmental destruction,
give rise recently to critical evaluation, and to pleas for symbiotic coexistence. These trends are
intimately related to the need just mentioned, for the preservation of tangible and intangible
cultural heritage. It would be wonderful if this International Conference may serve as anopportunity for efforts aimed at the comprehensive preservation of the cultural heritage.
I understand that in conjunction with this International Conference and symposium, there will
be opportunities to visit gardens in both Nara and Kyoto. I especially hope that the participantsfrom abroad will be able to enjoy fully these Japanese gardens. I also hope that your stay here
in the historic city of Nara will be meaningful, and will help contribute to an abundance of
positive results from this Conference.
Thank you very much.

93

3. List of Participants3−1. Participants

94

95

3−2. Resourse Persons

3−3. Secretarist

96

4. Schedule of the Conference9798