Bunjin-zukuri may be named as a distinct style. It suggests the taste of men of Chinese literature, and is said to have been originated by Ishikawa Jozan, exponent of sencha (steeped tea) which came to existence in defiance of cha-no-yu, and has established itself so firmly in the life of the people. It was the result of the influence of Chinese literature and of nanga (the Southern school of painting), the style practised by men of letters. It despised formalities and adored unreserved frankness in men and in art. In an easy, quiet, leisurely way its devotees sought to enjoy serene quietness. They went into ecstacy over the evening glow on a crimson grove of maples, a few blossoms of plum by the window at snowy dawn, or a dove on a pine in the morning mist, or a quiet meditation in a humble thatched hut. Materials were chosen and so arranged as to be in conformity with such ideas, and it was necessarily simple and small. Though it had become a fashion for a time in the latter half of the seventeenth century, its influence on the garden did not extend far, nor last very long. How ever, the ideals emphasised were not at all foreign or new to our people. Naturally, they still remain with us with the custom of tea drinking independent of the style of gardens. The chief cause of its decline seems to have been the lack of variety and its inadaptability for large gardens. To be sure, for a limited space in front of one's study, for instance, it is admirable in its simplicity. Even to-day a corner of a spacious garden or a small enclosure in front of a room is treated in the style mainly for the sake of variety. In their place these gardens are charming in their simplicity, which is their chief feature. Often a group of palms or a clump of bamboo is planted with a rock or two with a few flowering plants to give a variation in different seasons.
