Miniature garden - Hakoniwa

In 1620 (6th year of the Genna era), when the Katsura Imperial Villa was being built, Prince Katsura ordered his gardener Koboshi to make a prototype. This is said to be the beginning of miniature gardens. In other words, miniature gardens were born as a prototype for gardens, but after the mid-Edo period, they were actively created as a part of the gardening hobby that was popular at the time, as a way to console common people who did not have their own gardens. At first, they were made by filling shallow boxes with soil and sand and planting small trees and plants, creating miniature gardens. Eventually, they began to express the scenery of famous places, such as "Scenes from the Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido," and ceramic props such as torii gates, houses, and small animals were also used. However, perhaps because there were no outstanding instructors and no schools were established, people gradually lost interest in the style, and it fell into disuse around 1887 (20th year of the Meiji era) when a man named Izumi Chisen created bonkei, an advanced version of miniature gardens. Now only the name remains.

[Keiji Murata]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

1620年（元和6）、桂(かつら)離宮の造営にあたり、桂宮は庭師小法師に命じて、まず、その雛型(ひながた)をつくらせたという。それが箱庭の始まりといわれている。つまり、箱庭は庭園の雛型として生まれたものだが、その後、江戸時代の中期以降、庭をもたない庶民の慰めとして、おりから流行してきた園芸趣味の一分野として盛んにつくられるようになった。初めは浅い箱の中に土や砂を入れ、小さな木や草を植え込み、庭園のミニチュアであったが、やがて、「東海道五十三次の景」というように、名勝地の風景を表現するようになり、鳥居、人家、小動物などの陶製の小道具なども使うようになった。しかし、傑出した指導者もなく、流派もできなかったためか、しだいにあきられ、1887年（明治20）ごろ、和泉(いずみ)智川という人が箱庭を高度化した盆景を創始するに及んで、すっかり廃れてしまった。いまではその名ばかりが残っている。

［村田圭司］

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