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A tsubo-niwa is meant to be seen from indoors. Note sliding glass doors. -
Straight-on view of the same garden
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A tsubo-niwa (坪庭/壷庭/つぼにわ) is a type of very small garden in Japan.[1] Tsubo-niwa have been described as "quasi-indoor gardens", and are a key feature of some traditional Japanese homes, such as the machiya (lit. 'townhouse').[2] They are valued for their beauty and for bringing nature into the building.
Some tsubo-niwa are also impluviums that collect rainwater; others contain groundwater wells. They are traditional locations for temizu (handwashing). They also provide light and ventilation.
As the floorboards in a traditional Japanese building are usually raised above the ground, a niwa is an area without the wooden flooring; the floorboards surrounding a garden may form a veranda called an engawa.
- ^ Keane, Marc P. (18 April 2016). "Japanese Courtyard Gardens". Kyoto Journal.
- ^ Arimoto, Y.; Homma, Y.; Furuune, H.; Tanaka, K.; Yokota, J.; Hara, K. (March 1995). "Indoor gardens using the Himawari sunlight collection and transmission device". Acta Horticulturae (391): 103–110. doi:10.17660/ActaHortic.1995.391.8.