Puntogf Antiques.

Japanese Meiji

Japanese Garden Design

A Japanese Garden is full of mystery, nature and serenity. Just as landscape gardens of the West followed historic points of reference such as Classical Garden Design, Traditional Garden Design, English Garden Design on up threw Modern Garden Design, the Japanese garden tradition has a history that followed the trends and lifestyles of their location and times. It would be very pretentious to copy directly a Japanese Garden for Houston, although there was actually a style of Japanese Garden Design that did just that. We will highlight how you could build and apply the Japanese or Zen Garden style to your own home in Houston Texas.

Japanese Garden History

• Asuka period (538-710)-gardens were an expression of Buddhism and Taoism. Small gardens were reflections of spiritual themes or miniaturizations of the large mountainous regions of China and Japan.

• Heian period (794-1185)-the garden shifted from representing religious beliefs to becoming a place for ceremony, entertainment and passive contemplation. These became gardens for the wealthy of the time.

• Kamakura and Muromachi periods (1185-1573) this was the period of shogun rulers who enjoyed gardens for their beauty and revitalization. Zen beliefs were also flourishing at this time and had great influences over garden techniques and purposes. The dry landscape style from Zen Buddhism became popular.

• Edo period (1603-1868) continued the style and preferences of shogun rulers and the Japanese tea ceremony became a vital part of the Japanese lifestyle reflected in the construction of tea houses built especially for this occasion.

• Meiji period followed Japanese modernization. Many famous and traditional gardens from the past were renovated or reconstructed by wealthy business owners and politicians of the time.

Japanese Garden Features

Deep philosophical and spiritual interpretations and nuances were intertwined with Japanese Garden design but we can view overall meanings and structures to understand, interpret and bring Japanese Garden design into the modern day context for our own beauty, enjoyment and renewal. Japanese gardens create themes and are extensions of the architecture of the home. They are designed with very specific view points so that subconsciously universal, spiritual, or passive themes could be experienced. Common themes from the garden include:

• Water-either as fountains, streams, ponds, lakes or interpretations in stone

• Rocks-used as representations placed upright to suggest mountains, character or spiritual themes and add a grounding element

• A lantern-typically of stone.

• A teahouse-or pavilion for renewal

• An enclosure such as a hedge, fence, or wall reflecting elements of the homes architecture or simply wood, bamboo, or other matting.

• A bridge to an island either with stepping stones or a wood bridge

Japanese Garden Design and Materials

The first decision to be made in designing a Japanese Garden is to decide what "themes" will run throughout the garden. There may be combinations of paths that create a journey through a winding path were there are seating areas for quite contemplation, meditation or entertainment. Artistic focal points of rock may be used to enlighten and excite the spirit of the observer. Paths, bridges, and walkways create diverse experiences. As an overall design intention, remember you are miniaturizing the cosmos in a naturalistic way.

Stone-use to represent water such as a dry creek beds, ponds or a beach entry. Here various round river rocks could be used from plain brown rock special to Mexican beach pebble black or white specialty rocks. Boulders can be used in upright positions to represent mountains or be submerged to create more natural stone ledges or flat plateaus. Be careful with being to literal-stones and boulders still need to be positioned in a natural way so when viewed the composition looks natural.

Structures-such as an entertainment pavilion for private or public use. This could be a deck or platform made of wood, metal or stone. Ordinary outdoor furniture for entertainment or a meditative experience could be achieved using low benches or stone benches and simple outdoor sculptures or stones for viewing. Although borrowing from the tea ceremony experience this could be a place to enjoy wine and foods while creating a contemplative or renewing experience for the eye.

Fences-Rather than a typical fence of cedar pickets, wood, or brick and wood which simply serve to provide security a fence could vary in materials, detailing and heights. For example, pickets could be installed as panels between posts with a detail strip and cap pieces could be pyramidal or circular reflecting garden scenes. A solid brick fence could create interest and repetition by adding equally spaced metal lattice panels.

Plants-In the Japanese garden, plants are used not only for recreating nature, echoing larger themes or nature but can also serve as focal points. Focal point plants that work well in the Houston climate include:

• Japanese Maple (and their various varieties)-do best in shade to protect their leaves
• Bamboo-provide focal points and beautiful screens
• Groundcovers-Monkey grass, Dwarf Monkey grass, Creeping Jenny

About the Author

Exterior Worlds
Specializing in
Japanese Garden Design

Japanese Wigs from the Meiji Period $49.99 Japanese Wigs from the Meiji Period - Giclee Print

Meiji Ceramics $108.27 The author examines the history of Japanese export porcelain in the Meiji era in the context of political, economic and cultural developments and with special emphasis on stylistic influence from the West. The more than 150 illustrations reproduce major i

Promulgation of the New Japanese Constitution by Emperor Meiji of Japan at Tokyo $34.99 Promulgation of the New Japanese Constitution by Emperor Meiji of Japan at Tokyo - Giclee Print

Japanese Communists Swarm Platform in Meiji Park and Call For a March on Imperial Plaza $79.99 Michael Rougier Japanese Communists Swarm Platform in Meiji Park and Call For a March on Imperial Plaza - Photographic Print

Newlyweds after their Traditional Japanese Wedding at the Meiji-Jingu Shinto Shrine, Tokyo $19.99 Brent Winebrenner Newlyweds after their Traditional Japanese Wedding at the Meiji-Jingu Shinto Shrine, Tokyo - Photographic Print

Modern Japanese Art and the Meiji State (Hardcover) $181.18 This broad-ranging and profoundly influential analysis describes how Western art institutions and vocabulary were transplanted to Japan in the late nineteenth century. In the 1870s and 1880s, artists, government administrators, and others in Japan encountered the Western “system of the arts” for the first time, as objects and information from Japan reached European and American audiences following the collapse of the shogun’s regime. Under pressure to exhibit and sell its artistic products abroad, Japan’s new Meiji government came face-to-face with the need to create European-style art schools, museums, government-sponsored exhibitions, and artifact preservation policies—and even to establish Japanese words for “art,” “painting,” “artist,” and “sculpture.”   Modern Japanese Art and the Meiji State represents nothing less than a reconceptualization of the field of Japanese art history. It exposes the politics through which the words, categories, and values that still structure our understanding of the field came to be while revealing the historicity of Western and non-Western art history.  

Army,Empire and Politics in Meiji Japan $140 Dramatic innovations in modern Japan include a mass army, overseas empire, and constitutional polity. This is the first book to link these changes in the Meiji era (1868-1912). It focuses on the life of General Katsura Taro, one of the architects of the modern military, a leading figure in Japanese colonialism, and prime minister through the 1900s. Challenging the received wisdom about Japanese militarism and imperialism, it exposes the army's ambivalence about empire but also its positive role in political change.

Since Meiji $44.8 Since Meiji

Japanese Documentary Films : The Meiji Era Through Hiroshima $32.5 No Synopsis Available

Essays on the Modern Japanese Church : Christianity in Meiji Japan $28.23 No Synopsis Available

Japanese Political History Since the Meiji Renovation 1868-2000 $36.08 No Synopsis Available

Japanese Documentary Film: The Meiji Era Through Hiroshima $65.81 No Synopsis Available

Adaptations of Western Literature in Meiji Japan $90 This book examines three examples of late nineteenth-century Japanese adaptations of Western literature: a biography of U.S. Grant recasting him as a Japanese warrior, a Victorian novel reset as oral performance, and an American melodrama redone as a serialized novel promoting the reform of Japanese theater. Written from a comparative perspective, it argues that adaptation (hon'an) was a valid form of contemporary Japanese translation that fostered creative appropriation across many genres and among a diverse group of writers and artists. In addition, it invites readers to reconsider adaptation in the context of translation theory.

Meiji Shrine $219.99 Andre Kertesz Meiji Shrine - Limited Edition

Perfectly Japanese $15.95 Are Japanese families in crisis? In this dynamic and substantive study, Merry Isaacs White looks back at two key moments of "family making" in the past hundred years--the Meiji era and postwar period--to see how models for the Japanese family have been constructed.

Japanese Bamboo Baskets $33.6 Once neglected in the West, Japanese basketry now claims a loyal following among art lovers, collectors, and craftspeople in the United States and Europe. Japanese Bamboo Baskets: Meiji, Modern, and Contemporary acknowledges this growing interest by prese

Modern Japanese Art and the Meiji State By Sato, Doshin/ Nara, Hiroshi (TRN) $125.05 Author: Sato, Doshin/ Nara, Hiroshi (TRN) Subtitle: The Politics of Beauty Publication Date: 2011/07/19 Number of Pages: 365 Binding Type: Hardcover Language: English Depth: 1.25 Width: 7.50 Height: 10.50

Military Communication of Feudal Japan : Japanese Cryptology from the 1500s to Meiji $8.97 No Synopsis Available

Japanese Students at Cambridge University in the Meiji Era, 1868-1912 : Pioneers for the Modernization of Japan $27.59 No Synopsis Available

Novel Japanese: Spaces of Nationhood in Early Meiji Narrative, 1870-88 $58.5 No Synopsis Available

Establishment of the Japanese Constitutional System $64.95 The 1889 Meiji constitution: how it actually worked, the establishment of the Diet and the shifting roles and interests of the parties.

Rurouni Kenshin: Tales of the Meiji - Soulless Knights $25.46 This 100-minute DVD compiles four episodes from the popular Japanese animé, which concerns a troop of fighters schooled in the medieval ways of battle. Included here are episodes 83 through 86, dubbed in English. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi

Japanese Erotic Fantasies $87.36 Japanese Erotic Fantasies: Sexual Imagery of the Edo Period. Japanese Erotic Fantasies presents over 200 images, principally from the Edo period but also from the following Meiji era. Many of these works - drawn from international private and museum colle

Rurouni Kenshin: Tales of the Meiji - A Shinobi's Love $25.46 Episodes 87 through 90 of the ongoing animé series Rurouni Kenshin are featured on this DVD release. All four episodes have been transferred to DVD in their original 1.33:1 full-frame aspect ratio, while the audio has been mastered in Dolby Digital Stereo, with viewers having the option of the original Japanese language tracks or an English dubbed track. The disc has also been encoded with English subtitles which can be used during Japanese language playback. The disc also features as bonus material a trailer prepared for the video series, and a collection of outtakes from these episodes. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

MEIJI UNIVERSITY MANDOLIN CLUB: DIAMOND $41.91 MEIJI UNIVERSITY MANDOLIN CLUB: DIAMOND

Origins of Japanese Wealth and Power $85 Focuses on the trans-Meiji Restoration story of the ideological transformation that made capitalism possible in Japan. This book illustrates this transformation by looking at four key architects of Meiji Japan's capitalist institutions. They are Okubo Toshimichi, Godai Tomoatsu, Matsukata Masayoshi and Maeda Masana.

Rurouni Kenshin: Tales of the Meiji - Firefly's Wish $25.46 This installment of Rurouni Kenshin features Kenshin and Kaoru remembering their brief time together. This disc offers a standard full-frame transfer. An English soundtrack is rendered in Dolby Digital Stereo. Purists can listen to the film's original Japanese soundtrack while reading the English subtitles. Supplemental materials include outtakes and liner notes. This is a fine release for anyone with an interest in animé, but those new to the series may want to start at the beginning. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Rurouni Kenshin: Tales of the Meiji - Fall From Grace $25.46 This disc contains four episodes of the popular anime series Rurouni Kenshin. The episodes are titled "The Last Crusade", "Bon Voyage", "Himura Dojo in Shimonoseki?", and "Crush!". Each episode is presented in the original aspect ratio of 1.33:1. English soundtracks are rendered in Dolby Digital Stereo, but purists will probably prefer to listen to the Japanese Dolby Digital Stereo soundtracks and read the English subtitles. Supplemental materials include outtakes, and liner notes. This is a fine release for fans of the series. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Jason in Japan - Tokyo - Meiji Shrine