Abstract
This study listed 164 Japanese gardens situated in the Kyoto basin, consisting mainly of the Kamogawa alluvial fan and the Katsuragawa flood plain. The listed gardens were mapped with Geographic Information System (GIS). During the Edo era, civil engineering improvements promoted construction of large scale gardens. Gardens without surface water are mainly distributed in the center of the Kamogawa alluvial fan with relatively deep groundwater. Gardens with surface water, in contrast, are concentrated along the foot of the Higashiyama hills where hydrological recharge zones produce rich springs. During the Taisho era, Biwako-sosui (canals from the Biwa Lake to the Kyoto basin) contributed to construction of gardens with surface water, such as artificial ponds, flows and falls. Both physically and artificially, hydrological conditions controlled the geographic distribution of Japanese gardens.
