| The Japanese Zen gardens or Karesansui are | | | | in 592 AD. Some evidence indicates that the |
| some of the most beautiful and exotic | | | | art of rock gardens must have predated this |
| gardens. The story of Zen Gardens goes back | | | | period by quite some time as the earliest |
| into the misty beginnings of Japanese | | | | recorded gardens were already highly |
| culture. | | | | developed. In the early 700's, Zen Buddhism |
| | | | began to spread over Japan and the early Zen |
| The Zen garden is also known as a Japanese | | | | monks found the rock and sand gardens to be a |
| rock garden or a Karesansui. These gardens | | | | perfect fit for the ideas of simplicity and |
| are very simple and in most cases have very | | | | harmony that marked their view of the |
| few actual plants. In many Zen gardens, there | | | | universe. |
| are no growing things at all. The gardens | | | | |
| consist mainly of rock and sand. The word | | | | The development of the Karesansui gardens |
| Karesansui translates as "dry water and | | | | continued until the 13th century when they |
| mountain." The illusion of water is created | | | | reached the form that they have kept into |
| by raking the sand into a rippling pattern | | | | modern time. The gardens could be very small. |
| that suggests the movement of water while the | | | | Some simple Zen gardens were made to be held |
| rocks are arranged to make islands or | | | | in the hand, while others were quite |
| mountains. The history of Zen gardens goes | | | | extensive. Many people saw the patterns of |
| back to as early as the 6th century in Japan. | | | | sand and rock as representing the sea and the |
| | | | islands of Japan. Others saw deeper patterns |
| One of the most famous of the Japanese | | | | that invoked deep subconscious images that |
| gardens contains 15 rocks arranged in a | | | | produced the tranquility that was being |
| pattern on the rippling sand. Although most | | | | sought. |
| rock gardens are intended to be viewed from | | | | |
| one specific location and perspective, this | | | | In 1935, an American author named Loraine |
| garden can be viewed from any angle. | | | | Kuck coined the term Zen Garden in her book, |
| Regardless of the angle, only 14 of the 15 | | | | "100 Gardens of Kyoto." The term became |
| rocks can ever be seen at once. It is said | | | | popular and eventually even made its way into |
| that when spiritual enlightenment is reached, | | | | the Japanese language. It is often used to |
| the invisible 15th rock would then be seen. | | | | represent several different styles of |
| This is an example of the Zen influence on | | | | Japanese rock and sand gardens. The common |
| these gardens. | | | | feature, however, remains the simplicity and |
| | | | understatement that characterized the gardens |
| There are records of rock and sand gardens | | | | of the early Zen monks. |
| dating back to the reign of the Empress Suiko | | | | |