hōrai yōshiki 蓬莱様式

Lit. Penglai style. A type of garden in which there presentation of Mt. Penglai *Hōraisan 蓬莱山 is one feature. Mt. Penglai is a sacred mountain of ancient Chinese legend, inhabited by legendary wizards, and considered to be a land of eternal youth and immortality. Often represented in gardens by a stone *hōraiseki 蓬莱石, or an island *hōrai gantō 蓬莱岩島. Although the term is used inconsistently, hōrai yōshiki differs from *hōrai teien 蓬莱庭園 in that hōrai yōshiki gardens simply include Mt. Penglai as one of several features, whilst in hōrai teien, Mt. Penglai is the thematic focus of the whole garden. Because the majority of Japanese gardens include either a Penglai stone or a Penglai island, they may be described as hōrai yōshiki .