In addition to trees and shrubs, the Japanese garden makes artistic use of rocks, sand, artificial hills, ponds, and flowing water. In contrast to the geometrically arranged trees and rocks of a Western-style garden, the Japanese garden traditionally creates a scenic composition that, as artlessly as possible, mimics nature. Garden designers followed 3 basic principles when composing scenes. The first refers to the miniaturisation of natural views of mountains and rivers so as to reunite them in a confined area. This could mean the creation of idealised scenes of a mountain village, even within a city.
Symbolisation involves abstraction, an example being the use of white sand to suggest the sea.
The basic framework of the Japanese garden, according to one school of thought, is provided by rocks and the way they are grouped. At first, it was common to employ the hill style for the main garden of a mansion and the flat style for limited spaces. It was at this time that Buddhism was brought to Japan from the continent by way of the Korean peninsula. Immigrants from there added continental influences to Japanese gardens, such as stone fountains and bridges of Chinese origin. As the noble family of Fujiwara consolidated its grip on power, an aristocratic, natively inspired art and culture developed.