NO. 16. JAPANESE FLAT GARDEN 

 (Hira-niva) 



The style of garden composition prac- 

 ticed in Japan is the natural style. Their 

 landscape gardens are simple represen- 

 tations of natural views in miniature. A 

 characteristic of Japanese gardening is 

 the importance attached to the use of 

 natural stones, rocks and boulders. The 

 principal rocks and stones having names, 

 which refer to their position in the land- 

 scape or represent the names of Budd- 

 hist deities. The type of garden shown 

 in this plan is the "Hira-Niva," or flat 

 garden. In the foreground is a well 

 "W," made of roughly hewn stone with 

 an overhanging dwarf pine. Adjoining 

 the veranda is a group formed by a 

 water basin "B," a stone lantern "L," 

 and a screen with a trained pine tree 

 behind it. The group in the middle is 

 composed of a stone pagoda "P," pine 

 tree, some low shrubs ("Marumono," 

 see page 43), and "Guardian" stone No. 

 1. In the background on the west side 

 of the garden is a stone lantern "L," 

 a pair of stones No. 5 with a tree be- 

 hind them. On the east side, near the 

 entrance gate to the vegetable garden, 

 is another group of stones No. 3, and a 

 stone lantern "L." A path of stepping 

 stones leads from the veranda to the 

 garden gates, branching towards the well 

 on one side and towards the water basin 

 on the other. The plain open portions 

 are usually spread with sand or a firm 

 surface of beaten earth. Turf has been 

 introduced only recently in imitation of 

 foreign methods. For details about the 

 planting list, see pages 8 and 116. 



PLAN NO. 16 

 Size of Lot 50'x145' 



