No man-made landscape is quite so elegant as an Oriental Garden can be. They are by no means all alike, but do share overarching design sensibilities that are particular to that part of the world. The aesthetic is not one of sculpting nature so much as managing it a little here and a little there, providing for growth as opposed to outright manipulating it. Let’s take a look at an illustration of our point, in the form of wind chimes, often found in the gardens of Japan and China (especially the former). These ingenious devices provide a shape to the wind’s otherwise completely random musings without dictating the exact words, so to speak. Originally intended to ward off evil spirits, they seem much better at attracting nature-lovers!
A reliance on nature to supply the furnishings characterizes the Oriental garden. Natural materials are used. Gold fish in the pond. Wind chimes somewhere. Whereas such grounds in the West seem purposely created to match the midday sun’s strength, those of Asia celebrate the morning and evening calm. That’s not to say that Chinese and Japanese gardens all look alike; indeed, they often exhibit as many differences as they do similarities. Nevertheless, the Asian sensibility is such that naturalness is preferred over even the most imaginative designs of man.
Chinese gardens are inclined towards majesty, while Japanese ones seem to prefer mystery. And so it may be said that the Chinese sensibility is more masculine while the Japanese more feminine — in a sense. Yet they all try to keep interference with what’s natural to an absolute minimum. Of course, gardens are, in the final analysis, entirely man-made affairs. In Asia, however, it is recognized that oftentimes almost no human input is necessary; that’s the difference. Similar to the way wind chimes but harness the natural musical qualities of the wind, thus do Chinese and Japanese gardens seek to promote nature’s majesty and mystery.
