Have you ever seen an authentic Japanese garden? Well, I had
chance of seeing one in Monaco and was really impressed too. Wanna taste a little Japanese culture? Stepping on this ground is escaping from real world into a fantasy land. You suddenly find yourself in a typical Japanese natural setting like ones you see in marvelous paintings. The only thing that's missing is fog. Instead, Mediterranean sun reveals all minute details in a warm light.With Japanese gardens, what you see is not all; surface of things is mere reflection of psyche of an ancient culture. One really needs to be literally "cultured" in this direction to best appreciate value of this art. (which I myself was not at time of my visit! And it was a pitty as I did not know what to look for and what to analyse better!) One can speak of a philosophy of gardening coming from ancient Japan. Japanese gardening is an art fetched beyond arrangements of vegetation, water and stone but is full of symbols:
* Koko - veneration of timeless age;
* Shizen - avoidance of artificial;
* Yugen, or darkness - imply mysterious or subtle;
* Miegakure - avoidance of full expression
The perception of nature is different in Japanese culture from that of European one. Instead of viewing nature only as something to be subjugated and transformed according to men-made ideal of beauty, Japanese developed a close connection to nature, considering it sacred, an ally in putting food on table and an ideal of beauty in itself. That is why Japanese gardens are synthesis of nature in miniature instead of correction of nature as with European gardens.
Actually, design of Japanese gardens come from Chinese model. The history goes back in time, around year 100BC when emperor of China, Wu Di of Han Dynasty established a garden that contained three small islands, mimicking Isles of Immortals, who were principle Taoist deities. An envoy of Japan saw it and took idea to Japan, improving existing Japanese practices.
