The Sand and Stone Garden at Portland Japanese Garden Gardens of raked sand or gravel and stone are referred to as karesansui gardens which literally translates to “dry landscape.” This style was developed in Japan in the late Kamakura period (1185–1333) and an important Japanese aesthetic principle underlying these dry landscape gardens is yohaku-no-bi, meaning “the beauty of blank space.” #portlandjapanesegarden #japanesehistory #japaneseculture #japanesegarden #karesansui #kamakura