Approaches to Nature Aesthetics: East Meets West Page: 79
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the creation of Japanese gardens. Interestingly, this distinctive way of achieving a unity
seems to work as a basis for realizing such Japanese notions of the world as
"impermanence," "irregularity," and "the oneness with nature."
Geometrical and mathematical principles in Western formal gardens are uniform.
Natural objects which are arranged in accordance with these principles have fixed states
or forms. The concept of time is denied in these gardens. Japanese informal gardens, on
the other hand, manifest both temporal and spatial changes.129 A unity achieved through a
meeting of spirit does not bind natural objects in immutable or geometrical forms; thus,
impermanent and irregular qualities of natural objects are intrinsically appreciated
without difficulty. Indeed, impermanence is a fundamental element in the creation of
Japanese gardens in that seasonal changes are not simply allowed rather they are
necessary for the creation of superior-class gardens.130 Moreover, this unification
encourages the appreciation of the irregularity of objects. Thus, objects in Japanese
gardens are intentionally arranged in irregular patterns. For example, rocks are arranged
in incomplete broken zigzag lines. Those arranged in straight lines are considered
aesthetically inferior in the art of Japanese gardening. This sort of irregular arrangement
of objects is achieved not by geometrical principles but in light of refined feeling.131
Since a meeting of spirit is not mathematical, the achievement of this task
depends on intuitive principles gained through overcoming the dichotomy between self
and the world. If there is a separation between subject and object, it is not possible to
129 Mara Miller, The Garden as an Art (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1993), pp.
22-24.
130 Watsuji, Climate and Culture, p. 193.
131 Yoshida, Gardens of Japan, pp. 32-34.79
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Toyoda, Mitsuyo. Approaches to Nature Aesthetics: East Meets West, thesis, December 2002; Denton, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc3305/m1/83/: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .