Bamboo (take)
Bamboo is essential in Japanese gardens.
It is used for fences. There are many types of fences.
Some
of them are blindfolded and some of them are low and indication of
boundary. Occasionally, we can find a door made of bamboo.
In tea gardens, some houses have bamboo beam.
Stone and rock
Granite (Mikage-ishi)
The most easiest to obtain stone. Actually, in Japan, old gardens
don't have granite stuff. But new Japanese gardens built these days are
paved with granite. Still, it is fits on Japanese garden. In old
Japanese gardens, their local stone are used.
When paving with granite, you should choose smooth surface one, otherwise you will slip on the footpath.
In Japan, granite for paving is usually rectangle. The most common size of granite is 60 cm x 30 cm, thickness is 7 cm.
Crushed granite
This is also popular in Japanese gardens.
Limestone (Kansui-ishi)
Tiling or paving with limestone is not common in Japanese style
garden while Japanese home garden has limestone's paving though. They
are westernised garden. Instead, in Japanese style garden, sometimes
paving are with crushed. They are approx 5 or 6 mm.
In Zen garden, white crushed limestone are used as a decoration. To wipe limestone, beautiful scene are made.
20 mm sized are used as paving, however, they are used on which nobody walk. They are just covering.
Teppei-seki
I don't know the English word for teppei-seki, however, this stone is
the most popular in modern Japanese style gardens as well as old style
one. It is like slate.
The colour is dark, dark blue or dark purple.
Teppei-seki is an ideal for paving.
Irregular or rectangle.
Black pebble (nachiguro-ishi)
In Japan, black pebble are very expensive. Still, some people use this stone. Black pebble are amazing because when it rains, it becomes very dark, nearly black, but when it is dry, the colour changes into gray. Black pebble is used along ponds.
Ohiso-jari
In Japan, this crushed stone are found near Tokyo. But these are mostly same as miscellaneous crushed stone. The most inexpensive way to paving though it is popular way.
