Friday, March 10, 2006

Journal#3:close art amd far nature- about Donald Richie'd article.

Donald Richie talked about Japanese garden. He pointed out that there is no raw nature in Japan, and all Japanese gardens are created by people’s hand.

For me, as Japanese, Donald Richie’s argument was interesting point of view.

I do not think that Japanese garden is a ‘nature’, but I think it is artwork or decoration of house. IT IS NOT NATURE.

Yes, Japanese ‘create’ these gardens. It is carefully designed and made up garden. Un…but it is not exactly ‘garden’. It is artwork to show, and decoration of house to welcome guests. It use natural properties, but it is just because these properties are beautiful enough to draw the picture on the ground, and it is good materials to decorate houses.

I did not even think about this topic until I read the article. After I read, I considered how I think of Japanese garden. Then, I realized that I do not really thing Japanese garden as nature. Nature for me is mountains, sea, stars, etc something big and something I cannot easily touch.

How should I explain my opinion? It is hard to explain………

okay, 枯山水(Karesansui) is a definitely ‘art’.
It is a type of type of Japanese garden, which is made by rocks and gravel. Then the most important is no use of water.

Pic from http://www.ryoanji.jp/

The wave of gravel represents the flow of water. By using only rocks and gravel, Japanese people tried to explain other form in the garden. You see it is art, right??

Same as watching Karesansui, for me other type of Japanese garden is a art work as well, even it use trees or waters.

I think, for Japanese people, natural properties which is close to our life is not considered as ‘nature’, but something to watch; materials for art.
Japanese make all things for watching. 雪見障子(yukimi-shouji)-- a certain flame of window make our view of landscape as art. The flame shows up only part of landscape (hide other part). Then we look out side through the flame as if we are watching pictures.

Pic from http://asahi-net.jp/index.html


Ikebana is also art work made of natural properties.

Natural properties besides our daily life are not ‘nature’. Nature is things far away from me and things out of control of me.


Pic:maintenance of garden.Cleaning of pond.

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