Japanese garden of Monaco

Have you ever seen a real Japanese garden? Well, I had the opportunity to see it in Monaco, and I was impressed. Want to try Japanese culture? The ascent to this earth slipping away from the real world into a fantasy land. Suddenly you find yourself in a typical Japanese scenery of nature, such as those you see in marvelous paintings. The only thing missing is fog. Instead, the Mediterranean sun reveals all minute details in a warm light.

In Japanese gardens you see is not all; the surface of things is only a reflection of the psyche of an ancient culture. You really have to be literally “brought up” in this direction to best appreciate the value of this art. (Which I wasn’t during my visit! Sorry, because I didn’t know what to look for and what to analyze!) It is possible to tell about the philosophy of gardening from ancient Japan. Japanese gardening is an art that goes beyond vegetation, water and stone but is full of symbols:

* Coco — the honor of the eternal century;

* Shisen — avoiding artificial;

* Yugen, or darkness — imply mystery or subtlety;

* Miegakure — avoiding full expression

The perception of nature is different in Japanese culture from the European one. Instead of to perceive nature only as something that can be subordinated to and transformed in accordance with man-made ideal of beauty, Japanese developed a close connection with nature, considering it to be Holy, ally to put food on the table, and the ideal of beauty in itself. Therefore, the Japanese gardens are the synthesis of nature in miniature, and not a correction of nature as in the European gardens.

In fact, the design of Japanese gardens comes from the Chinese model. History dates back to 100 BC when the Chinese Emperor Wu Di of the Han dynasty established a garden, in which were three small Islands, mimicking the island of the Immortals, which were the main Taoist deities. Japanese messenger saw this and presented this idea to Japan, improving the existing Japanese practices.

Japanese garden of Monaco was designed at the request of Prince Rainier who thus fulfilled a desire that Princess grace expressed in your life. The garden was designed by landscape architect Yasuo Beppu, has 7,000 square meters, its construction took 3 years and was opened in 1994.

Specific items

* Wall (Heï) with an intermediate bamboo fence (Takégaki) that means frailty and ease.

* The main gate (Shô-mon)

* The stone lanterns (Tôrô) — each of them has different characteristics;

* Lake (ICA) with a large swallowing goldfish.

* The stone fountain (Fusen-Ishi)

* Covered terrace (Kyukeïjo)

* The Islands (Shima) — they represent two long-living animals — the tortoise and the crane expressed in the symbols of complementarity

* Tea house (Chatshitsu) — garden of grace (Ga-én)

* The dry landscape (Karésansui) — quintessence of Cosmos

* Belvedere (Azumaya) — the house on the hill with views of all four corners

* Waterfall (a) — symbolizes the strength of man and nature, in contrast to the level of the lake.

The arched red bridge (Tikabali) — it’s red, is the color of good luck and narrow to hinder access to the divine island.

There are olive, cherry, conifers, azaleas, rhododendrons and camellias, diverse, rich vegetation of Mediterranean, South American, Australian, African and Asian descent, is trimmed according to Japanese tradition.

Walking in the crowded Monaco, with all its stone, steel and glass, you can find the peaceful green oasis of the Japanese garden, which even a huge number of tourists go unnoticed, wandering on the winding paths through the thickets of the garden.