Rock Component: "Quietly, weakly, into a rock the sunlight comes in a withered field." Buson

Rocks are an important part of any Japanese landscape garden. They serve two significant functions in the garden. To begin with, they can be used to represent a number of things in nature such as mountains and the countryside in general. Rocks also can be used to create intricate designs representing the mood of the designer as well as something to meditate on. Traditionally rocks are grouped in certain numbers. An example of this is the triad which represents the significance of the number three in Japanese religion. In a triad there is the central stone (shuseki), the first subordinate (fukuseki) and the second subordinate (kyakuseki.) Since the central stone is most important it is placed first, followed

by the first subordinate and then the second subordinate. This is also done so that the rocks are grouped in uneven numbers so that the rocks will never be seen as symmetrical and not giving a look of natural occurrence which is the essence of the Zen Japanese garden. The second function of the rock is to show how rocks were categorized in Japan by their shapes. The ancient gardeners of Japan came up with four categories of rocks: tall and thin, large and squat, arching and flat. These rocks are taken in different varieties and displayed to show an array of different shaped rocks. If designed and put together well, rocks can be the most beautiful and elaborate part of a garden.