Categorizing Human Experiences of Natural Landscapes in Everyday Life through the Application of Landscape Image Sketching Technique

The natural environment serves to create a pleasant living environment for human habitation, both aesthetically and functionally, and it is important to preserve the natural environment that citizens are familiar with in their daily lives. The purpose of this study was to understand human experiences of natural landscapes in everyday life in terms of a spatial image. A questionnaire using landscape image sketching techniques was conducted (n=73). This study used three concepts: 1) visual objects perceived as one environment, 2) elements of visual objects, and 3) images that the test subject recalled from the visual objects. The landscape experiences were classified then into three types: tree-recollection, grass or waterside-recollection, and terrainrecollection. For example, in the tree-recollection type, the subject tended feel enclosed by trees, with a typical example being streets. The subject acquired an aesthetic impression relative to the vegetation. In the grass or watersiderecollection type, subject tended to recall their own behavior relative to an experience with nature or a sense of a large, open green space. In the terrainrecollection type, the subject developed the impression of the elements of visual objects, such as a mountain, sea, a forest.