Japanese Garden Structures

What kind of structures for your Japanese garden are most suited to you? That will depend on the type of garden you envision.

Will it be a stroll garden, a Japanese tea garden complete with tea house, perhaps a walled garden as is the case at Ryoan-ji in Japan.

The Japanese have long excelled at having very specific structures to suit a particular purpose. Take something as simple as a fence.

Garden fences in Japan may be made out of cedar wood, or bamboo canes, or even sections made up of bamboo cuttings tied together several inches thick. And they are not limited to the perimeter of a garden. Frequently, Japanese gardens are divided up into small sections, each of which is a garden unto itself. Gates will appear between sections in an imaginative variety of designs. Some with curved roofs overhead.

It is interesting to note that many of these fences are short lived, merely because of the materials from which they are made. It is normal in a Japanese garden for things to be renewed on a regular basis. Much as one is constantly doing minor pruning and cleanup on a daily basis, so the structures are renewed in a similar manner.

There are two very popular structures in common use in Japanese gardens, these being those graceful curved bridges and the tea house.

Both take a commensurate amount of skill to construct, and if they are to be truly authentic, the details should follow from the original style. This is not taken to mean that one is a slavish copy of another. Although in the case of a tea house, certain elements of design are expected and desired.

In recent years, small examples of bridges have become available commercially. While some look quite attractive, to my mind you now have to build your garden to fit the bridge, rather than the other way around.

The one small building I have found useful is a potting shed. I have commandeered what the Japanese call a machiai and used it for that purpose. It is a small structure, in this case about 7 by 10 feet, more than adequate for the job. The flavor is decidedly Japanese, with the curved roofline adding a certain attraction to the building.

By: Keith Elliott

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