In one corner of the French style garden is a line of Platanus trees. when you hear the Japanese name of Platanus you will be surprised. It also called the Suzukake, the same tree we previously described.
But we want you to look and compare. It looks like a completely different tree. Is this difference because it is pruned, or because it is not pruned? Of course it is because the line of Platanus trees are pruned versions of the Suzukake. Even if it is shaped and cropped, it still continues to grow.
It is surprising to know that photosynthesis can take place in the bark, and that the bark can also be shed or molted. With a little stimulation from pruning, the Platanus trees can support a slim body and live long. Yet the result of leaving the trees to freely grow and live as they please is that they become bulging and fat Suzuka. This may be similar to the story of humans.
The symmetrical line of Platanus trees is a landscape that becomes a pictures. For that reason, you may be satisfied with just taking a picture of this superb view. But as Kaii Higashiyama (a key figure of Shinjuku Gyoen) once said, “throw away your search for painting locations, with a pure heart just stare. Encounter a landscape that seems to be whispering from nature.”
Indeed it is not difficult to become free from other thoughts. But what is the best way to get to this state of mind? Kaii Higashiyama left this hint, saying “I try to feel something about the landscape of Japan by sketching or describing the four seasons.”
The line of Platanous trees might be perfect to consider the four seasons. From the budding in spring, to the height of summer when the green colors deepen, through the changing leaves of fall, to the falling leaves of winter. And then back to spring again. The beauty of this picturesque scenery may not lie in one moment in time , but in the way it changes with the seasons.