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12. 3,5,7
Odd numbers are considered lucky in Japan,
especially in the sequence 3-5-7.
This pattern is found in many social
and religious aspects of Japanese life,
and in their gardens as well.
Tao gave birth to One,
One gave birth to Two,
Two gave birth to Three,
Three gave birth to all the myriad things.
Lao Tzu
As early as the 7th century, oriental gardens included the three sacred islands representing the Taoist paradise.
The Buddhist triad representing Buddha and two disciples is
also often seen in Japanese gardens: three upright stones, set
relatively high and aligned so as to channel the natural forces of the Japanese cosmic universe.
Stones, often in odd-numbered groups, are sometimes arranged into three islands, plus two, plus two, as in the famous Ryoan-ji Zen garden.
This arrangement was reproduced in many 16th- and 17th- century gardens.
Symbolic figures
In ancient China, numbers were considered to have symbolic powers.
The world, square and aligned toward the four cardinal points, was represented by a magic square in which adding the three numbers horizontally, vertically or diagonally always gave the number 15.
The Emperor, represented by the number 5, reigned at the centre of the four horizons.
These ancient Chinese traditions made their way to Japan, as well, where this representation of the cosmos played an important role in early gardens.
The symbolic importance of the 3,5,7 sequence is also reflected in many Japanese celebrations.
November 15, for instance, is a special holiday for 7- and 3-year old girls and 5- and 3-year old boys.
On that day, known as schichi-go-san, literally meaning "7, 5, 3," they give thanks to their tutelary deities for having reached these ages.
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