Roji

Roji (露地), lit. 'dewy ground', is the Japanese term used for the garden through which one passes to the chashitsu for the tea ceremony. The roji generally cultivates an air of simplicity.

Roji leading to the Seigetsu chashitsu at Ise Jingū; typical features include the stepping stones, moss, bamboo gate, and division into outer and inner gardens

Development

Sen no Rikyū is said to have been important in the development of the roji. At his Myōki-an, the 'sleeve-brushing pine' gained its name from the garden's diminutive size.[1] For his tea house at Sakai, he planted hedges to obscure the view over the Inland Sea, and only when a guest bent over the tsukubai would he see the view. Rikyū explained his design by quoting a verse by Sōgi.[2][3] Kobori Enshū was also a leading practitioner.[4]

Roji with the Nijiriguchi (Entrance) to the tea house at the Adachi Museum of Art, Yasugi, Shimane Prefecture, Japan.

Features

The roji is usually divided into an outer and inner garden, with a machiai (waiting arbour). Typical features include the tsukubai (ablution basin), tōrō (lantern), tobi ishi (stepping stones), and wicket gate.[5][6][7] Ostentatious plantings are generally avoided in preference for moss, ferns, and evergreens, although ume and Japanese maple are found.[8]

Influence

Sadler argues that the roji, with its small size, harmonious proportions, and 'simple suggestiveness' served as a model for domestic Japanese courtyard gardens.[9]

Burakumin

In the works of Japanese writer Nakagami Kenji, roji, in the sense of "alley", can also be understood as an euphemism for the buraku ghettos, where burakumin people used to live. [10]

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See also

References
  1. Kuck, Loraine (1968). The World of the Japanese Garden. Weatherhill. p. 195f.
  2. Sadler, A. L. (1962). Cha-no-Yu: The Japanese Tea Ceremony. Tuttle. p. 19. ISBN 978-0-8048-1224-5.
  3. Kuck, Loraine (1968). The World of the Japanese Garden. Weatherhill. p. 196f.
  4. Hayakawa, Masao (1973). The Garden Art of Japan. Weatherhill. pp. 132ff. ISBN 978-0-8348-1014-3.
  5. "Roji". Japanese Architecture and Art Net Users System. Retrieved 30 March 2011.
  6. "Chaniwa". Japanese Architecture and Art Net Users System. Retrieved 30 March 2011.
  7. "Koshikake machiai". Japanese Architecture and Art Net Users System. Retrieved 30 March 2011.
  8. Kuck, Loraine (1968). The World of the Japanese Garden. Weatherhill. pp. 198f.
  9. Sadler, A. L. (1962). Cha-no-Yu: The Japanese Tea Ceremony. Tuttle. p. 21. ISBN 978-0-8048-1224-5.
  10. Cornyetz, Nina (1999). Dangerous Women, Deadly Words. Phallic Fantasy and Modernity in Three Japanese Writers. Stanford University Press. p. 215.
  • Media related to Roji at Wikimedia Commons
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