Gardens in the Niigata Region and Local Features/ snow strategies and examples of these strategies in gardens that can be seen today

Abstract

Snow is one of the environmental conditions affecting gardens. In the Niigata region the volume of snowfall affects several of the elements that constitute a garden such as the relative area of the ponds, the complexity of their shape and the comparative number of evergreens and deciduous trees. Snow falls in every part of the “snow country” of Niigata Prefecture. Typically, snow piles up in areas near the mountains or between plains and mountains. The Meguro residence was built in 1797 in snowy Uonuma City. Around the main house there is a waterway consisting of a small pond (Chisen) and a large pond (Sadogaike) close to the buildings, and several reservoirs. In this area of heavy snow, the water system with ponds functions as a mechanism to melt and dissolve snow swiftly. This is an introduction to the garden of Rankeiso Villa, close to the mountains in Sanjo City. The report describes, from the perspective of the local features of the Niigata region, how some of the ideas, intelligence and skills especially in relation to snow, developed through different places and experiences by long-ago predecessors in garden construction, are used to this day in garden work in the region. It also describes Rankeiso Garden as an example of garden construction from the perspective of modernity.