Japanese style landscape architecture
The Japanese garden can probably be called the most recognizable and copied element of Japanese culture. In many European and American parks, you can find corners dedicated to so-called “Eastern” or “Japanese” gardens. They became popular immediately after Japan’s period of isolation ended, as Japanese landscape architecture offered a completely new perspective on landscape design.

Creating Japanese Gardens
Gardens in Japan are works of art where nature serves as the medium. The fundamental principle of creating a Japanese garden is “learn from nature.” However, learning does not imply copying; a good gardener should interpret nature in their own way. Both of these principles, along with others, can be found in “Sakuteiki,” an ancient guide to creating Japanese gardens that is believed to have been written in the late 11th century. “Recall the impressions of various famous places, choose what attracts you, and add your vision. It is best to use this as a foundation for designing the entire garden, making necessary changes along the way,” wrote the author of the manuscript.
Japanese landscape designers are inspired by nature, but their gardens are not “natural” and certainly not wild. The surrounding world in these gardens is subject to individual interpretation and refinement, resulting in not a repetition of the natural landscape but an idealized version or embodiment of nature. For Japanese masters, a garden is a work of art in which they attempt to embody the beauty of life, express aesthetic ideals, and convey spiritual values.
Creating a site plan, developing a concept, and selecting plants are just a small part of the work that Japanese landscape designers undertake. A true master with years of experience envisions the garden not only at the moment of completion but also long afterward. In accordance with the aesthetic concept of wabi-sabi, a significant part of the elegance and charm of a garden is achieved not only through the gardener’s skill but also through how the garden transforms over time as plants grow and are cared for.



Types of Gardens in Japanese Style
All Japanese gardens can be roughly divided into four categories:
- Landscape or Stroll Gardens
Perhaps the most accessible type of garden, both physically and intellectually, for Europeans. They resemble parks found around large aristocratic estates and residences, where visitors can walk along numerous paths, enjoying views and plant compositions. Historical stroll gardens took shape in the 17th century when the military shogunate required major feudal lords, or daimyos, to maintain luxurious homes. Typically, gardens around such estates include a large pond, a complex network of paths, artificial hills, and miniature replicas of landscapes from literary works. The main technique for creating such a garden is “miegakure” (literally, “seen-hidden”): each turn of the path should reveal a new view to the walker, previously hidden from sight.
A landscape project in the Leningrad region, developed by a Japanese bureau, represents a variety of stroll gardens, namely “kaiyushiki teien.” The garden, centered around a pond, features a path winding through the entire space. As visitors move along the path, they gradually pass by a small beach, a hunter’s hut, an outdoor bath, and in the distance, a pond with a bridge can be seen. The project combines traditional Japanese landscape design elements with modern requirements. For example, artificial hills conceal the parking area and the site itself from outsiders, while a green roof hides a semi-underground spa complex.
- Rock Garden
Japanese rock gardens, “karesansui,” are known worldwide. They are not gardens in the traditional sense, as they contain little to no living plants. Originally, rock gardens were created at Buddhist temples and monasteries as a tool for meditation and concentration, allowing one to detach from the everyday. These gardens are meant to be viewed from a single point (most often from an engawa veranda) and represent a highly symbolic expression of complex philosophical ideas. Sand or fine gravel symbolizes the ever-changing waters of the sea, while stones represent areas of land. Their combination signifies the opposing forces of yin and yang, a frequent concept in Eastern philosophy. Appreciating such gardens requires a particular mindset and intellectual approach.
- Tea Gardens
Gardens surrounding tea houses are designed to create a tranquil atmosphere and gradually divert visitors from everyday concerns, leading them into a special spiritual state. These are usually small, enclosed gardens where the main feature is the path leading from the gate to the hand-washing basin and the tea pavilion itself. The stones of the path transition from large and wide to small and narrow, forcing the visitor to be mindful of their actions and intentionally directing their gaze to specific parts of the garden. Tea garden landscape design incorporates stone or metal lanterns, basins, and elements that create both visual and auditory effects. These include artificial waterfalls, bamboo devices like shishi-odoshi, and others.



- Tsubo Gardens
Tiny gardens measuring about 3 square meters appeared in the 17th and 18th centuries as an attempt to maintain a connection with nature in the cramped conditions of the city. They were located at the farthest end of elongated urban plots, closer to living rooms and bedrooms. The design often mimicked tea gardens: on such a small area, a plant composition, a stone lantern, a water basin, or other decorative elements were placed. These gardens were admired from the living room during guest receptions – the tsubo garden also provided sunlight and fresh air to the living spaces.
In modern Japan, tsubo gardens are gaining popularity due to the ability to create a little piece of nature even on tiny available plots in Tokyo or other cities.