National Republican., 1883-07-12
JAPANESE GARDENS.
The Trellised Wisterias Of the Shinto Temple
in KamedO.
Peculiar Style of Landscape Gardening In
MiniRture-PubIIc Garden In Hitschi.

In July everybody in Toxic crosses the
river to Hori-Kiri to see the irises that bloom
there. In the grounds of the principal tenn
pies around the city, and in each of the public
gardens, some particular flower is cultivated
the gardeners pride themselves upon their
speciaties and crowds are drawn in Feb
ruary to see the sleeping dragon plum trees
Mt Kamedo, covered with double blossoms,
and in April TO view the cherry blossoms at
Oil, and at tho beginning of May to SEQ the
peonies bloom at Hiro, and in August to the
moat of the castle in the center of the city Ia
take look at the lotus flowers. Tho chrys,
anthemum shows take place at Dango-Zaka in
November. Tho flowers are trained to form
the drapery of groups of figures illustrating
scenes of history and romance.
The gerdens of the Shinto temple in Ka.
medo, besides the cherry trees, are noted for
their wisterias, trained on trellises, almost
covering the temple pond, which, from its
similarity in shape to the Chinese word for
"hcart," is called :" the lake of tho heart"
The 500 plum trees, so old that their branches
creep for yards along the ground, or are sup
ported by stone props, engraved with stanzas
of poetry in praise of their flowers are said to
be descended from tree which followed its
owner by flying through tho air when ho was
exiled from Kioto in the year 903. 1t is not
only certain places in the capital that are
noted for particular flowers, but insignificant
villages in distant provinces are celebrated
through all Japan for the same reason. The lit
tie town of Yoshino, thirty miles from Nara,
would probably never be heard of but for
its plantations of towering cherry trees.
These are considered to be Incompatible for
beauty in the month of April, when the hill
sides are covered with their delicate pale
pink blossoms. The cherry trees of Mount
Arashi, in kiOto, were transplanted from
here, and even the two miles of plum trees of
Tanki-ga-se, though almost as widely cele-
brated, are considered inferior to them. But
it is poor plaoe in Japan that is not famous
for some natural beauty. Biwa lake, near
Kioto, has no fewer than eight distinguished
beauties, and it may be averred that the in
genuity with which the catalogue is made up
would find something to admire in any situa-
tion. People go to Ishiyama on this lake, to
see the autumn moon; to Hirayana (yama,
mou1tain) TO admire the snow scenes, to Seta
for the sunset, to Mu.dera to hear the even
ing chimes, to Yabase to see the boats sail by,
to Awadza when there is bright sky with a
breeze, such IL conjunction being pleasanter
at that place than anywhere else in Japan.
kata1a Is famous for its flights of wild geese,
and Karasaki, having nothing else TO brag of,
boasts of the beauty of its rainy nights.
1t is this fanciful way of regarding nature
and dwelling upon particular effects that has
developed the peculiar style of landscape
gardening in miniature that is common to
China aud Japan. For this sharp and poetic
observation of natu re is necessary, and a
whimsical determination to get around her
ordinary laws and to produce something more
oXtTavagant than her widest vagaries. The
gardener of the extreme Orient is q great
fellow TO make use of honeycombed rocks, the
hollows of which he fills with lowering
h,
neighboring seacoast, he has them made OF
baked clay at the nearest pottery kiln. Out
of n cuptul of water, SO to speak, he will have
u stream with cascade, u lake with islands,
and bridge or an arm of tho sea with its
jLnks aud rocky coast He delights in old
hces, dead or living, and turns them into all
sorts of uses. At $ himo Zebaka there
is hollow kevaki tree of immense
age, tweuty-seven feet in circumference
Inc hollow is the result of artistic
processes. by which the tree has been
trained to grow around a well which is sunk
between ITS roots. At Nara, the ancient capi-
tal a huge old tree trunk is shown on the
dead branches of which a whole grove of
camela cherry, wisteria, and other bushes
are growing, The art of dwarfing trees is
practiced with great success. The pine the
cherry, and the willow are the favorite sub
jects. The young tree is taken in hand, aud
for many years its branches are bgudaged and
twisted, its buds are nipped, and ii is kept on
u starvation allowance of soil and water
The stunted tree is quite a costly object, and
when large number are Used to form II
miniature landscape the work Of art repre-
sents considerable sum of money. Toy
houses, bridges, and temples are accessories
in these curious reproductions of natural
scenes models of celebrated mountains,
promontories, and 1avines are made in pot
terry, covered with turf and finished of with
rock work streamlets supplied from hidden
conduits, groves of dwarf trees, bridges aud
reductions OF all the more remarkable features
Of the real scene.
One of the finest in Japan is the public
garden of Mito, the capital of the province of
Hitachi. 1t was laid out about half n cen
tury ago by the old lord Of Mito as q retreat
for himself after he had resigned the govern
ment of tho clan. The gardens occupy the
summit of little hill and surround tho old
lords summer residence. Dwarf plum trees
in groves, artificial mounds covered with
springy turf and fenced of with rustic
hedges of bamboo, and lake with stepping
stones and bridges are among the principal
attractions of the scene, There is u little
arbor on one of the slopes. where the old
daimio used to sit in the evening. BY the
door are two small stone tables fixed in the
ground, one marked with lines to form
chessboard and the other arranged for smi-
iur Bdluo uuCn III vogue III JupdU, IN "
grove below is a well, the upper portion hol-
lowed out of a single block of marble, over
which the water flows evenly ON all sides.
In tho Mikado Udas garden in Kiot6are'
islands in the form of tortoises standing up
out of the water, and pine tree trained in
the shape of boat in full sail. A large hill
at the end of the garden was once covered all
over with white silk, by the eX-Mikado's Or
ders, one brOiling hot day in July, so that he
might at least have something to look upon
that would suggest winter and cool weather.
At Toxic, near Yokohama, in the tea
house attached to the temple, is fine. ex-
ample Of the more ordinary sort of miniature
garden, which, though very small, is yet
more wonderful to a foreigner than the more
ambitious ones described above. Into q
space Of about six feet by four is compressed
IA landscape with hills, dales, a mountain
stream and lake, groves Of tiny bamboos and
pine trees road that may be walked over,
an artistic stone bridge with stone lanterns
at either end, and at the rear a model of
Fujiyama itself, the great extinct volcano,
whose outline may be seen upon countless pa
per fans and tea cups.
Another pretty example of the art was seen
in Toxic in the house of fanmaker, who
had it built for the pleasure of his old mother,
who was unable to go out of doors. This CON
sisted of grove of dwarf willow trees, very
old, and worth several hundred dollars. A
little stream ran through it, with its rustic
bridge, from which path led each way, dis
appearing among the trees. 1t was raised
upon platform SO as to bring it on u level
with the window. The dwarf trees are often
planted in bronze vases, with huge peonies