Haimes, Paul: From Edo Gardens to Kankyō Ongaku (Environmental Music): Appreciation of Environmental Sound in Japan

_Contemporary Aesthetics_ 24. 2026This article traces a thread between Edo-period garden design and modern Japanese ambient music (kankyō ongaku). It focuses on the suikinkutsu — a buried ceramic pot beside a stone basin that produces soft, resonant echoes from dripping water — as an early example of deliberate environmental sound design. This tradition is connected to artists like Hiroshi Yoshimura, whose work blends synthesizers with natural sounds. Both the suikinkutsu and kankyō ongaku share