Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1891-04-10
AtiTTLg GARDEN IN Japan.

The following u from John La
Farge's Letter from Japan" Ia the
Century You have heard ~ the H..
tie gardens. and Of their exquisite de-
tails. in which the Japanese makes
little epiiomc of nature. arranged rs II
for one of his microscopic Jewels Of
metals. ivory. or lacquer
Here Ia our own garden there
would seem no call for an Artificial ma
ture. The mountain slope on which
We live must always have been h"auti-
ful at itself; but for NIL that our garden
this IL To- say. the space about our
landlords house and our own-.has
been treated With extreme care Our
Enclosure Is framed towards the great
temple graves. aud the great noun
tains behind them. by n high wall Of
rock. over which. al corner edged
with moss. rolls n torrent. making q
waterfall that breaks three times. The
pool below. edged with lrls that grow
in thu garden sand, IL crossed by
bridge 81 three big Hat stones. and
gni,Kses @---rreiiy away. On each side
Of the fall. planted In the rock wall.
stands = thick-ses paulownia, with
great steady leaves. and bending
towards II n willow. whose branches
drop far below itself and swing p.rpei-
ualIy In the draught of the waterfall.
Bunches of pink azalca grows In the
hollows of the rocks. aud their rehec-
tions re'l,len the eddies 81 the pool.
Steps which seem natural lead Mp the
wall of rock; old pines grow against Il.
and oar feet pass through their upper
most branches. On the top l. planted
q monumental stone. and from there n
little path runs along. leading nowhere
nowadays as FAR NJ ! can make out.
am right In calling this mass ~ rock.
which 10 q spur Of the mountain slope.
q wall. for look down from its top to
the next Enclosure far below. now
oscSgrown aud Wild. What II natural
and what was made by man has he
come 10 blended together os has al
ways been 10. that can choose la look
ai Il as my mood may bc. and feel the
repose Of nature or enjoy the disposing
choice of art.
s'Where the little bridge crosses
over. and where messy rocks dip down
q little TO allow q passage, edged by
maple aud pine. look over across
the hidden road ,o deserted yasALi,
with one blasted tree. all oyergrown
with green and melting lnto distances
oi trees. which. tier behind tier. reach
TO u little conieal hill. that IA divided
and subdl, lied by sheets 81 mist at
every change % heat and damp. 80 that
] feel half Ms " I knew ita forms per-
fectly half - II could never get ihcM
all by heart.
lin the sand Of our little garden ara
Set out elumps OF flowers. chr, ssnthc-
mum mostly. and occasionally Iris aud
Hzalcs; aud the two houses make It's
other two sides. The priests house.
On old ono. with large matched roof
projecting In front and supported there
by posts covered with crcepers IL near
or tho water. | see the little priest with
his young neophyte curlcd on the mats
Ia the big front room whose whole face
10 open; while iE break. or wing In the
opening 10 the practical housckecper
side Of the dwelling.
Our own house. which faces south
like the priests. completes tho square.
- said. IL Is edged on the outside
by . small plantation Of trees with no
character. that stretch away 10 the
back road and to n wall tcrracing
higher ground behind. There a wide
space overgrown with bushes aud her.
bage, that cover former care and beau
~. spreads out indefinitely towards
conical hills hot In the sun, behind
which rises the great volcanic slope Of
Nio-ho. A little temple shrine. red.
white. and gold. stands In this heat Of
sunlight and makes cooler yet the
violets and tender greens Of the great
slopes. This Is to the north. When I
look towards the west see broad
spaces broken up by trees. and the
corner OF lyeyasu's temple wall half
hidden by the gigantic cedars. aud as I
write. late In the afternoon. the blue
peak Of Nan-tai-san rounded of like Q
globe by the yellow mist.
The garden. embosomed In this
vastness Of nature. feels small. as
though IL were meant TO be so. Every
part Is on n small scale. and needs few
hands TO keep things In order We
have little fountain In the middle Of
the garden. that gives the water for
our bath, and sends a noisy stream
rolling through the wooden trough Of
the wasb-room. The fountain IL made
by . bucket placed upon two big
stones. set In basin, along whose edge
den pipe ILLS the bucket. aud long
green bamboo makes conduit for the
water through the wooden side Of our
house. With another bamboo we tap
the water for our bath"