The Samurai's Garden Analysis

Life experiences play a major role in the way that people view everyday activities and the world around them. The Japanese culture places an emphasis on respect and peace, but it also strongly encourages valuing nature. In the novel, The Samurai’s Garden, by Gail Tsukiyama, the gardens of Sachi and Matsu are similar in the way that they represent their gardener’s lives by exposing their creator’s personality through its ambience and past experiences through its design. Matsu’s garden was a living reflection of himself and his life. Matsu was a quiet person, full of mystery and hidden beauty, and he created his garden with a similar ambience. For example, one day, Stephen was walking through the garden and couldn’t help but notice the special qualities of

There [was] a quiet beauty here...”(31)The garden also uncovers the fact that he enjoys finding solace and peace. For example, Stephen observed how Matsu loved to find refuge in his garden because of its peaceful ambiance. Stephen tells about, “the garden, [which had] once again become his(Matsu’s) refuge, the only place he seems to feel any comfort. It’s there that Matsu [becomes] the artist; adding and mixing colors (p.73) His garden not only provides a mysterious and alluring view; it uncovers some of Matsu’s past experiences. One can see the way that he has risen above the pain and found beauty in hope for the future when looking at the design of his garden. He views life as a road of challenges that ends in peace and joy, and his garden reveals this in the way that it was created with a bridge that represents life. In one instance, he metaphorically describes a bridge as life’s struggles. He explains to Stephen that, “the bridge represented the samurai’s difficult path from this world to the afterlife. When you reach the top of the bridge, you see your way to paradise.” (58) The bridge