1 Lit.
Mt. Penglai. Ch: Penglaishan. The most famous of the three Elysian mountain-isles believed
to lie off the coast of China. Along with Fangzhangshan (Jp: Houjousan 方丈山) and
Yingzhoushan (Jp: Eishuusan 瀛洲山), Penglaishan was inhabited by immortals, tortoises,
cranes, stags and auspicious plants including the pine, peach, plum and mushrooms
all symbols of longevity. Legends concerning Mt. Penglai were widespread from
ancient times, particuraly in Daoism. The First Emperor of the Qin dynasty (Ch: Qinshihuangdi
/ Jp: Shin Shikoutei 秦始皇帝, 259-210 BC) even sent several expeditions in search
of the island. Stories of its gold and silver treasure attracted other adventurers,
although according to tradition the island could not be visited by mortals. Emperor Wu (Jp; Bu 武, ?56-87
BC) of the Han dynasty had three islands with pavilions build in a pond
within his massive garden. The idea of recreating the aupicious Mt. Penglai
by building an artificial pond island within a garden was probably adopted
in Japanese gardens of the Heian period although no examples remain. Mt.
Penglai was associated with cranes, who supposedly lived there, and a tortoise,
on the back of which the island was carried. Because the 11c garden treatise
*SAKUTEIKI 作庭記 mentions
crane islands *tsurujima 鶴島, and tortoise islands *kamejima 亀島, in pond gardens, this may well indicate an elaboration on the Mt. Penglai
island design. Because the evergreen pine is a symbol of longevity, garden
recreations of Penglai often include pines. Penglai appears frequently in
Japanese gardens beginning in the Kamakura period, usually represented by
a pyramidal stone *houraiseki 蓬莱石, by a group of stones hourai iwagumi 蓬莱石組, or an island *hourai
gantou 蓬莱岩島. These elements appear both in pond style chisenshiki 池泉式 and dry landscape *karesansui 枯山水 gardens. A related motif is the *houraibune 蓬莱舟, a treasure boat that travels to and from the island. Gardens in which
Penglai is the thematic focus are called *hourai
teien 蓬莱庭園, while gardens in which Penglai is a motif are
*hourai youshiki 蓬莱様式.
2 Houraisan
was depicted in Chinese painting at least from the Tang dynasty and long remained
a favorite auspicious symbol. In Japan, Houraisan appeared in literature
from TAKETORI MONOGATARI 竹取物語 (The Tale of Bamboo Cutter; ca. 900). It
was associated with local mountains, for instance Mt. Kumano 熊野 in Wakayama prefecture
and became a common motif in garden and miniature rock garden, bonseki
盆石 design. Later the legendary mountain became a favorite subject for Edo painters
such as Maruyama Oukyo 円山応挙 (1733-95; Higashihonganji 東本願寺, Kyoto), Nagasawa
Rousetsu 長沢蘆雪 (1754-99), and Tomioka Tessai 富岡鉄斎 (1837-1924). |
