niwaki

thumb|Niwaki trees at Ritsurin Garden is the Japanese word for "garden trees". Niwaki is also a descriptive word for highly "sculpting trees".

Most varieties of plants used in Japanese gardens are called niwaki. These trees help to create the structure of the garden. Japanese gardens are not about using large range of plants, rather the objective is creating atmosphere or ambiance. The technique of niwaki is more about what to do with a tree than the tree itself. While Western gardeners enjoy experimenting with a wide range of different plants, Japanese gardeners achieve variety through training and shaping a relatively limited set of plants.