Japan’s Emerald Carpets: The Cultural Importance and Environmental Promise of Moss

A moss display incorporating rock and wildflowers.

Animal figures add a humorous touch to a moss terrarium.

The primeval, moss-covered forest on the island of Yakushima in Kagoshima Prefecture is a popular destination for trekkers.

Moss and cherry blossoms have deep cultural meaning in Japan.

Moss features prominently in the garden at Zen temple Eigenji in Shiga Prefecture.

A carpet of moss covers the ground of the garden at the Nakano House Art Museum in Niigata Prefecture.

Moss seems to cover every inch of ground of the Japanese garden at Saihōji in Kyoto. The temple is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

A carpet of moss covers the ground at the temple Sanzen’in in Kyoto.

Moss represents islands and rocks mountains in this Japanese garden at Ryōtanji in Shiga Prefecture.

Squares of moss and stone create a striking check design called the Ichimatsu pattern at Kyoto’s Tōfukuji.

The diverse landscape of the garden at the Hakone Museum of Art in Kanagawa Prefecture supports a wide variety of moss species.

A close-up of the glistening leaves of the native Japanese moss species Ezosuka-goke. Mosses absorb moisture and nutrients directly from the air and are sensitive to changes in the environment.

Dead moss in a Japanese garden caused by the heat island effect.

Scattered dead tree trunks along the slopes of Mount Ōdaigahara in Nara Prefecture are all that remain of a once lush, moss-covered forest. Over the last 30 years, herds of hungry deer have decimated the environment.