A facility which sprays water upward or to the side. Examples of fountains made in the seventh century are known for Japanese gardens, such as the Mt. Sumeru stone, the Sekijinzō stone (an elaborate stone figure of an old man and a woman), and the stone fountain in the garden remains at the Asuka capital site, and it is recorded that the garden at Nanzen'in temple, built in the thirteenth century, had a fountain. A fountain of the nineteenth century in Kenrokuen is the oldest one still functioning in a Japanese garden. Fountains in Japan did not develop as centerpieces of water scenery, however, as seen in gardens of Europan countries.
Japanese Garden Dictionary: A Glossary for Japanese Gardens and Their History
(C) 2010 by Ono Kenkichi and Walter Edwards. All rights reserved.
