This study was carried out to test prospect-refuge theory and the effect of external high-rise buildings on landscape preferences in a traditional Japanese daimyo (feudal lords) garden, namely, the Hama-rikyu Gardens located in Tokyo, Japan. Eight sites in the garden were selected to be tested with respect to their degree of openness, their degree of safety, and the ratio of background buildings present. An in situ survey was conducted with 129 people (15-18 per site) who agreed to take part in the survey. Subjects were asked to assess the view at each site in the direction indicated by a sign and to provide responses about (a) their general preference for the view, (b) their perception of the openness of the view, (c) their perception of the safety of the site, (d) their perception of the pleasantness of/ disturbance from the background buildings. The results indicated that predefined open-protected sites were more preferred than the others; prospect (perceived openness) was an important indicator of the preferences, whereas the refuge-related symbols (perceived safety) of the garden were not perceived differently between the sites; the ratio of background buildings did not have a significant effect on either landscape preferences or perceived prospect-refuge attributes, whereas the perceived pleasantness of/disturbance from background buildings significantly affected the overall landscape preferences. The results indicated that the design techniques of Japanese daimyo gardens, including the usage of the Shakkei (borrowed scenery) technique, might reveal the principles of prospect-refuge theory. Furthermore, the effect of the surrounding buildings is considered to be a subjective aspect that depends on observers' experiences and attitudes, rather than an objective one.

This study was carried out in a traditional Japanese garden namely Hama-rikyu Gardens which is one of the important heritage sites in Tokyo city. Hama-rikyu Gardens is a stroll type garden (kaiyu-shiki teien) which was originally designed to have borrowed sceneries (Shakkei) of nature elements in its surroundings. However, with the urbanization phenomena in the last decades, modern high-rise buildings have surrounded the garden and entered the garden's scenery which became a problem from the viewpoint of heritage garden preservation. Thereby, this study aimed to investigate the visual effect of external high-rise building views on the garden's scenery in visitors' perception. To achieve this aim, an in-situ survey was conducted among the visitors of Hama-rikyu Gardens by using a questionnaire with a range of questions to assess the external building sceneries. The results indicated that evaluation of the garden scenery as a whole was highly positive while the buildings in the garden sceneries were not liked, and they were perceived as disturbing. Furthermore, the negative effect of the buildings increased in the observation points where Shakkei (borrowed scenery) experience could be expected.

Even though heritage gardens have been preserved successfully in Japan, these gardens, especially the ones in Tokyo, have been surrounded by modern high-rise buildings that have entered the scenery of the gardens dramatically. This situation has become an issue from the perspective of cultural heritage preservation. This paper aimed to define the effect of modern buildings on a Japanese heritage garden called Hama-rikyu Gardens in the context of user perception by a questionnaire on site. Results indicated that the modern buildings should be eliminated from the scenery of the garden in the future since the participants preferred unspoiled views.