« Voici des fruits, des fleurs, des feuilles et des branches
J’arrive tout humide encore de rosée
Que le vent du matin vient glacer à mon front… »
Empereur KÔKÔ, extraits de “Shin Kokin-Shû”, printemps-1, compilation 1201-1205
This haiku, probable source of inspiration for the famous poem Green by Paul Verlaine in 1873, introduces the walk in this “Vallon of poets”.
Morning light floods this garden which is a gentle combination of mineral, aquatic and plant life. It evokes three aspects of garden art in Japan:
The first, the promenade garden, is the figurative expression of a sacred nature, the miniaturized reproduction of the universe. The trees and shrubs are shaped into clouds, the ground is covered with carpets of moss and the stones are as important as the plants .
The second, the dry garden, is the archetype of thegarden of contemplation, a refined expression ofZen thought. Flowers should not distract the mind.
At the entrance to the third, the tea garden, a ritual basin (tsukubai) allows you to purify your hands. Nearby, a hydrangea serrata 'Oamacha' has the particularity of being used as an infusion on the occasion of the anniversary of the birth of Buddha (April 8). A “goose fly” stone pathway leads to a large granite lantern. The red bridge symbolizes the transition from the world of humans to that of nature.Seule compte dans ce jardin, la beauté abstraite du milieu naturel, des plantes et des pierres.