Borrowed Scenery - Borrowed Scenery in The Sakuteiki

Borrowed Scenery in The Sakuteiki

The term borrowed scenery was mentioned in the oldest extant Japanese garden manual, the Sakuteiki (作庭記?, "Records of Garden Making"). This text, which is attributed to Tachibana Toshitsuna (橘俊綱, 1028-1094 CE), a son of the Byodoin's designer Fujiwara no Yorimichi (藤原頼通, 990-1074 CE), records the Heian period’s attention to a concept called "mono no aware" (物の哀れ) "the pathos of things." The first principle of the Sakuteiki is,

According to the lay of the land, and depending upon the aspect of the water landscape, you should design each part of the garden tastefully, recalling your memories of how nature presented itself for each feature. (tr. Inaji 1998:13)

These four principle tenets guiding Japanese garden organization are,

• shōtoku no sansui (生得の山水?, "natural mountain river") intending to create in the likeness of nature
• kohan ni shitagau (湖畔に従う?, "follow the lakeshore") planning in accordance with the site topography
• sūchigaete (数値違えて?, "irregular numerical value") designing with asymmetrical elements　
• fuzei (風情?, "appearance; air") capturing and presenting the ambiance

Shakkei, which attempts to capture nature alive rather than create a less spectacular version, is included in the first of these categories.

The origins of borrowed scenery gardens, as well as Shinden-zukuri, lie in the increased local travel of the Japanese elite, a layered endeavor involving the bolstering of a national identity separate from China and the display of personal wealth. When they returned from their travels they would want to physically manifest these travels at home in a more ostentatious way than could be accomplished solely with art, weapons, or ceramics. Thus, borrowed scenery was introduced to incorporate the foreign landscapes seen in northern Japan into the southern cities of Nara and Kyoto.

According to the 1635 CE Chinese garden manual Yuanye (園冶), there are four categories of borrowed scenery, namely: yuanjie (遠借 "distant borrowing", e.g., mountains, lakes), linjie (隣借 "adjacent borrowing", neighboring buildings and features), yangjie (仰借 "upward borrowing", clouds, stars), and fujie (俯借 "downward borrowing", rocks, ponds); respectively Japanese enshaku, rinshaku, gyōshaku, and fushaku.