The stroll garden at Katsura Imperial Villa, Kyoto—an inspiration for our Japanese Garden.
(Photo by John Chang/Wikimedia Commons)
THE TEA GARDEN
In the Momoyama period (1573–1603), tea
master Sen no Rikyu refined the tea ceremony
into a ritual of harmony, respect, purity and
tranquility known as chado, “the Way of Tea.”
Matcha tea, a green powder whisked into hot
water, had been brought from China to Japan in
the late 12th century. Initially used in religious
rituals, it later became associated with extravagant
parties. By the late 16th century, however,
the tea ceremony had been distilled into a ritual
defined by the Zen aesthetic of wabi-sabi, which
found beauty in quiet humility, rustic simplicity,
imperfection and change—and even in the
processes of aging and decay.
Simple in design and materials, the tea garden
(roji)—and the teahouse itself—embody this
aesthetic. The tea garden is an enclosed space
with restrained plantings (primarily evergreens)
and moss covering the ground. A stepping-stone
path, representing a mountain trail, leads to the
teahouse. Before the tea ceremony begins, the
tea master sprinkles water over the garden—
hence the word roji, which means “dewy path.”
Guests move through outer and inner gardens to
the teahouse, leaving behind the everyday world
to participate in the ceremony’s spiritual and
ethical essence.
THE STROLL GARDEN
Stroll gardens were built beginning in the early
1600s, during a period of peace and prosperity.
Like tea gardens, they were designed to be
experienced from within. Although travel during
that time was greatly restricted, nobles and
provincial lords (daimyo) owned large properties
and were permitted to design their own gardens.
Reflecting their owners’ interest in aesthetics
rather than religion, these gardens were magnificent,
more colorful than earlier styles, and
created for enjoyment. They were designed to be
experienced as journeys past scenes from nature,
literature and art. Most contained or evolved
from the much smaller tea garden—a core of
simplicity within the garden’s splendor.
In the stroll garden, visitors walk slowly past
a succession of views and landscape elements,
including those characteristic of earlier
4 v Washington Park Arboretum Bulletin