Garden for Pure Land
Historically, no matter where it is, some gardens have been the place where people materialize their ideal world. Gardens in Japan are no exception. Buddhism was introduced to Japan in the sixth century. Then, it made people visualize the image of the place where they wanted to be after death. Sukhāvatī, or Gokuraku-Jodo in Japanese, […]
Imperfection in Japanese gardens
“The flow of the river never ceases, and the water never stays the same…” This is the opening phrase of Hojoki, a famous Japanese essay by Kamono Chomei in the 13 century. Almost all Japanese children learn this in their schools. I think that transience is something that many Japanese hold in their minds, which […]
“Water in Japanese Gardens” Talk at the Jay Heritage Center
PED’s Takaya Kurimoto gave a talk on “Water in Japanese Gardens” at the Jay Heritage Center for the annual meeting of the Japan Society of Fairfield County (JSFC). Water has been one of the most important elements of Japanese gardens. Even Japanese “dry” gardens have imaginary water. It is the catalyst for taking people to […]
Cat’s Eye View of Japanese Architecture vol. 5 – Perishable Landscape
Do you know what colored maple leaves and cherry blossoms have in common? The answer is that both are perishable. Their colors, red of maple and pink of cherry, last only for a few days. Japanese people cherish them because of their short lives. Yes, I said “because of”, not “in spite of”. The logical […]
New Haven Rotary Club Invited PED for a Healing Garden Talk
It would be nice to become refleshed by just attending a lunch time talk, would it not? And that was what we saw at the New Haven Rotary Club when Takaya gave another talk on “Healing Gardens and Japanese Gardens: Their Curious Relationship” . Although his talk is not the therapeutic session itself , but to […]
