Japanese love of nature.
The Japanese garden springs from the intense love of nature which has always been a characteristic of the Japanese (as of the English). It was introduced into the country at an early date from China, and has been developing through centuries into a perfection of its own. The subtle and delicate taste of the people has produced a type of garden which is a true work of art. The main principle is to create the effect of a landscape, a little winding stream with a few boulders representing a river overhung with mountains, and small trees and shrubs suggesting an expanse of wooded land, so that even a garden of limited size may give something of the panoramic appearance of a natural view. The English garden is usually characterised by lawns and flower beds. The Japanese garden aims at providing in miniature a composition of landscape, just as a painter would transfer an extensive view to a canvas a few feet square, containing similarly a poetic or philosophic idea. Its traditional features were an island set in a lake or pool and connected with the mainland by bridges, and these are to be found in many varieties of shape, both in spacious grounds and in the annex of the private house. Ornamental waters are very frequent, rocks and stones carefully arranged so as to make an irregular and picturesque pattern, charmingly varied bridges and stone ornaments, of which the lantern is the most typical. The present volume has been prepared in view of the modern interest in gardens which are capable of adaptation to a small scale, and as a companion volume to the highly successful work already published, "Modern Gardens, British and Foreign. "
