17th, 18th and 19th centuries was a period during which a number of garden styles were integrated. The dry-stone garden and tea garden that had come into being prior to this went through a number of diverse developments, and were both incorporated into the stroll garden, which also paid homage to traditional lake gardens. Seeing that stroll gardens were a comprehensive compilation of all the various styles of the Japanese gardens, they subsequently became used for grand receptions and entertaining by feudal lords. And, ultimately, they were heir to an individual style of garden that functioned as a banqueting facility. The gardens of Katsura Rikyu that were laid out in the first half of the 17th century on the southwestern outskirts of Kyoto are representative of the early period of this stroll garden style. The gardens of Katsura represent the first completion of a stroll garden around which, as the name suggests, it was possible to walk. It was during this period, that a method of drawing natural scenery into a garden became established as a recognized style of garden design. It was described as a "borrowing of landscape" beyond the limits of a garden and such gardens were termed “shakkei” or (borrowed landscape) gardens. Many of these gardens fell into decline with the coming of the Meiji restoration at the end of the 19th century. And although the leaders of this new age were bent on absorbing western culture, they also turned to traditional aspects of culture in Japan for inspiration. It is this intellectual climate that allows Japanese gardens to develop along a constantly evolving path with a strong sense of naturalism, which is essential to its over all design. ...
