shichigosanshiki teien　七五三式庭園

KEY WORD :　architecture / gardens

Also called shichigosan ishigumi 七五三石組 Lit. seven, five three style garden. The arrangement of 15 stones or pruned plants to produce three groups of seven, five and three units. Originating in Chinese Daoism, specifically in the "harmony of odd numbers" found in the Iching (Jp: Ekikyou 易経). The belief that these number are auspicious persisted in Japan from the Nara period and the seven-five-three arrangement became a basic ordering principle in a number of arts. While even-numbered groupings are associated with symmetrical composition, the asymmetry of odd-numbered arrangements creates a more dynamic composition. Shichigosan arrangements in stone can be seen in the gardens at the Honbou 本坊 and Shinju'an 真珠庵 at Daitokuji 大徳寺 as well at at Ryouanji 竜安寺, Kyoto. The garden at Shoudenji 正伝寺 presents a shichigosan composition in pruned azaleas.

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