Julie Moir Messervy (intro) - Infinite Spaces: The Art and Wisdom of the Japanese Garden (Based on the Sakuteiki by Tachibana No Toshitsuna)

A Note on Sakuteiki

Joe Earle

We know very little about the origins of Sakuteiki (Notes on Garden Design) beyond the fact that it was already in existence by the year 1289, when a calligrapher called Kujo Yoshitsune inscribed his name at the end of the oldest surviving copy of the work. Most Japanese scholars agree, however, that Sakuteiki was written about a century earlier by Tachibana no Toshitsuna (102894), also known as Fujiwara no Toshitsuna.

Toshitsunas presumed father Yorimichi was the head of the Fujiwara family of Regents, and it was Yorimichis father Michinaga (9661027) who had brought the power of that great clan to its peak by marrying his daughters into the Japanese Imperial family: towards the end of his life Michinaga could boast that three Emperors were his sons-inlaw and four were his grandsons. By the time that Sakuteiki was written, however, a decline had set in, not only in the prestige of the Fujiwara but also in the power and even the relevance of the entire system of government they headed.

The same feeling of nostalgia that pervades Japans greatest novel, Genji monogatari (The Tale of Genji) completed by Lady Murasaki Shikibu not long before Toshitsunas birth, is expressed by the author of Sakuteiki when he laments characteristically that These days there is no one left who really understands gardening. Sakuteiki tells us that when Toshitsunas father Yorimichi wanted to restore the Kayanoin palace, it was already impossible to find artisans who were skilled in building gardens, so that in the end Yorimichi himself was forced to oversee the work. It was then, perhaps, that Toshitsuna gained his early experience of garden art.

Sakuteiki is best understood as an attempt to preserve the accumulated practical experience of centuries of garden design, illuminated by the authors elite knowledge of Chinese and Japanese literature and belief. The original text runs to over 12,000 characters and this is no more than a partial rendering in a contemporary idiom intended to appeal to gardeners rather than historians. It should also be pointed out that Toshitsuna regarded gardening as mainly a matter of landscaping. He has very little to say about plants (other than trees) and since the few remarks he does make apply to very specific design situations these too have been omitted.

Sakuteiki starts off with an exposition of general principles and continues with practical advice on different features, but thereafter it jumps bewilderingly from subject to subject, with a mixture of detailed categorizations, historical anecdotes, and lists of taboos and prohibitions. For this reason it was decided to rearrange the text under headings that would appeal to modern gardeners and complement Sadao Hibis superb photographs. The extraordinary thing is that so much of this nine-hundred-year-old text fits perfectly with images of later Japanese gardens and is also in tune with garden design as it is practiced around the world today. The belief in our capacity to improve on nature at the same time as respecting its innate qualities, the insistence on adhering to general principles rather than detailed rules, even the interest in the complex of Chinese beliefs and auspicious practices that we now call Feng Shui all these aspects of Sakuteiki continue to strike a chord in the twenty-first century.

Above all we should heed Toshitsunas advice on the importance of secret teaching, meaning (I suspect) the kind of teaching that cannot be set down in words but can only be learned through experience. The best way to use Sakuteiki is to get out into your garden and put its ideas into practice.

Saihoji temple (the "Moss Temple"), Kyoto

Chapter 1

Principles of Garden Design

Shimotokikuni family garden, Ishikawa

Always remember to make the style suit the site.

Oyakuen, Iwate

These days there is no one left who really understands gardening. They just look at natural landscapes and then go ahead with their design without observing the many important taboos that have to be observed.

Momijidani garden, Wakayama

Oyakuen garden, Iwate

We should always remember that it is not practical for ordinary people to live in the depths of the mountains. So how can it be wrong for them to build waterfalls by their hillside cottages and plant a few trees as well? Pay no attention to anyone who tells you that you must not plant trees in this or that place!

Moroto family garden, Mie

It has been said that stones arranged by man can never be better than a natural landscape. But in my extensive travels around the country I can remember several occasions when I have been struck by the beauty of a particular spot, only to find that the adjoining scenery is quite unremarkable.

Take your inspiration from the masterpieces of the great designers of the past, but keep your client s wishes in mind and make sure that the garden is also an expression of your own personal vision.

Sankeien garden, Kanagawa

Think of the finest natural landscapes you have seen, select those that you find most inspiring and adapt them to your plan, copying their overall features and making them blend in with your chosen site.

Tokaian sub-temple, Kyoto

The painter and gardener Hirotaka taught that stones should never be placed carelessly.

Because it is difficult to appreciate an arrangement at close quarters you should always try to make sure that your design will look best when viewed at a short distance.

Kyugetsutei pavilion, Shiga

When you design your garden you can pick and choose from the very best that you have seen in nature, ensuring that every stone contributes something to the overall effect.

Eihoji temple, Gifu