Ryōan-ji: Difference between revisions

The garden is meant to be viewed from a seated position on the veranda of the hōjō, the residence of the abbot of the monastery.[10]

The stones are placed so that the entire composition cannot be seen at once from the veranda. They are also arranged so that when looking at the garden from any angle (other than from above) only fourteen of the boulders are visible at one time. It is traditionally said that only through attaining enlightenment would one be able to view the fifteenth boulder.

The wall behind the garden is an important element of the garden. It is made of clay, which has been stained by age with subtle brown and orange tones. In 1977, the tile roof of the wall was restored with tree bark to its original appearance.^[6]

When the garden was rebuilt in 1799, it came up higher than before and a view over the wall to the mountain scenery behind came about. At present this view is blocked by trees.^[11]

The garden had particular significance for the composer John Cage, who composed a series of works and made visual art works based on it.^[12]

Meaning of the garden

Like any work of art, the artistic garden of Ryōan-ji is also open to interpretation, or scientific research into possible meanings. Many different theories have been put forward inside and outside Japan about what the garden is supposed to represent, from islands in a stream, to swimming baby tigers to the peaks of mountains rising above to theories about secrets of geometry or of the rules of equilibrium of odd numbers. Garden historian Gunter Nitschke wrote: "The garden at Ryōan-ji does not symbolize anything, or more precisely, to avoid any misunderstanding, the garden of Ryōan-ji does not symbolize, nor does it have the value of reproducing a natural beauty that one can find in the real or mythical world. I consider it to be an abstract composition of "natural" objects in space, a composition whose function is to incite meditation.".^[13]

Scientific analysis of the garden

In an article published by the science journal Nature, Gert van Tonder and Michael Lyons analyze the rock garden by generating a model of shape analysis (medial axis) in early visual processing.

Using this model, they show that the empty space of the garden is implicitly structured, and is aligned with the temple's

The researchers propose that the implicit structure of the garden is designed to appeal to the viewer's unconscious visual sensitivity to axial-symmetry skeletons of stimulus shapes. In support of their findings, they found that imposing a

Centuries after its creation, the influences of the dry elements at Ryōan-ji continue to be reflected and re-examined in garden design — for example, in the Japangarten at the Art Museum at Wolfsburg in Germany.^[15]

Other gardens

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While the rock garden is the best-known garden of Ryōan-ji, the temple also has a water garden; the Kyoyochi Pond, built in the 12th century as part of the Fujiwara estate. Cherry trees have recently been planted northwest of the pond.^{[citation needed]}

Ryōan-ji also has a teahouse and tea garden, dating to the 17th century. Near the teahouse is a famous stone water basin, with water continually flowing for ritual purification. This is the Ryōan-ji

]

Images

• 
  Entrance to the Temple territory
• 
  Cherry blossom at the rock garden of Ryōan-ji Temple in Kyoto, Japan
• 
  Close up of the zen garden
• 
  Kyoyochi Pond, created in the 12th century as a water garden
• 
  Sanmon gate to the temple
• 
  Temple bell at Ryōan-ji
• 
  Gardens of Ryōan-ji
• 
  The garden outside the teahouse (winter)
• 
  Lake and bridge outside the Kuri, the main hall (summer)
• 
  Interior of the Kuri, the main temple building

See also

• List of Special Places of Scenic Beauty, Special Historic Sites and Special Natural Monuments
• Higashiyama Bunka in Muromachi period
• Japanese garden
• For an explanation of terms concerning Japanese Buddhism, Japanese Buddhist art, and Japanese Buddhist temple architecture, see the Glossary of Japanese Buddhism.
• Tourism in Japan
• List of compositions by John Cage

Notes

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ryoanji.

1. ^ Nitschke, Le Jardin japonais, pg. 88-89
2. ^ Moscher, G. (1978). Kyoto: A Contemplative Guide, pp. 277-278.
3. ^ See, for example, Michel Baridon, Les Jardins, Nitschke, Le Jardin Japonais, and Eliseeff. Jardins Japonais
4. ^ Nitschke, Le Jardin Japonais, pg. 89
5. ^ Danielle Elisseeff, Jardins japonais, pg. 61.
6. ^ ^{a b c} Young and Young, The Art of the Japanese Garden, pg. 108-109.
7. ^ Miyeko Murase, L'Art du Japon, pg. 183.
8. ^ Kuitert, Themes, Scenes, and Taste, in the History of Japanese Garden Art, pg. 114-124 and 293-295.
9. ISBN 978-4434201424
10. ^ Nitschke, Le Jardin Japonais, pg. 90.
11. ^ Kuitert, Themes, Scenes, and Taste, in the History of Japanese Garden Art, pg. 122, 124
12. ^ Whittington, Stephen. "Digging in John Cage's Garden - Cage and Ryoanji". Malaysian Music Journal. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
13. ^ Nitschke, Le jardin Japonais," pg. 92. Translation of this citation from French by D.R. Siefkin.
14. PMID 12353024
    .
15. ^ Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Japanese garden Archived 2011-07-18 at the Wayback Machine; Kazuhisa Kawamura, "Japangarten im Hof des Kunstmuseums Wolfsburg" (Japanese garden in the courtyard of the Museum of Art at Wolfsburg); excerpt, "Die Proportion, die Dimension und die Art der Gestaltung beider Gärten sind fast identisch." (The proportion, the dimension and nature of the design of both gardens are almost identical).
16. ^ ^{a b} Gustafson, Herb L. (1999). The Art of Japanese Gardens: Designing & Making Your Own Peaceful Space, p. 78.

References

• Kuitert, Wybe, (1988) Themes, Scenes, and Taste in the History of Japanese Garden Art, Japonica Neerlandica, Amsterdam, (
  ISBN 90-5063-0219)[1]
• Kuitert, Wybe, (2002) Themes in the History of Japanese Garden Art, Hawaii University Press, Honolulu, (
  ISBN 0-8248-2312-5
  )
• Young, David and Michiko, (2005), The Art of the Japanese Garden, Tuttle Publishing, Vermont and Singapore, (
  ISBN 978-0-8048-3598-5
  )
• Nitschke, Gunter, (1999) Le Jardin japonais - Angle droit et forme naturelle, Taschen publishers, Paris (translated from German into French by Wolf Fruhtrunk), (
  ISBN 978-3-8228-3034-5
  )
• Baridon, Michel (1998). Les Jardins- Paysagistes, Jardiniers, Poetes., Éditions Robert Lafont, Paris, (
  ISBN 2-221-06707-X
  )
• Murase, Miyeko, (1996), L'Art du Japon, La Pochothḕque, Paris, (
  ISBN 2-253-13054-0
  )
• Elisseeff, Danielle, (2010), Jardins japonais, Ḗditions Scala, Paris, (
  ISBN 978-2-35988-029-8
  )
• Gustafson, Herb L. (1999). The Art of Japanese Gardens: Designing & Making Your Own Peaceful Space.
  ISBN 978-0-7153-0986-5
• Moscher, Gouvernor. (1978). Kyoto: A Contemplative Guide. Tokyo:
  ISBN 978-0-8048-1294-8
• Ritchie, Donald. (1995). The Temples of Kyoto. Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing.
  ISBN 978-0-8048-2032-5
• The Compact Nelson Japanese-English Character Dictionary, Charles E. Tuttle Company, Tokyo 1999,
  ISBN 4-8053-0574-6
• Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary, Kenkyusha Limited, Tokyo 1991,
  ISBN 4-7674-2015-6
• Whittington, Stephen. (2013). [2] Digging in John Cage's Garden - John Cage and Ryoanji. Malaysian Music Journal, Vol.2 No.2. Tanjong Malim: UPSI Press.
  ISSN 2232-1020

External links

• Ryōan-ji website
• Yamasa Institute's Ryoan-ji: History & Impressions
• Owners URL
• 360 degree view (Google Cultural Institute)
• GooglePlus
• Visit Guide Map
• jGarden
• Travel guide
• Real Japanese Gardens

35°02′04″N 135°43′06″E / 35.03444°N 135.71833°E / 35.03444; 135.71833