Visual Cognitive Characteristics of the Chinese toward Pruned Trees Using the Sukashi Technique

Abstract

Landscape plantings of Chinese and Japanese traditional gardens are considered as natural style. But usually, trees in Japanese gardens were pruned using Sukashi technique. Contrastively, Chinese gardeners prefer to leave trees grow naturally. Previous studies shows that Japanese people tend to view the detail when they observing a plant with Sukashi pruning. Meanwhile impression evaluations showed Japanese like trees pruned using Sukashi technique than those not pruned. The present study was designed to investigate how viewing pruned and not pruned trees affects the psychological and physiological reactions of Chinese individuals. For this purpose, eye movement and semantical difference questionnaire results of 20 Chinese male individuals and 11 female individuals were collected and analyzed. The evidences from this study confirmed that Chinese individuals do different responses to presence of pruned trees and no-pruned trees. The participants paid more attention through eye movements for the pruned trees possibly because more details like branches and trunk of the trees were presented. Meanwhile the results from impression evaluations showed Chinese participants preferred trees without pruning rather than pruned trees.