ABSTRACT
The Zen rock garden (kare sansui) is one of the most well known iconic images of the spiritual side of Japan (as contrasted with the modern popular culture side of Japan reflected in the ubiquitous neon lights and manga). The garden is, like many Japanese gardens, made up of rocks, pebbles, and raked sand. The Ryoan-ji rock garden in Kyoto is probably the most famous rock garden in Japan and is generally considered a masterpiece of Japanese culture. In his book, The Enduring Art of Japan, Langdon Warner discusses the spiritual aspects of these gardens (1952:96–97):
The fundamental thing about Japanese gardens, and what sets them apart from any other gardens of the civilized world, is usually lost sight of by Westerners. It is the fact that the art was definitely used in China and Japan to express the highest truths of religion and philosophy precisely as other civilizations have made use of the arts of literature and painting, of ritual dance and music.
