There are all kinds of Japanese gardens. In Kyoto, however, gardens are commonly created in relatively small spaces. These spaces are arranged not just as tea gardens and the dry landscape gardens of Buddhist temples, but even in “passage gardens” created in the smallest of corridors. Within these limits, how can we create a feeling of space? Answering this question requires a different perspective than that used for grand-scale garden design. In response, many approaches have been devised. Tree sizes that match the size of the space, see-through branches to express breadth and depth, stepping stones and garden pavements that evoke space by guiding guests’ footsteps. And then there are the many ways that spaces have been defined by how they are partitioned, as well as the vast range of “fences” introduced into them as garden accents.
Over this five-day program, we aim to give participants a grounding in the aesthetic sense lying in the background of Japanese garden beauty. On the morning of our first day, our company president Tomoki Kato, who is also a professor at Kyoto University of the Arts, will lecture on garden management and the relationship between Japanese gardens and their surrounding environments. In the afternoon, we will visit gardens managed and fostered by Ueyakato Landscape. The second day will be dedicated to garden management training in how to nurture landscapes that incorporated their external scenery.
After observing and training in Japanese gardens, the program’s last three days will focus on creating bamboo fences and applying them to Japanese garden creation. With all instruction attended by veteran Japanese gardeners and interpreters who are fluent in the languages of Japanese, English and Japanese gardens, this course conveys to participants the tradition and aesthetic feeling of Japanese gardens nurtured in Kyoto.
*Above schedule is subject to change
This program is organized by the Heritage and Garden Artistry Division of Ueyakato Landscape.
Please send all inquiries to the following email address.
Heritage and Garden Artistry Division
Ueyakato Landscape
email: chizai@ueyakato.co.jp