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JapanGarden Knowledge Pages A–Z

Browse the JapanGarden knowledge library alphabetically. Select any title to open its article.

1. 20 Japanese Meals: From Workers’ Food to High-End Cuisine

   A food-focused introduction to Japanese eating, presenting a range of meals and dishes that reveal the breadth of everyday cuisine and more elaborate dining traditions.

2. 20 Tips for Visiting a Sumo Wrestling Event

   Practical advice for attending sumo wrestling, introducing visitors to event etiquette, what to expect in the arena and ways to appreciate this distinctive Japanese sport.

3. A Design for an Interior Meditation Area

   A calm indoor retreat can borrow Japanese garden principles through restrained materials, thoughtful light, natural textures and a considered relationship between interior space and contemplation.

4. A First Visit to a Japanese Ryokan

   An introduction to traditional Japanese inns, explaining what guests may expect from arrival and room etiquette to bathing, dining, sleeping arrangements and customary hospitality further.

5. An Introduction to Kanji

   Explore the Japanese writing system’s character-based script, its historical roots and how kanji contribute meaning, nuance and visual richness to everyday written Japanese for readers.

6. Arrival in Japan: From Narita Airport to Tokyo

   A practical first-arrival guide covering the journey from Narita Airport into Tokyo, helping visitors understand transport choices and begin their stay with confidence for readers.

7. Assembly of Granite Ornaments

   Practical considerations for assembling granite garden ornaments safely, including preparation, handling, positioning and the care needed when working with heavy natural stone components for readers.

8. Basho

   Meet Matsuo Bashō, the celebrated haiku poet whose journeys, close observation of nature and spare poetic sensibility continue to influence Japanese arts and garden appreciation.

9. Bashō’s Letter

   A literary glimpse into Bashō’s world, offering context for his writing and the reflective qualities of travel, observation and poetic expression in Japanese cultural tradition.

10. Creating Your Japanese Garden

    A starting guide to shaping a Japanese-inspired garden, considering space, atmosphere, layout, materials and planting before choosing individual features or beginning construction for readers further.

11. Dry River Bed Construction

    Learn how a dry river bed can introduce movement and structure into a garden, with practical advice on shaping the course and arranging stones convincingly.

12. Exploring Japan — Looking Beyond the Obvious

    Discover ideas for looking beyond familiar tourist highlights, with an invitation to notice regional character, everyday culture, landscapes and experiences that enrich a visit further.

13. Granite Lanterns

    An introduction to Japanese granite lanterns, their forms and garden roles, helping readers understand how stone lanterns can contribute scale, atmosphere and visual focus further.

14. Handling Granite

    Guidance on handling heavy granite safely and thoughtfully, covering preparation and care when moving stone pieces so that people, surfaces and the ornaments remain protected.

15. How to Repair Shoji Screens

    Practical advice for repairing damaged Shoji screens, explaining how to approach torn covering material and restore a neat appearance while respecting the screen’s delicate construction.

16. How to Stay Cool the Japanese Way

    Explore traditional and contemporary Japanese approaches to hot weather, from everyday habits and seasonal foods to clothing, buildings and ways of adapting daily routines further.

17. Ikigai

    An accessible introduction to ikigai, a Japanese idea associated with purpose and meaningful living, exploring how everyday interests, contribution and personal fulfilment may intersect further.

18. Installing a Domestic Rain Chain

    Learn about installing a rain chain as an alternative to a conventional downpipe, considering placement, water flow, secure fixing and its contribution to garden atmosphere.

19. Japanese Acrylic or Shoji Paper?

    Compare acrylic and traditional paper options for Shoji screens, considering appearance, practical performance and how each material may suit different rooms and intended uses further.

20. Japanese Garden at Birmingham Botanical Gardens

    Explore a Japanese garden in a British botanical setting, observing how planting, stone, water and designed views work together to create a distinctive garden experience.

21. Japanese Garden Entrance: Creating the Transition

    Explore how a Japanese garden entrance creates a transition from the everyday world, using gates, paths, thresholds and carefully framed views to prepare visitors further.

22. Japanese Garden Vocabulary

    A useful glossary of Japanese garden terms, helping readers understand the names of styles, features, materials and concepts encountered when studying or creating a Japanese.

23. Japanese Garden, Hackney, East London

    A showcase of a Japanese garden in an urban London context, offering inspiration for how design choices can create atmosphere and structure within a city.

24. Japanese Philosophy — Ancient Ideas in Modern Japan

    An introduction to philosophical traditions and ideas that have shaped Japanese culture, with context for concepts often encountered in gardens, arts, customs and daily life.

25. Japanese Stones and Their Use

    Discover how stones are selected and arranged in Japanese gardens, considering their shape, placement, relationships and symbolic or compositional contribution to the overall design further.

26. Japanese Stones and Their Use

    An overview of stone in Japanese garden design, exploring placement, visual balance and the way carefully chosen stones can establish structure, age and a sense.

27. Japanese Style Restaurant Interiors

    Ideas for bringing Japanese design principles into restaurant interiors through materials, screens, spatial arrangement and atmosphere, while considering how the setting supports hospitality for readers.

28. Japanese Style Shade Garden

    Practical guidance for planning a Japanese-inspired shade garden, considering suitable planting, textures, paths and features to create depth and quiet interest in lower light further.

29. Japanese Tea Ceremony

    An introduction to the Japanese tea ceremony, its setting, utensils and customs, explaining how preparation and considered gestures express hospitality, attention and seasonal awareness further.

30. Jōdo Garden Construction

    Explore the design and construction of a Jōdo-inspired garden, considering its historical associations and the arrangement of water, landforms and symbolic elements within the composition.

31. Ma — The Japanese Concept of Space and Emptiness

    Explore ma, the meaningful interval or space between things, and consider how pauses, emptiness, proportion and restraint shape Japanese design, architecture and garden composition further.

32. Making New Granite Look Old

    Understand approaches used to soften the appearance of new granite, exploring how weathered character and surface qualities can help stone features sit more naturally in.

33. Mend a Paper or Shoji Screen

    A practical guide to repairing paper-covered Shoji screens, with advice for addressing damage carefully and preserving the clean, light-filtering character of traditional Japanese interiors further.

34. More on Stone Lanterns

    Continue exploring Japanese stone lanterns, their different forms and placement, and the ways they can serve as focal points or quiet accents within a garden.

35. More on Tatami

    Learn more about tatami mats, their traditional role in Japanese rooms, proportions and materials, and the practical considerations involved in using them in interior spaces.

36. Mount Fuji and the Snow Monkeys of Nagano

    A travel feature bringing together two memorable Japanese experiences: the iconic landscape of Mount Fuji and the snow monkeys associated with Nagano’s winter scenery further.

37. Natural Stone, Moss and Lichen in the Japanese Garden

    Explore the relationship between natural stone, moss and lichen, and how age, moisture, texture and careful placement can lend a garden a settled, natural character.

38. Planting Tips

    Practical planting advice for Japanese-inspired gardens, considering plant choice, placement, balance and the use of foliage and seasonal change to support the overall design further.

39. Practical Tips for a Bonsai Stroll Garden

    Explore the planning and construction of a bonsai stroll garden, combining a sequence of views, paths, carefully placed stones and planting to reward slow observation.

40. Practical Tips for a Jōdo Garden Construction

    A practical look at creating a Jōdo-inspired garden, linking the intended atmosphere with layout, symbolic features and construction choices that support a coherent composition further.

41. Practical Tips for a Zen Raked Garden Construction

    Learn how to plan and construct a raked gravel garden, from setting out stones and defining the ground plane to creating clear patterns and maintaining.

42. Practical Tips for a Zen Standing Stone Construction

    Guidance for planning a standing-stone composition in a Japanese-inspired garden, considering stone selection, secure positioning, proportion and the relationship between individual stones for readers further.

43. Practical Tips for UK Plants in a Japanese Setting

    Discover ways to use plants suited to British conditions within a Japanese-inspired design, balancing local growing needs with restrained forms, texture and seasonal interest further.

44. Shakkei — Borrowed Scenery

    Learn about shakkei, or borrowed scenery, and how distant trees, hills or surrounding features can be incorporated visually to extend a garden beyond its physical.

45. Shoji Screen Information

    An introduction to Shoji screens, their construction, materials and uses, explaining how translucent panels can divide space while allowing light and a visual connection with.

46. So You Want to Build a Japanese Garden

    A practical first step for anyone planning a Japanese garden, outlining the value of understanding the site, choosing an appropriate style and making decisions in.

47. Tatami

    Discover traditional tatami flooring, its materials, dimensions and place in Japanese interiors, with context for how these mats influence room layout and everyday use further.

48. Tatami Mat Calculator

    Use this practical tool to estimate tatami mat requirements for a room, helping with early planning by relating room dimensions to traditional mat sizes and.

49. Tea Ceremony: Understanding the Tea Ceremony

    Look more closely at the tea ceremony’s principles and etiquette, exploring the role of host, guest, utensils, setting and seasonal details in a carefully structured.

50. Terracotta Warriors

    Discover the famous terracotta army of China, its historical context and significance, in a cultural feature that looks beyond Japan to a landmark of East.

51. The Various Styles of Japanese Gardens

    Compare major Japanese garden styles and their defining qualities, helping readers recognise differences in layout, water, stones, paths and the experiences each style is designed.

52. Torii Gates and Traditional Entrances

    Explore torii gates and their cultural associations, including how these recognisable structures mark transitions and can inform understanding of traditional Japanese entrances and sacred spaces.

53. Understanding the Tea Ceremony

    An accessible guide to the customs and meaning of the Japanese tea ceremony, considering preparation, utensils, hospitality and the importance of attention to each moment.

54. Visiting a Noh Performance

    Prepare for a first Noh performance with background on this classical Japanese theatre form, its masks, music, movement and conventions that may help new audiences.

55. Visiting Japan for the First Time

    A first-time visitor’s introduction to Japan, with practical orientation and cultural context to help travellers prepare for transport, customs, everyday encounters and their itinerary further.

56. Warlon Acrylic and Products

    Explore Warlon acrylic products used in Shoji-style applications, with information to help compare modern translucent materials and understand possible uses in screens and interiors further.

57. Water Feature Installation

    Practical considerations for installing a garden water feature, including preparation, placement and the relationship between the feature and its surrounding landscape.

58. Your First 24 Hours in Tokyo

    A practical guide to the first day in Tokyo, helping visitors orient themselves, manage arrival and travel, and choose manageable activities while adjusting to the.

59. Zen Gardens and Why We Rake

    Explore the meaning and practice of raking in Zen gardens, considering patterns, maintenance and how the simple act of shaping gravel contributes to the garden’s.