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Tsubo-niwa
A tsubo-niwa (坪庭/壷庭/つぼにわ) is a type of very small garden in Japan. Tsubo-niwa have been described as "quasi-indoor gardens", and are a key feature of some traditional Japanese homes, such as the machiya (lit. 'townhouse'). They are valued for their beauty and for bringing nature into the building.
Some tsubo-niwa are also impluviums that collect rainwater; others contain groundwater wells. They are traditional locations for temizu (handwashing). They also provide light and ventilation.
As the floorboards in a traditional Japanese building are usually raised above the ground, a niwa is an area without the wooden flooring; the floorboards surrounding a garden may form a veranda called an engawa.
The term tsuboniwa stems from tsubo (坪), a unit of measurement (equal to 1×1 ken, the size of two tatami (flooring and sleeping mats), roughly 3.3 square metres (36 sq ft)), and niwa, meaning "garden". Other spellings of tsubo-niwa translate to "container garden", and a tsubo-niwa may differ in size from the tsubo unit of measurement.
A number of different terms exist to describe the function of townhouse gardens. Courtyard gardens of all sizes are referred to as naka-niwa, "inner gardens"; gardens referred to as tōri-niwa (通り庭, lit. 'passage garden') include both the mise-niwa (shop entrance garden) and the hashiri-niwa (hallway-garden, often mostly-roofed and used as a kitchen). The zensai-niwa is found at the front of a traditional townhouse, with additional tsubo-niwa often found in the interior and at the rear.
Tsubo-niwa were originally found in the interior courtyards of Heian period palaces, designed to give a glimpse of nature and some privacy to the residents of the rear side of the building. These were as small as one tsubo – roughly 3.3 square metres (36 sq ft).
During the Edo period, merchants began building small gardens in the space between their shops – which faced the street – and their residences, located behind the shop. These tiny gardens were meant to be seen, but not entered, and usually featured a stone lantern, a water basin, stepping stones and a few plants, arranged in the cha-niwa (tea[house]-garden) style, which was fashionable.
Tsubo-niwa gained greater popularity in the early 21st century, and can be found in many Japanese residences, hotels, restaurants, and public buildings. Multistory and underground interior spaces present difficulties for tsubo-niwa cultivation; artificial lighting, anidolic lighting (using fiberoptic cables to pipe in sunlight), and a combination of both have been used.
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Tsubo-niwa
A tsubo-niwa (坪庭/壷庭/つぼにわ) is a type of very small garden in Japan. Tsubo-niwa have been described as "quasi-indoor gardens", and are a key feature of some traditional Japanese homes, such as the machiya (lit. 'townhouse'). They are valued for their beauty and for bringing nature into the building.
Some tsubo-niwa are also impluviums that collect rainwater; others contain groundwater wells. They are traditional locations for temizu (handwashing). They also provide light and ventilation.
As the floorboards in a traditional Japanese building are usually raised above the ground, a niwa is an area without the wooden flooring; the floorboards surrounding a garden may form a veranda called an engawa.
The term tsuboniwa stems from tsubo (坪), a unit of measurement (equal to 1×1 ken, the size of two tatami (flooring and sleeping mats), roughly 3.3 square metres (36 sq ft)), and niwa, meaning "garden". Other spellings of tsubo-niwa translate to "container garden", and a tsubo-niwa may differ in size from the tsubo unit of measurement.
A number of different terms exist to describe the function of townhouse gardens. Courtyard gardens of all sizes are referred to as naka-niwa, "inner gardens"; gardens referred to as tōri-niwa (通り庭, lit. 'passage garden') include both the mise-niwa (shop entrance garden) and the hashiri-niwa (hallway-garden, often mostly-roofed and used as a kitchen). The zensai-niwa is found at the front of a traditional townhouse, with additional tsubo-niwa often found in the interior and at the rear.
Tsubo-niwa were originally found in the interior courtyards of Heian period palaces, designed to give a glimpse of nature and some privacy to the residents of the rear side of the building. These were as small as one tsubo – roughly 3.3 square metres (36 sq ft).
During the Edo period, merchants began building small gardens in the space between their shops – which faced the street – and their residences, located behind the shop. These tiny gardens were meant to be seen, but not entered, and usually featured a stone lantern, a water basin, stepping stones and a few plants, arranged in the cha-niwa (tea[house]-garden) style, which was fashionable.
Tsubo-niwa gained greater popularity in the early 21st century, and can be found in many Japanese residences, hotels, restaurants, and public buildings. Multistory and underground interior spaces present difficulties for tsubo-niwa cultivation; artificial lighting, anidolic lighting (using fiberoptic cables to pipe in sunlight), and a combination of both have been used.