“the use of nature as a motif for garden design (and perhaps a reason why nature imagery was such a fundamental theme of the Heian period [794-1184] in general as well) was based on the widespread belief that there was something inherent about the natural world that was wholesome and correct. Things as they appear in the natural world were believed to express an innate balance, … a kind of healthfulness. It followed that to use those elements in the garden in the same way they were found in nature was a means to bring nature’s innate balance into one’s household; conversely, to use elements of nature in a way that was contradictory to the way they were found naturally … was tantamount to disrupting the balance of nature. Observing nature as a basis for garden design, therefore, was not just a point aesthetics, it was an attempt to harmonize one’s household with the life forces of the surrounding environment through the design of the garden.”

Jirō Takei & Marc P. Keane

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