The classification of formality into the three levels of shin (formal), gyō (semiformal), and sō (informal), observed in Japanese culture generally. For Japanese gardens, this perspective has been applied from the Edo period on for classifying a garden which strictly adheres to the rules as shin no niwa (formal garden), and those which break or simplify those rules as gyō no niwa and sō no niwa in progressive fashion.
Japanese Garden Dictionary: A Glossary for Japanese Gardens and Their History
(C) 2010 by Ono Kenkichi and Walter Edwards. All rights reserved.
