ogical sites and are well represented in literature such as The Tale of Genji and paintings of the era. Yet this garden style never really died and was to be reinvented over many centuries.Abstract representations of natural elements had long been an aspect of Japanese design by this time. But in the late Kamakura to early Muromachi period (late 15th cent.), the true Zen gardens began to evolve. Designers began to create "the garden as a painting" under the influence of Chinese Zen ink painting. A sort of "short-hand" style developed called karesansui (dry-mountain-water). Karesansui, or “dry landscape” style Japanese gardens have been in existence for centuries. They are to be used as an aid to create a deeper understanding of the Zen concepts and to heighten the poetic and metaphoric significance of stones. Not only is there viewing intended to aid in meditation but also the entire creation of the garden is intended to trigger contemplation. A good example of a “dry landscape” garden is at Ryoan-ji Temple in Kyoto, created around 1500. In an area measuring 30 m x 10 m. This small dry garden is composed of 15 rocks of different sizes set in outcroppings of two and three set, with raked gravel in between which represents the sea. Created by Soami, painter and poet. These dry-stone gardens so greatly favored by the Zen temples were an attempt to symbolically express the vastness of nature within a small space. The rocks represent islands and the gravel is raked into geometric patterns resembling waves on water. Islands have a particular importance for the Japanese. Islands represent a symbol of longevity and continuing health. Most Japanese gardens have both single rock islands and built up islands of earth and stone. Often, these islands are built up to resemble the shape of two prominent symbols of longevity the tortoise and the crane. The tortoise is believed to live for 10,000 years and the crane 1,00...
