Janpanese stone lanterns are usually placed to overlook a pond or stream for they create a beautiful image in the water reflection.

Lanterns in Garden Design. Says the University of Alberta (home of the Kurimoto Japanese garden): “Stone lanterns were originally votive lamps in the front of Buddhist temples. In the 13th century they began serving the same function in the precincts of Shintō shrines. In the earliest Japanese gardens, lantern designs were borrowed from temples, but in the 16th century, with the development of the tea ceremony, tea masters such as Sen Rikkyu 千利休 (1522-92) began designing lanterns specifically for garden use. The stone lantern, made primarily of granite, became a permanent feature of Japanese garden design thereafter. Garden lanterns are divided into three general styles. The oldest is the Taima-ji 当麻寺 style, named after a temple in Nara that is home to Japan’s oldest extant stone lantern. Over two meters tall, the lamp is comprised of six parts -- pedestal, shaft, middle platform and light compartment, roof and jewel finial. The second style is the Korean temple light. It combines the roof and jewel top, has a very large middle platform and light compartment and a short shaft that gives it a squat appearance. The third style is the creative style especially developed for gardens. This includes a wide variety of shapes unlike anything found in Buddhist temples or Shintō shrines. Representatives of these are the Yukimi or ’Snow Viewing‘ lanterns and Oribe lanterns with no pedestal. <end quote> Today, Ishidōrō stone lanterns are a common feature of private gardens throughout Japan, and these lanterns are often engraved with Sanskrit letters or Buddhist icons.