The Japanese gardens are part of the culture, and they are considered as a high art.
A significant number of Japanese gardens are internationaly recognized as part of the artistic inventory of the country.

The gardens are categorized in several type: karesansui, garden with rocks, tsukiyama, gardens with stepping stones or paving, and chaniwa which are tea garden.

The Japanese were inspired by the ancient Chinese, who collected rocks having shapes similar to dragons or geographical features like mountains. Japanese transformed this habit, and introduced more abstract and minimalist forms. There is no more similarity with existing things, so it will let the viewer to interprete the shape with his own imagination.

Art & Culture of Japan