Study Finds Japanese Gardens Calm Mind, Lower Heart Rate

Some types of gardens are more relaxing than others because of how they guide eye movement.

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The earliest major treatise on Japanese gardens dates back to the 11th century. Yet some of the ancient design principles—such as capturing the spirit of nature—are still in use today. Could there be something about this garden style that is especially good for fostering relaxation?

Research shows that exposure to nature induces positive feelings, but not all green spaces are equally therapeutic, according to a recent study. The authors discovered that a well-designed Japanese garden encouraged the visitor’s gaze to wander farther and faster, which correlated with a decreased heart rate and improved mood. It’s possible to create a similar oasis in your own backyard.

Eye Movement and Lower Stress

The study, published in Frontiers in Neuroscience, adds to our understanding of how garden viewing offers a prescription-free method of reducing physiological and psychological signs of stress.

A traditional type of Japanese garden is an observation garden. This type is meant to be viewed while seated from a single vantage point, as opposed to being experienced by walking through it. An earlier study from the research team showed that the parasympathetic nervous system—the part of the nervous system that promotes relaxation—becomes dominant over the sympathetic nervous system—the fight-or-flight system—when Japanese participants’ eyes move back and forth across a Japanese garden compared with a traditional courtyard. This back-and-forth gaze may promote relaxation.

To further explore how eye movement contributes to this calming effect, the researchers conducted a new study, which compared the effects of viewing Kyoto’s famous Murin-an garden with those of the Kyoto University garden.

Murin-an Garden. Courtesy of Seiko Goto

The Murin-an garden is well-planned and meticulously maintained, while the university garden is designed differently and receives less upkeep. Physiological responses were measured using heart rate monitors, eye movement recordings, and skin conductance levels, which reflect parasympathetic and sympathetic activity. Psychological responses were assessed through a mood questionnaire.

The findings revealed a correlation between eye movements and stress reduction. In the Murin-an garden, participants’ eye movements were faster and their visual shifts extended farther, with the eyes traveling horizontally across the scene more often. Although both gardens improved mood, only the Murin-an garden led to a moderate drop in heart rate.

Differences Between the 2 Gardens

A comparison of the two gardens reveals design factors that may explain the study’s results. The Murin-an garden featured intentional design elements and a high level of care that encouraged the eye movements linked to relaxation, senior author Karl Herrup, a neurobiologist and professor at the University of Pittsburgh, said in a statement.

Both gardens included water, trees, stones, and a bridge. However, in the university garden, the most engaging elements were concentrated in the center, whereas in the Murin-an garden, the focal elements were spread out more evenly and horizontally.

Additionally, the plants in the Murin-an garden were carefully pruned to foster visual balance in the overall scene. Trees in the foreground were selectively thinned, allowing an unobstructed view of the middle and distant sections of the garden through the branches.

By contrast, the university garden lacked balance. A cedar tree that hadn’t been pruned blocked the view behind it with dense foliage. Weeds were visible, and litter was scattered throughout the space.

“Between the two gardens, elements and overall size are similar, but the context and the maintenance level are very different,” first author Seiko Goto, a researcher and professor at Nagasaki University, told The Epoch Times in an email. “The key is not elements but the quality of spatial composition and maintenance.”

From the differences between the Murin-an garden and the university garden, we can deduce the following principles:

• Positioning elements in a balanced way across a garden encourages more eye movement than concentrating interest at a central focal point.
• Garden elements that obstruct the view result in less eye movement.
• Poor garden maintenance discourages both eye movement and stress reduction.

Japanese Versus Western Gardens

Another study by the research team, published in the Journal of Eye Movement Research, suggested that Japanese gardens may be more effective in promoting calmness than other nature settings, such as French gardens or forest spaces. To investigate why, the researchers compared the gaze behavior and physiological effects of viewing a Japanese garden with those of viewing a courtyard. Gaze behavior in the Japanese garden was associated with greater focus and engagement, which correlated with relaxation in both Japanese and Caucasian viewers.

To explain why Japanese gardens induce this gaze behavior, the authors examined the design differences between Japanese and Western gardens. Japanese gardens are naturalistic—designed to reflect nature and help the viewer imagine a larger landscape from a small setting. Such gardens use many ways to create this illusion, such as the pruning of trees and strategic placement of rocks, which encourage viewers to slow their gaze, engage with the elements, and meditate.

In the study, the Japanese garden had several sub-elements placed in front or beside the main element, rather than a singular, central focal point. This construction resulted in multiple focal points that gently guided the viewer’s eyes more slowly and indirectly toward the center.

By contrast, Western gardens are often geometric, guiding the viewer’s gaze directly to a primary focal point, instead of multiple focal points. The courtyard used in the study had fewer supporting elements in the center, prompting the viewers’ eyes to shift rapidly between the center and the periphery. This rapid gaze pattern did not promote calmness or meditative reflection.

Japanese Gardens and Dementia

A separate study by the research team, published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, examined the benefits of Japanese garden observation for people with advanced dementia. The results suggested that viewing such gardens may relieve physiological stress and improve memory and verbalization. The authors noted that the experience was holistic rather than purely visual and proposed Japanese garden exposure as a supportive addition to existing dementia treatments.

Create Your Backyard Oasis

“Anybody can create a peaceful oasis in their backyard using principles of Japanese gardens,” said Goto, who told The Epoch Times that “elements necessary to bring relaxation include tranquility, purity, and abstraction that induces a sense of nature.” She defined abstraction as positioning elements in such a manner that the viewer can imagine a broader nature scene—such as islands in an ocean or a mountaintop emerging through clouds.

A simple Japanese terraced garden. Courtesy of Seiko Goto

Goto noted that plants and rocks play a central role in a Japanese garden, so maintaining the balance between plants is crucial to the design. The multi-layered effect created by thinning trees invites viewers to linger, encouraging contemplation of the scene’s depth and meaning. “This brings people relaxation,” she said.

For additional advice on creating a peaceful garden space, The Epoch Times consulted horticulturalist Andrew Griffith, founder of Garden Furniture.

“I’ve seen firsthand how the design of a garden affects not just physical space but the spirit of the viewer,” Griffith said in an email. “Unlike the bold, colorful exuberance of many American gardens, Japanese-style gardens exude the subtle power of stillness, prioritizing minimalism, natural materials, and asymmetrical balance.”

Griffith added that while the typical American garden may feature seasonal flowers and sharply defined landscaping, a Japanese garden evokes stillness through carefully selected elements—raked gravel, moss, water basins, and stone lanterns—all chosen for their symbolism and tranquility rather than visual spectacle.

To create a small Japanese garden at home, Griffith recommends starting with intent rather than ornamentation. Key principles include:

• Simplify your palette: Use shades of green, creamy white, and natural brown. Avoid bright florals.
• Bring in structure: Include a shishi-odoshi bamboo water feature, a small gravel “pond” raked in flowing lines, or asymmetrically placed stones.
• Add layers of meaning: Create a winding path of stepping stones that implies a journey. Place a single lantern to offer a quiet spot for evening reflection.
• Consider negative space: What you don’t plant matters just as much as what you do. Use empty spaces to create visual balance.

“Japanese gardens are not about perfection; they are about perspective,” Griffith said. “They are asking us to slow down, observe, and feel. That is why they’re naturally mood-boosting.”