| Japanese garden design is about as hard
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| | flowering plants are scarce or
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| to understand to Westerners as the
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| | nonexistent in Japanese garden design.
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| Japanese language is. The relationship to
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| | Rather, dry gravel streambed or sand
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| the rich and ancient eastern culture adds
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| | swept into patterns and large rocks and
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| to this difficulty. The practice is not
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| | boulders are used to tell the tales.
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| just a style of landscaping. Rather, it a
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| | Remember that the heart of all Japanese
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| statement that delivers a specific
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| | garden design is symbolism and
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| meaning. Adding further to its complexity
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| | storytelling, the tradition is that this
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| is the influence of fengshui and its
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| | is done with plants and other elements of
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| borrowings from Buddhism and Chinese
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| | nature and not so much the use of
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| culture.
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| | colorful flowers.
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| The intention of Japanese garden design
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| | Equally important to Japanese garden
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| is to use nature to make a statement.
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| | design are the use of water, and more
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| The main element is symbology, most of
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| | specifically the use of running water,
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| which is influenced by Shintoism and
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| | which symbolizes passing time or life.
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| Buddhism, which is where the gods inhabit
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| | What shouldn't get lost in Japanese
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| nature. This adds even more its cultural
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| | garden design, but often is by Westerners
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| complexity making hard for us to
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| | because they think it's 'complicated', is
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| understand.
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| | its simplicity. Once you know the story
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| Since the garden is making a statement or
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| | you are trying tell, it's as simple as
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| telling a story, the first step is to
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| | composing the elements of nature to tell
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| determine what story you want to tell.
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| | that story.
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| What is it you want to communicate to the
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| | What one should refrain from doing is
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| world with your garden? It might be a
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| | blindly copying someone else's garden.
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| good idea to decide in broad terms what
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| | Why would you do that? Perhaps because
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| you want to say, and then through some
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| | you think it "looks" good. But if the
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| research find out how Japanese would go
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| | "good looks" are just the result of the
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| about communicating that truth, concept
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| | telling of a story, then the copier
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| or story with a garden.
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| | certainly is missing the point. It would
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| Another outstanding feature of Japanese
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| | be like framing a poem you don't
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| garden design is that the main point is
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| | understand and hanging it on the wall.
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| not to be beautiful or showy. The
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| | First think of what you want to say, and
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| appearance of the garden is not its
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| | then through the principles of Japanese
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| purpose, but rather the message is the
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| | garden design learn how to say and then
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| purpose. Beauty is the after thought, so
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| | say it. Don't start from the beauty, but
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| to speak.
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| | rather from the story.
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| The careful observer will notice that
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