, lit. 'dewy ground', is the Japanese

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 term used for the garden

Japanese garden

, that is, gardens in traditional Japanese style, can be found at private homes, in neighborhood or city parks, and at historical landmarks such as Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines and old castles....

 through which one passes to the chashitsu

Chashitsu

In Japanese tradition, architectural spaces designed to be used for tea ceremony gatherings are known as chashitsu ....

 for the tea ceremony

Japanese tea ceremony

The Japanese tea ceremony, also called the Way of Tea, is a Japanese cultural activity involving the ceremonial preparation and presentation of matcha, powdered green tea. In Japanese, it is called . The manner in which it is performed, or the art of its performance, is called...

. The roji generally cultivates an air of simplicity

Wabi-sabi

represents a comprehensive Japanese world view or aesthetic centered on the acceptance of transience. The aesthetic is sometimes described as one of beauty that is "imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete"...

.

Development

Sen no Rikyū

Sen no Rikyu

, is considered the historical figure with the most profound influence on chanoyu, the Japanese "Way of Tea", particularly the tradition of wabi-cha...

 is said to have been important in the development of the roji. At his Myōki-an, the 'sleeve-brushing pine' gained its name from the garden's diminutive size. For his tea house at Sakai

Sakai, Osaka

is a city in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It has been one of the largest and most important seaports of Japan since the Medieval era.Following the February 2005 annexation of the town of Mihara, from Minamikawachi District, the city has grown further and is now the fourteenth most populous city in...

, he planted hedges to obscure the view over the Inland Sea, and only when a guest bent over the tsukubai

Tsukubai

A is a small basin provided in Japanese Buddhist temples for visitors to purify themselves by the ritual washing of hands and rinsing of the mouth . This type of ritual cleansing is also the custom for guests attending a tea ceremony....

 would he see the view. Rikyū explained his design by quoting a verse by Sōgi

Sogi

was a Japanese poet. He came from a humble family from the province of Kii or Ōmi, and died in Hakone on September 1, 1502. Sōgi was a Zen monk from the Shokokuji temple in Kyoto and he studied poetry, both waka and renga...

. Kobori Enshū

Kobori Masakazu

, better known as ', was a notable Japanese artist and aristocrat in the reign of Tokugawa Ieyasu.In 1604, Kobori received as inheritance a 12,000-koku fief in Ōmi Province at Komuro. He excelled in the arts of painting, poetry, flower arrangement, and garden design...

 was also a leading practitioner.

Features

The roji is usually divided into an outer and inner garden, with a machiai (waiting arbour). Typical features include the tsukubai

Tsukubai

A is a small basin provided in Japanese Buddhist temples for visitors to purify themselves by the ritual washing of hands and rinsing of the mouth . This type of ritual cleansing is also the custom for guests attending a tea ceremony....

 (ablution basin), tōrō

Tōrō

A "灯篭" is just a simplified form of "灯籠". is a Japanese lantern made of stone, wood, or metal traditional in the Far East. In China extant specimen are very rare, and in Korea too they are not as common as in Japan. In Japan, tōrō were originally used only in Buddhist temples, where they lined and...

 (lantern), tobi ishi

Stepping stone

Stepping stone and similar can refer to:* Step-stone bridge, stones placed in a river to allow pedestrians to cross* Stepping stone , a type of computer security measure...

 (stepping stones), and wicket gate

Wicket gate

A wicket gate is a small gate or door, particularly one built into a larger one. The cricket term "wicket" comes from this usage. The term wicket gate is also used in English to refer to automatic ticket barriers or older staffed ticket gates on Japan's railway network...

. Ostentatious plantings are generally avoided in preference for moss

Moss

Mosses are small, soft plants that are typically 1–10 cm tall, though some species are much larger. They commonly grow close together in clumps or mats in damp or shady locations. They do not have flowers or seeds, and their simple leaves cover the thin wiry stems...

, ferns

Fern

A fern is any one of a group of about 12,000 species of plants belonging to the botanical group known as Pteridophyta. Unlike mosses, they have xylem and phloem . They have stems, leaves, and roots like other vascular plants...

, and evergreens

Evergreen

In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...

, although ume

Ume

Prunus mume, with the common names including Chinese plum and Japanese apricot, is an Asian tree species classified in the Armeniaca section of the genus Prunus. The flower, long a beloved subject in the traditional painting of East Asia, is usually translated as plum blossom. This distinct tree...

 and Japanese maple are found.

Influence

Sadler argues that the roji, with its small size, harmonious proportions, and 'simple suggestiveness' served as a model for domestic Japanese courtyard gardens.