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kare sansui
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Japanese contemplative garden
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kare sansui

landscaping
Also known as: Zen Garden
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Japanese contemplative garden
Japanese contemplative garden Rock-and-gravel kare sansui (“dry mountain stream”) contemplative garden in Japan.

Kare sansui is a style of Japanese garden design that uses rocks and sand to represent landscapes, rather than actual water or hills. This dry landscape technique is a variation of the tsuki-yama (artificial hills) garden type.1

In kare sansui gardens, rocks are arranged to symbolize mountains, waterfalls, and their basins, while gravel or sand is used to represent water or seasonally dry terrain. This minimalist approach is designed to inspire reflection and meditation. A notable example of this style is the garden at Ryōan Temple in Kyoto.12

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2 Britannica Sources
  1. Japanese garden
  2. Sōami

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