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Rh was adopted in Japan, especially in palace buildings, the gardens were quite independent of the buildings. It was so when the Emperor Kammu constructed a garden called Shizenen south of his palace in Kyoto. The traces of this fact can still be seen in the garden, though it has suffered some changes. During the Fujiwara Period, a style of architecture called Shinden-zukuri (Shinden Shiki) prevailed among the upper classes. It was at this time that gardens were laid out in connexion with buildings. Besides ponds, bridges, and other ornaments, small cottages called Tsuridono were introduced into the gardens.

“The influence of the Zen sect of Buddhism and of Tea Ceremony began to tell on the gardens and buildings, especially in the Ashikaga Era. It was from this time on that the garden was laid out in harmony with the buildings. This was a decided step towards the perfection of the art. Much credit is due the masters such as the priest named Muso (1276–1351), and Soami (1435–1490), who laid out the garden of Ginkakuji, still in excellent preservation, and Kobori Enshu (1579–1647), whose masterly works are still to be admired in Katsura-no-Rikyu, the detached palace at Katsura, Kodaiji, Daitokuji, Yuboan.

“Kyoto has many gardens of note in good preservation. They show the characteristic superiority of Japanese landscape gardening