Ishigumi 石組 ✿ The Japanese garden

Isshidan garden is located in front of the Hōjō of Ryōgen-in. It is inspired by the chambers of Master Tōkei (1454-1518), House of the Single Branch on Vulture Peak. It is a Zen Buddhist karesansui (dry landscape) garden that expresses the stone of Mt Penglai. This refers to the Daoist belief in an auspicious island that contains the elixir of immortality. Photo: Gary Warner
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Each Japanese garden reflects the concept of an owner or a gardener over time. They express concepts of Shintoism, Daoism and Buddhism by incorporating elements of nature such as water, rocks, trees, plants and mountains.
Japanese have great skill in making everything in a compact size, like transforming a natural landscape into a garden, a big tree into a Bonsai tree, etc.
Sachiko Tamashige speaks about the skills of a good Japanese gardener:
One of the gardeners who I interviewed told me that the most important thing in creating a garden was to choose the main rocks and their position, which defines the beauty of the entire structure. The structure of the Japanese gardens involves a water pond, artificial mountain, then rocks, trees and plants. Skilful gardeners can put all these elements in the right position.
Mitate is the process of metaphor, such as when a big rock resembles a sacred mountain. The arrangement of rocks is called ishigumi 石組). Stones can be arranged to symbolise religious significance such as Horaisan mountain and Tsuru-shima (the island of the crane, which is a place to pray for long life) and Kame-shima (the island of the tortoise, also a place to pray for a long life).
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Please enjoy these stories from our garden about objects of Japanese culture:
The box: A magic object of objects - Beginning with the Japanese animation Spirited Away, Bic Tieu traces her fascination for the magic of the box in Japanese craft and discovers how it connects humans and nature.
Netsuke today - The traditional Japanese wood carving craft of netsuke continues to evolve.
Toshizō Hirose ✿ The sentō stamp today - What's the life of a stamp maker in Japan today? We ask Toshizō Hirose, who was commissioned to make a sentō stamp for an exhibition about Japanese bathhouses in Sydney.
Following the Lacquer God - Dave van Gompel writes about the extraordinary commitment required to master lacquer, and why it has a new-found relevance today.
Seikatsu Kogei: Standard-issue craft - Related to our 生きている工芸 Ikiteiru kōgei (Living craft) issue, this exhibition at the Japan Foundation emphasises the beauty of ordinary handmade objects.
Mino-momoyama ware - Gallery VOICE introduces some of the unique Japanese ceramic ware that is the fruit of the legendary Momoyama kiln in Toki City Gifu prefecture.
Harry T. Morris ✿ The spirit of fuzei in furniture - Artist in Residence at The Bower Reuse and Repair Centre, Harry T. Morris, is inspired by the Japanese concept of fuzei to use discarded materials in producing furniture of lasting value. We learn the experiences in Japan that inspired this appreciation of fuzei.
Kyoko Hashimoto ✿ the Musubi necklace - Kyoko Hashimoto's Musubi necklace is a striking example of how a Japanese craft technique can help us appreciate the local quality of another country, in this case the sandstone that defines the Sydney basin.
Mikio Toki ✿ Edo kites keep hope afloat - Our pursuit of beautiful and thoughtful objects can take us far beyond the gallery. From kite-maker Mikio Toki, we learn that art taken to the skies can be a powerful way of giving thanks.
Why a Japanese lacquer master sought a surfing legend - Lacquer is a gift of the ancients that is largely forgotten today. Sachiko Matsuyama is convinced of its value not just for its redolent surface but also as a bond between people and nature. She finds an inspiring future for lacquer in the work of Takuya Tsutsumi, in partnership with an Australian surfboard maker.
Garland in Vietnam - Join us as we explore the One Village One Product movement in Vietnam.
Arigato Japan - We offer some brief glimpses of the launches of our 生きている工芸 Ikiteiru kōgei (Living craft) issue across Japan.
ヨークに渡った新潟のわらアート:日本に学ぶ干し草彫刻 - わらアート作家、守屋陽氏から私のもとに1通のメールには、日本で初めて出版されるというわらアートの本の英名が書かれていた。そのタイトルは「わらで地域を再生する」。その出版物やプロジェクトに似つかわしくないタイトルに私の口から笑みがこぼれた。わらアートは西オーストラリア州に何をもたらすのだろうか。そして、それは日本の地方で起きていることと、何か関係があるのだろうか。
アイヌの手仕事:愛と祈りの布作り - アイヌの布が持つ不変の特質の最たるものは、作り手の愛情を留めおき、そこに込められた祈りによってアイヌとアイヌとをつなぐところだ。長谷川の言葉にもあるように、この祈りが布に命を吹き込み、それが力となって使い手や持ち主に働くのだ
工芸存続のニューモデル:経験経済の事例を考える - 筆者は30年以上にわたってメルボルンのクィーンヴィクトリア・マーケットに通い続けている。生鮮食品と工芸品が呼び物のこのマーケットは、近年、外国人観光客の増加が目立つようになった。そこである店主に「商売人にはありがたい話ですね」と言うと「とんでもない。売り上げは下がるいっぽうだよ。皆写真を撮りたいだけで、何も買っていきやしない」という返事が返ってきた。
走泥社のオブジェ焼き:京都からオーストラリアへ - 同ギャラリーでは、2019年に「走泥社:オーストラリアとのつながり」展の開催を予定している。この展覧会では、走泥社が戦後日本の陶芸界の発展におよぼした影響を再考、再評価し、さらには彼らの仕事と、日本とオーストラリアの現代作家への影響を考察する。
淡路・阿波人形浄瑠璃の衣裳が生きていた景色 - 日本には、人形浄瑠璃という芸能があります。『浄瑠璃』というのは、物語を義太夫節で語り、三味線の伴奏が入る話芸です。これに合わせて人形を巧みに操って演技させることから、この名前がつけられています。およそ、500年もの歴史があります。2008年、ユネスコの無形文化遺産に、同じ流れをくむ文楽とともに、能楽・歌舞伎と並んで指定され、世界に名だたる日本の伝統芸能となりました
Why you should drink saké hot - Masahiro and Yumi Takahashi present their projects Sakenet and Dear Plastic that export a hightenned Japanese sensibility to the other side of the world.