Fig. 283.—Showing approaches to house. (Reproduced from “Chikusan teizoden”, a Japanese work.)
The first illustration ([fig. 283]) shows the relation of the various buildings, with the approaches from the street, which is on the left. Here are seen two gateways: the larger one with swinging gates is closed; the smaller one with sliding gate is open. The building with the two little windows and black foundation is the kura. The pathway, of irregular slabs of stone, leads around the sides of the kura to a second gateway; and beyond this the stone path continues to the genka, or main entrance to the dwelling. The drawing is a curious admixture of isometric and linear perspective, with some violent displacements in point of sight and vanishing points, in order to [pg 292] show fully the various details within the limits of the plate. The other illustrations represent respectively a little garden belonging to the priests' house of a Buddhist temple (fig 284), a garden connected with the house of a merchant ([fig. 285]; the legend says the owner is a dealer in dress materials and [pg 295] cottons), and a garden connected with the residence of a Daimio ([fig. 286]). All of these gardens were to be found in Sakai, Idzumi, nearly two hundred years ago, and the more enduring features of some of them may still be in existence. A study of these quaint drawings will enable the reader to recognize the ornamental fences, quaint rocks, rustic wells, ishi-dōrō,chōdzu-bachi, stone pathways, and curious trees and shrubs so characteristic of the Japanese garden, and so utterly unlike anything with which we are familiar in the geometrical patches we are wont to regard as gardens.
Fig. 284.—Little garden belonging to the priests of a buddhist temple. (Reproduced from “Chikusan teizoden”, a Japanese work.)
Fig. 285.—Garden of a merchant. (Reproduced from “Chikusan teizoden”, a Japanese work.)
