| Waterfall Component: "Far and near, far and near sound the falls of water, the fresh new leaves." Buson | ||||
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When considering placing a waterfall in a Japanese Zen garden, it is imperative that it is done well. One that is done well can give the impression of a dragon coiling down the path of stones, whereas a poorly designed one can seem lifeless and not interesting. Waterfalls are the most common focal points for ponds, and they hold great importance in the Japanese tradition in both a symbolic sense as well as good garden design. The full Japanese name for waterfall is taki-ishi-gimi, which means stone pathway falling water. Therefore the stone pathway of the fall is as important as the water falling. The waterfall introduces sound and movement into the garden, and complements the wind in the trees and foliage. There are two main categories of waterfalls that have been defined over the ages of Japanese garden design. They are the single falls and broken falls. Broken falls in turn have two steps, three steps and so on. The way the water falls over the fall is also |
something that is considered in the design of a waterfall. There are two categories in this section. There is the smooth fall and the uneven fall. Further the direction the water falls is also taken into account such as whether the water falls to the left, right or the middle. At the bottom of the fall, there are two different approaches that are traditionally considered. The first design has a stone called the water dividing stone that breaks the water as hits the pond, creating sound and movement. The second approach is two not have a stone, and just allow the falling water to hit the pond below, creating less sound and movement within the fall. The last thing to consider is the sightline and focal point of the waterfall in the garden. Taking all of these different characteristics into account, it becomes obvious that there is a variety of different waterfalls that can be constructed. | |||
