12 Me 
Therefore were gardens contrived 
according to the character of the 
owner, whether poet, warrior, phi- 
losopher, or priest. In these an- 
cient gardens there -were expressed 
both a mood of nature and some 
rare Oriental conception of a mood 
of man. 
In Japan, the erection of the gar- 
den is governed by scrupulous at- 
tention to esthetic rules. Consider- 
ation of scale, proportion, unity, bal- 
ance, congruity, and all that tends 
to produce artistic repose and har- 
mony is carefully preserved through- 
out the design. Each garden is 
planned as a writer plans a drama 
or a sonnet, or an artist a picture. 
There are precise rules for the se- 
curing of suitable perspective as well 
as for the fitting indication of height 
and distance. Every detail is as 
gravely formulated as are the items 
of a ceremonious ritual. The out- 
line of a lake is determined by ac- 
cepted types, not by mere whim. 
Each island in the pool follows a 
familiar model: There “are the 
““Master’s Isle’ and the ‘Guests’ 
Isle’ for the inland lake, the ‘‘Wind 
Swept Isle” for the sea. The lake 
islands will have bridges, but the 
sea islands will have none of these. 
AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
Rock work in a Japanese garden 
The Japanese gardener aims to make every garden vista pleasing, but never sacrifices harmonious arrangement 
September, 1912 
Every stone employed in the gar- 
den must conform to an established 
figure. There is a form for the 
‘Kettle Stone’ on which the tea is 
made, as well as for the ‘“Shoe- 
removing Stone’ and the “Chil- 
dren’s Stones.” ‘To build a rockery 
of burnt bricks and clinkers after 
the manner of the American gar- 
dener, would be to the Japanese an 
offence beyond imagining. There 
are many ways of placing stepping 
stones, but in Japan each way is de- 
termined by rigid canons of the art. 
A water-worn boulder could only be 
employed in connection with water, 
real or suggested. It is the same 
with the trees and shrubs. Their dis- 
position is ruled by a definite scien- 
tific plan. It means that trees and 
shrubs of light foliage are invariably 
thrown up against darker leaves. 
The same procedure is adopted in 
the placing of the semi-circular 
bridges, the dwellings, the restful 
arbours and the sacred shrines. 
In one of the temple grounds at 
Kyoto, the old capital of Japan, 
may be seen what is considered by 
many as the finest example of the 
Japanese gardener’s art. It was 
built by Anshu. He only undertook 
the work on three conditions, name- 
ly, that no time limit was imposed, no restrictions 
as to expense, and no interference whatever until 
the whole work was completed. It is even said 
that he went so far as to exclude the owner from 
inspecting his creation during its inception period. 
Anshu spent fifteen years in his task, but it is a 
really very beautiful piece of work. It is not a large 
garden, only covering a few acres of ground, but in 
this space has been brought together, with marvel- 
lous faithfulness and accuracy, reproductions of the 
to the merely ingenious 
