MODERN JAPANESE GARDENS
Shinobu Sawada and Tadafumi Aoza
Edited and translated by Tadafumi Aoza and Louise Nordström
Contents
Introduction by Chisao Shigemori 6
1. Murakami Kaishindo 16
2. Odagaki Shoten 26
3. Aman Kyoto 36
4. Sahsha Kanetanaka 48
5. Kokorone Hair 56
6. Hotel Niwa Tokyo 66
7. Toyoma Kaikokan 76
8. Yahataya 88
9. The Hiramatsu Kyoto 98
10. Guli Guli 108
11. Honke Owariya 118
12. Momiji no komichi 128
13. Muni Kyoto by Onko Chisin 138
14. Garden in Fuso 148
15. Jisso-in Temple 158
16. Garden in Yamanote 168
17. Garden in Nara 178
18. Garden in Fukui 188
19. Kitayama House 200
20. The Saihokukan Hotel 210
Plant Index 220
General Index 222
List of Gardens 223
1. Murakami Kaishindo
confectionery shop
MURAKAMI KAISHINDO is a confectionery shop in Kyoto that was founded in 1907. Since its opening over a century ago, it has been one of the official sweet suppliers to the Japanese imperial household.
In 2017, its owners decided to open a café inside the confectionery shop and renovate the garden next to it. The ambition, they said, was to ‘create a garden that would be passed on to the next generation’. So, the garden master, Ayako Sone, decided to create a tsuboniwa – a small courtyard garden –
to add what she described as ‘a subtle shine’ to the space. Her desire was to create something gentle and cozy, but at the same time, something that would add a touch of light, too.
To accomplish this, Sone had to pay special attention to the natural light, taking into consideration how it changes depending on the season, the time of day, and the weather. She played with the light by placing dark granite stone in the front of the garden, which reflects the light when wet, and brighter plants at the back.
The square garden may seem like it is still and quiet, but the flowers and plants within sway with the gentlest breeze, and the reflections of the clouds and the shadows of the surrounding trees tell an abundance of tales to anyone who visits.
While tasting Murakami Kaishindo’s specialties – Russian cake or orange jellies – visitors can watch the variations of light and enjoy the subtle shine emanating from the garden.
MURAKAMI
KOKORONE HAIR is a hairdressing salon in Hiroshima. The owner of the salon went to school with garden master Zenjiro Hashimoto and commissioned him to create this garden. In this particular project, Hashimoto did not just act as the garden master, but also as the art director, meaning he chose and led the architect, the carpenters and the graphic designer. The salon and the garden were treated as one.
The only request the owner had for the garden was that Hashimoto create a ‘forest’; other than that, Hashimoto had full artistic freedom.
Hashimoto wanted to create a garden that matched the owner’s personality: stylish, but without extravagance. He also built the garden in a manner that would allow the salon’s clients to look out over it while getting their hair
done, almost as if they were sitting in a theatre watching a show.
Kokorone’s garden is quite exceptional in the sense that the garden was built as the centerpiece – constructed even before the main building was created. The garden defined the whole project, and garden master Zenjiro Hashimoto then went on to create the rest of the hairdressing salon as well.
6. Hotel Niwa Tokyo
List of Plants
Acer palmatum, Pieris japonica, Polytrichum commune, Prunus pendula
JISSO-IN TEMPLE is located in Iwakura, Kyoto. Katsuaki Ogawa, 12th-generation garden master and head of Onniwa Ueji, was tasked with renovating its karesansui (Japanese rock garden).
The temple master had originally wanted to create a new, modernstyle Japanese garden with flowers, but finally decided to keep it as a karesansui garden, albeit with a fresh, innovative take.
Traditionally, karesansui are meant to be looked at and serve as meditational views, rather than as a place to be walked in. But Ogawa felt there was no need to keep to the strict rules of a traditional karesansui garden. He
wanted to create a more relaxed and modern karesansui that would make people feel positive and happy.
Because the project started shortly after the 2011 tsunami disaster in Japan, Ogawa was concerned that the waves often expressed in karesansui gardens would risk evoking painful memories in those spending time in the garden. So, he came up with the spectacular idea of creating a karesansui with the help of the 200 people who participated in one of his gardening workshops. Each participant planted a moss and raked the gravel.
The participants, who were previously limited to only enjoying the ‘view’ of the karesansui, were suddenly allowed to
touch the moss and the sand, helping to create a whole new garden – all orchestrated by garden master Ogawa.
The result was a garden that was both old and new. Even though 200 people participated in its creation, Ogawa made sure that traditional Japanese gardening techniques, such as the positioning of stones and the metaphorical expressions, were applied properly. The result was mesmerising. Ogawa was especially pleased with the uneven forms and colours of the moss which give the garden such a special character.
18. Garden in Fukui
