Shakkei (Borrowed Scenery)

借景 / 17th century– / Technique / Garden Styles

A technique that pulls the mountain or forest beyond the garden into the composition, framing it with hedges and trees until it belongs there. It is the boldest idea of cropping there is, designing with a landscape no one can own.

Shakkei (Borrowed Scenery) — Garden of Murin-an (CC BY 4.0) · © Piet Parkiet — Garden of Murin-an (CC BY 4.0) · CC BY 4.0 · © Piet Parkiet

Shakkei (Borrowed Scenery) — Entsū-ji garden (borrowed scenery of Mount Hiei) — Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.5 · © 663highland — Entsū-ji garden (borrowed scenery of Mount Hiei) — Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.5 · CC BY 2.5 · © 663highland

At a glance

Visual cues

Distant views captured
Framing by hedge
The middle ground erased
Composition including the outside

Best used for

Sites with a hill or woodland beyond the boundary that can enter the design
Fixing what a window or a seat is allowed to see

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Dictionary entry

Type: No explanation, with floor and seating fixing where to stand or sit
Composition: Keep the distance, cut the middle ground with hedge and eaves
Material: Match the framing planting to the distant green so seasons stay close
Caution: The middle ground goes untreated, buildings and wires stay in view, the distance never reads as part of the garden, and only a nice outlook remains.
Further study: Entsū-ji and Mount Hiei / the Sakuteiki / urbanization and endangered borrowed views

Related entries

Kaiyū Strolling Garden (回遊式庭園)Same Garden Styles lineage.Compare Shakkei (Borrowed Scenery) and Kaiyū Strolling Garden
Chinese Scholar Garden (中国文人庭園)Same Garden Styles lineage.Compare Shakkei (Borrowed Scenery) and Chinese Scholar Garden

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Link: https://indexstyle.org/styles/shakkei
Markdown: [Shakkei (Borrowed Scenery) — IndexStyle](https://indexstyle.org/styles/shakkei)
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