A Guide to Japanese Culture: Architecture and Gardens

There are many temples and shrines. Temples refer to Buddhism and Shrines worship Shintoism, the latter being a traditional Japanese, pagan religion. Like old Romans, old Japanese believed there are many gods in this world, and they saw gods in nature (like in a mountain, woods, lake, etc.). There is an expression “Yaoyorozu-no-kami” which literally says “8 million gods”, outnumbering Roman godsJ

Today modern average Japanese are not very religiously oriented people, although from time to time, they worship their family religions on some special occasions, e.g., wedding, funeral, anniversaries of the death of their relatives (this is a serious matter). Interestingly, while Buddhism and Shintoism are completely different religions (the former brought in from India through China), there is a mixture and a separation of roles played by these. People often obey Shintoism tradition when they get married and follow Buddhism rituals for funerals.

All these are only introductory, but you do not need to know much about them to appreciate the beauty of Japanese architecture and gardens. Many of temples (there are more than 2,000 Buddhist temples in Kyoto) and Shrines have very beautiful gardens. Admission fees are around 500 JPY (less than 4 EU).

A characteristic feature of Japanese gardens is their asymmetry. They are almost never symmetrically constructed, as with the nature itself. On the other hand, they are not intended to be a copy or a miniature of nature. It is more of a symbolic representation of the beauty of natural beauty.

Let me show you some examples.

1. Stone Garden (Ryoanji Temple – alas, Japanes only) Here is the famous Stone Garden: Pic. A, Pic. B, Pic C., Pic. D. This shows a height of aesthetic sense of a Zen-Buddhism school Zen Buddhism has influenced the Japanese culture greatly, e.g. tea ceremony, Zen cooking (vegetarian), gardens, etc. It often symbolizes nature, and this garden shows abstraction of the sea (white sands) and mountains, idlands (represented by stones). The last picture (Pic. D) is called a “Tsukubai”, and it serves as a wash basin before entering a tea ceremony house. (The one shown here is a replica.) It also symbolized 4 Japanese characters: “Ware (Self)” “Tada (Only)” “Taru (Content with)” “Shiru (Know; recognize)”; and these 4 characters are designed to share the hole in the middle (so happens as part of all these 4 characters). Together they mean: I only recognize what I have is enough.”

2. Kinkakuji (Golden Pavillion – alas, Japanes only again) This pavilion is very famous for its gold-coated (almost every façade and internal constructions are coated with thin gold films. Jan Willems with Pavillion, Rina and Allen Tannenbaum with Pavillion in the back.

3. Katsura Imperial Villa (Web page– alas, again Japanes only; but there is a nice video presentation accompanied with English subtitles) This shows a highlight of Japanese garden. It is definitely one of the most beautiful, if not the most, gardens in Japan. It is a property of the imperial family; you need to get an admission, but it’s free. You have to show your passport and the tour is restricted to approx. 20 people per group, and there are only 4 tours a day (Monday through Friday). For getting an admission, you should file an application or fill in a form at http://sankan.kunaicho.go.jp. You can file applications to other facilities from this page also.

This is a magical combination of nature, light, shadow, and above all, simplicity. All small buildings are tea ceremony houses, but each represents a different style, yet they are so rich and simultaneously simple. This garden was founded approx. 400 years ago, but is still maintained in a very good condition. We can take pictures only at restricted areas, and they will hardly convey the overall beauty of this magnificent garden. I hope you’d visit and find out for yourself.

The best seasons are May and October/November, but it will show its significance in any season. Let the pictures speak for themselves (click the thumbnails):