Elements

The earliest extant treatise on gardening, the Sakuteiki, indicates that gardens contained many or all of the elements listed at the left. Clicking on any of these elements will open a page containing a discussion of that element and a series of links to appropriate images.

A discussion of the individual elements of Japanese gardens can fill a book, and often has. A good example is Josiah Conder's Landscape Gardening in Japan, first published in 1893, one of the earliest western treatises on Japanese gardens. It contains an exhaustive catalogue of the rocks, waterways, lanterns, basins, bridges, trees, flowers, and shrubs used in the gardens of Japan, including the latin names of the flora.

Conder's interpretation of these elements is highly subjective, however, and is based largely on later sources and personal experiences, so that its value for a study of early garden design is minimal. What follows here is a much more abbreviated and conservative summary of some of the basic elements found in Japanese gardens. Those interested in a more detailed listing and analysis of these elements should check the links page for more comprehensive information on individual elements.