Landscape Projects (Turkey)



Shimonoseki-shi which is situated on the west of Honshu, is a gateway between Kyushu and South Korea. The seashore of this place can tell us a sad story about the downfall of Heike clan and time when empress Jingu sent her army in a foreign expedition. This is the place where Shimonoseki Campaign (Shimonoseki war) took place, and certainly is known as conversion point of the history.

Mr. Mori was born in a historical, strong place Chofu in Shimonoseki-shi in 1953. Family business started in 1921 as landscape gardening business “Horakuen”. The name of the company was created by its founder Mr. Mori Jinzaburo (grandfather of Mr. Mori Kazuyoshi).

In 1971 business was succeed by his father Mr. Mori Katsumi. After that, 16 years later, this company became a joint-stock corporation and changed its name to “Morihorakuen”.

Mr. Mori is very busy as an executive director of “Morihorakuen”, but he has succeeded the fortune of the family. After finishing school Mr. Mori entered the Department of Landscape Architecture Science in Tokyo University of Agriculture, where he had been studying the basics of landscaping and gardening for 4 years. He met there his life partner, his future wife Mrs. Noriko, who was a good critic of Mr. Mori’s works.

After graduating the university Mr. Mori got a job in Kojima Garden Engineering. He called himself just apprentice, but in practice, he had been really working there. Kojima Garden Engineering is well-known in Kyoto, and it had been headed by the late Mr. Kojima Saichi, for 3 years Mr. Mori was taught by Mr. Kojima.

“Even when it was a day-off master woke up early in the morning and went to the mountains. Sometimes he asked me to drive him, so we went there together. Those days, Mr. Kojima explained me, that landscape designer has to devote himself to a persistent pursuit of natural “beauty”.”

Mr. Mori looked back on those days, and those memories seemed to be very painful for him, because he could never go back to that valuable period of his life. His story deeply impressed me.

After Kyoto, Mr. Mori returned to Shimonoseki-shi for helping with family business. When he got requests for creating a garden, he tried to use all technical skills he had gotten in Kyoto. But it didn’t last for a long time. Mr. Mori understood that those were not his gardens. Even if he gives himself completely to the work, it still would be the garden of his teacher Mr. Kojima Saichi. What is more, it would be very impolite toward the master, to create the similar gardens.

Not only Mr. Mori, but everyone, who had been studying under the master, pile up the knowledge, and then unexpectedly for himself act like his teacher. That is not strange to copy the teacher, the strange thing is to use all those “skills” you got from your teacher, and not have any doubts about how right is it. Extremely strange thing is to use teacher’s name and think only about commercial part of the work and ignore spiritual part.

For some period, Mr. Mori had a strong conflict with himself. The problem was to pick up the way of working: to create natural garden including all the demands of the owner, or create the garden which will express the personality of its creator.

The works of Mr. Mori which we published in this magazine are: “The garden in Hinodemachi”, in which the author expressed himself, and “The garden in Nakadoihonmachi” – which was created as natural garden and included all the wishes of the owner.

Nowadays, Mr. Mori tries to express his will in every work. He is 41 now, and it is a good period of life for working.

We had already said, that Shimonoseki-shi is a place with a rich history. We hope, that Mr. Mori, in whose life the land between Kyushu and South Korea plays a great role, will create a lot of gardens using his new ideas.

Address: Shimonoseki-shi, Chofumatsuoda Nakamachi 6-1
Phone: 0832-45-0283
(Yutaka)

Explanation of the Project from the Architecture Kazuyoshi Mori

This garden is situated on the hill, from which you can see the channel gateway. There is a forest around the garden, which makes the view more beautiful.

I wanted very much to express myself in my work. I was thinking about different things, and when my desire of self-expression was extremely big, I got the request of creating this garden.

My client is the director of the hospital, he is very busy person, who has a lot of visitors, that is why he asked me to make a garden, where he could have fun.

It had to be garden, where he could have barbeque or enjoy the cherry tree blossom (ohanami). His wife and mother like flowers very much, that is why they asked me to plant a lot of flowers in it.

I was sure, that there would be some troubles with accepting my ideas, but unexpectedly for me I came to the conclusion with the client very fast. I found the last hexagonal rocks at the shop of materials, and decided to use them.

When I found those new materials, I couldn’t even imagine that it will make the field of vision so much bigger.

The idea of the plan was to make everybody feel the throbbing pulse and rhythm of the things in the garden, using hexagonal rocks. So I emphasized the sea as a background, and showed the depth of the forest. I also planted weeping cherry tree in the middle of the garden, and chose such tall trees as dogwood, camellia, flowering dogwood and other flowering trees for this landscape, and tried to prune Japanese azalea bush.

The only thing made of stone was a present from the client’s friend. Every year the owner of the garden prepare seats for his guests for enjoying flowers blossom. The client told me, that everybody has to have a place he made by himself for having a good time.

Even today I clearly remember that time, when while building a house, my client asked me: “Mori, can you think over the garden for me?”

When I saw a good quality of almost ready house, a good balanced arrangement of the house and open space for working, I felt that my desire to create a garden in this place had grown up extremely.

As for me, the unity of the house and garden is very precious, and it is very important for landscape designer to reconcile the plan of the garden and the plan of the house.

The client is owner of construction firm, that is why he easily entrusted the project to the designer with rich experience.

I made a project of the garden which was based on the next three points:

  1. Light. Hold it up to the light. A calm garden, where you can feel the wind.
  2. The main garden with a stream in the middle.
  3. To plant the grass from fields and mountains for creating the atmosphere of four seasons.

Well, I can say, that I could achieve 90 % of my plan.

The main garden was surrounded with rectangle house, and I needed the idea how to create a large hallway in it. So I planted Japanese maple on the corners of the house, the view of the trunks of those trees opens from the living room, and the view of the branches of the trees opens from the guest room.

I decided to plant different trees around the stream for attracting less attention to the stream, and used different sorts of miscellaneous small trees for that, because they can express the soft atmosphere of the wind.

When you pass a lattice door in front garden, you see deep eaves at the big vestibule. This creates very peaceful atmosphere, and, as for me, is very important point in my plan. The surface of the stone masonry, which is an approach to the house, is very tie-dyed. I showed the depth of my idea planting undergrowth and making eaves.

Middle garden is a construction which is possible to view from the vestibule and living-room. Middle garden is very bright, Japanese maple trees in it make very quiet atmosphere, and I tried to add to this view a lantern, which I brought from Kyoto.

My client said that he entrusted me everything, and I tried to do all my best from my heart. But the client’s wife, with well-cultivated tastes and her beloved flowers, said, that because of the weeding she was feeling pain in her back. Thank to the understanding of the client the garden was growing up.

(Kazuyoshi Mori)