Japanese Garden
-A contribution of building ethnology toSwiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), ZurichThroughout long periods of time and in many cultures the humanspirit has been preoccupied with trees. Evidence of this is to be foundin the many representations, pictorial and textual, which tell us of sacred
ght, cosmic or world trees, the Tree of Knowledgein the Garden of Eden, trees of everlasting life, of eternal youthand so on. The wide extent of symbolism centered on the tree andits long history as the focal point of ideal worlds is also reflected in themany studies and investigations on this subject. The fantastic associationswith which primitive cultures have invested something that nowappears to us as a natural object are indicative of a way of thinking that,in its stronger imaginative power, completely overshadows our ownsober, objective relations. The abundance of studies is due not only to the great extent ofman's spiritual relationship to trees, but also to modern man's attractionto the rich symbolism surrounding the tree. And yet, are we right in our ideas about this earlier power of imagination?Has symbolic thinking of this kind really sprung exclusivelyfrom the spirit ? As suggested by the German word Einbildung (" inimagination"), might it not have been sparked off by structures of theworld of things ? Does symbolism only seem fantastic because it derivesfrom events of cultural history which are now lost in the depths oftime ? In other words, could it be that what we regard as specificallyspiritual in man's relation to the tree is actually traceable to lost culture?.
Common topics in this essay:
Garden Eden,
Introduction Throughout,
Trees Goshonai/Japan,
sacred trees,
|
Acceptance Essays
