Product Description
Garden Bridge Wall Hangings
Garden Bridge Wall Hangings
Bridges first appeared in the Japanese garden during the Heian period. At garden in Kyoto, a wooden bridge connects the Phoenix pavilion with a small island of stones, representing the Mount Penglai or Mount Horai, the island home of the Eight Immortals of Daoist teaching, The bridge symbolized the path to paradise and immortality. Bridges could be made of stone, or of wood, or made of logs with earth on top, covered with moss; they could be either arched or flat. Sometimes if they were part of a temple garden, they were painted red, following the Chinese tradition, but for the most part they were unpainted. During the Edo period, when large promenade gardens became popular, streams and winding paths were constructed, with a series of bridges, usually in a rustic stone or wood style, to take visitors on a tour of the scenic views of the garden. The gardens featured one or more lakes connected by bridges and winding streams. The artificial lakes were surrounded by beaches of small stones and decorated with arrangements of boulders, with natural stone bridges and stepping stones. The most famous garden of this kind, built in 1592, is situated near the Tokushima castle on the island of Shikoku. Its notable features include a bridge 10.5 meters long made of two natural stones. A wooden bridge leads to an island representing a crane, and a stone bridge connects this island to another representing a tortoise. Depending upon the size and nature of the pond, gardens that include bodies of water with islands generally include bridges connecting the islands with the shore and often with each other. Rather than the typical garden filled with striking statuary, showy plants and flowers, the Japanese Garden is a monochromatic understatement, in which the viewer is permitted the thrill of personal interpretation and discovery.