I suppose I was also drawn to this style of gardening because of the ideals it embodies. If anything, a tsuboniwa is about balance: wild enough to be natural, cultivated enough to be austere. I suppose it is why Zen practitioners took it up as a type of mindfulness training that would help direct the mind towards balance.

Anyway, here is my attempt at tsuboniwa thus far:

This is my tsuboniwa as you approach my efficiency apartment:

Most of the neat stuff is sort of hidden from view so that a since of discovery is created as you walk closer to the door. All of the bamboo that lines the pathway was collected, cut and placed by me.

The view to the left when you have walked up the pathway that ends in front of my window to the left of my front door. The oleander is the same from the picture above.

Next to the tree on the far left in the above picture I have nestled a reed-woven basket that I put seed in. This is a squirrel that hangs around my patio all the time. She has gotten to the point that she don’t run away from me. She just hangs out in the rocks, eating and drinking out of the tsukubai (a chiseled or molded stone/concrete basin).

The view is panning from the left to the right from the picture above.

The view is backing up a bit and continuing to pan from the left to the right from the picture above.

This is a picture of the tsukubai. I hand chiseled it. Carolyn and I picked up a lot of the stones you see in these pictures in Pasadena of all places. The bamboo spout is just that: real bamboo. It is held together with copper wire that – I am hoping – will patina nicely over time.

The sound of water filling the basin is a constant. It can be heard whether inside or outside. The sound is quite nice to fall asleep to.

Originally, a tsukubai was an important facet of the Japanese tea ceremony. Individuals talking part in the tea ceremony (which took place in a tea house, surrounded by a garden – a tsuboniwa) were expected to enter into the ceremony with a pure body and mind. The garden was there to calm and focus the mind. The tsukubai was there for hand washing (ie, clean body). I thought that given the historical context of a tsukubai, it would be appropriate to place it at the end of the path which leads up to my front door.

The view is continuing to pan from the left to the right from the picture above.

This is what you see when you look up from the tsukubai and to to walk onto my porch. Again, lots of things set in a way to invite discovery. While it seems fairly balanced, it still has a natural feel to is despite the fact that every plant is living in a pot.

The fence behind the Buddha is woven in the Amida-gaki style – which I thought was nice as Amida is a Japanese (Mahayana Buddhism) word for Buddha. Gaki simply means fence… literally Buddha fence.

The alter the Buddha sits upon is worn concrete, which adds to the feeling of everything being natural.

This view, having taken two steps forward, is continuing to pan from the left to the right from the picture above.

This is what you see when you take a few steps forward onto my patio.

The balanced river rock again reinforced the notion of balance. Behind the large fern are three small boulders placed to mimic a mountain range.

The stone to the far left corner is a stone platform I put right in front of my door. The moss has grown to cover part of it, adding to the natural feel – which is balanced by contrasting the obviously purposefully stacked stones.

The view is continuing to pan from the left to the right from the picture above.

This is what you see when you are standing on my patio side by side with the large pot of bamboo seen in the picture before last.

If you look to the far right, you will the the edge of a hidden chair. It is hidden behind the bamboo – which creates a private little alcove. The two plants on the left of the alter a balanced by a potted elm in the middle (which is hard to make out as you can only see it’s thin trunk). Next to that on the left is part of one of the moss covered boulders. The flowering bush to the right is (it is hard to tell in this picture) trained so that it’s limbs are long and specifically directed. For instance, one limb is trained to slightly arch over the head of the Buddha statue.

There is always a candle lit and the red stuff in front of the Buddha statue are what is left from burning many a incense of a period of time. What is not captured here in this photo is the fact that hidden behind the elm pot is what is called a chant box. It is a little thing that looks like a small radio. However, all it does it repeat a Buddhist chant over and over again. The volume is kept so that it is barely audible. You only notice it when you are sitting on the chair in front of the Buddha statue. That, coupled with the sound water hitting the basin, the fire of the candle and the smoke of incense at dawn or dusk – well, it is really a very nice way to start and end your day.

If you have read this far, well I appreciate it. LOL. I thought I would share this with everyone because it is something that is really important to me. Tending to my tsuboniwa is my favorite hobby. I recommend gardening – of any type – to everyone. ]]> http://www.cristanwilliams.com/b/2010/01/30/cristans-tsuboniwa/feed/ 1 http://www.cristanwilliams.com/b/2010/01/29/japanese-gardening-in-an-apartment/ http://www.cristanwilliams.com/b/2010/01/29/japanese-gardening-in-an-apartment/#comments Fri, 29 Jan 2010 21:35:08 +0000 Cristan http://www.cristanwilliams.com/b/?p=148

… Walking up to my door…

… Still walking to my door… what you are looking at is my tsukubai… a bamboo water spout  draining into a large hand carved (by me: ) stone basin …

… This my patio – looking to the left of the tsukubai. What you are looking at is my stone alter with a Buddha on it. In the far right is a huge oak log with fern growing on it. The fencing I wove myself in the amida-gaki Japanese style. There is a large fern to the left (behind which is my koi) and to the right is a large pot of golden bamboo…

This is where my koi live. It is a huge pot from Korea.

Now, when I said that I didn’t do anything today… I suppose that was a lie. I did do something: I messed with my tsuboniwa some today. I know how much ALL of you just LOVE listening to me talk about Japanese gardening! So, luckily for you, I took pictures!

Here is yet ANOTHER picture of my tsukubai. Notice how the green slime has grown on the stone basin… stone that, yes… I carved using my own front teeth! Well, actually I used a chisel. But again, note the slime… look how GREEN it is! There is even some BLACK slime growing on it too! Isn’t this just freaking amazing! I know… I know! You are probably asking yourself, “Wow, how can I grow MY OWN slime?” Well, Dear Reader, it is an ancient Buddhist Dharma passed down from Master to Disciple throughout the ages. This secrete has been closely guarded until now. Now, Dear Reader, I pass this secrete Dharma on to you: Running Water. Yes, I know it is hard to believe… but it is true! Running water will somehow GROW slime! Just think of the possibilities! You too can have YOUR OWN green slime! I hear it makes really great hair jell (if you don’t mind flies too much).

This is a little plant that is growing between two rather large rocks. Here we are at the end of December, and it put out the one, solitary violet bloom. I thought, “Wow… that is as pretty as a picture!” Then I remembered I was holding my camera in my hand and… well… you can probably figure out the rest…

Here are some nature pictures taken around my home.

This is a bird enjoying my tsuboniwa:

Here is a monarch butterfly:

And here is that squirrel that will walk inside my house if I leave the door open. She lays here in the shade when she gets hot.