Book Description
Winner of the 2006 American Horitcultural Society Book Award!
Gardening has reached new heights of sophistication, and this book profiles a number of the most notable gardens in Japan and beyond. The goal of a Japanese garden is to suggest a landscape, to depict famous natural scenes, or to evoke a particular artistic quality or atmosphere. Graveled courtyards, early aristocratic gardens, Zen gardens, and several other elements all play key roles in these extravagant landscapes.
The Art of the Japanese Garden is a valuable resource for anyone interested in gardening, landscape design, and Japanese art and culture.
Customer Reviews:
Great Book!.......2007-01-05
Great book, lots of pictures and ideas for creating amazingly beautiful oriental gardens.
Outstanding book on Japanese Gardens.......2006-02-22
I ordered this book somewhat "blind" without having seen it in a bookstore, etc. When it arrived, I must say that I was thrilled with the quality of the text, photos and other illustrations. The book thoroughly covers the basic history, principles and aesthetics of Japanese Gardens. Then it takes an in-depth look at some of the finest gardens of each type found in Japan. Highly recommended.
Book Description
Designed for the layman as well as the professional, this concise yet comprehensive guide provides both practical information and theoretical insights into the design of the Japanese garden. Kyoto, the capital of Japan for over one thousand years, possesses a richness of garden art without equal as a living chronicle of Japanese cultural history and environmental design. Following the introductory essays are individual entries for more than fifty temple and palace gardens. The text is augmented by an excellent selection of photographs, historical prints, maps and color plates.
Customer Reviews:
The only comprehensive guide to the gardens of Kyoto.......2006-04-04
This book is an indispensible aide to anyone planning a trip on his own. This book contains over 50 individual entries describing the gardens of Kyoto and environs, grouped by geographic location within the city. Overview maps for the different districts show the approximate location of the individual gardens, so that the traveller can put together itineraries for daytrips in the Kyoto area.
Each entry gives details of opening hours, historic background and special features of the garden described. The name of the garden and its location are additonally specified in Japanese characters, making this book the ideal travel guide for those embarking on a trip to Kyoto.
There is a limited number of photos, so that those wanting to plan a trip using the guide might consider referencing other books with numerous color photos to pick the specific gardens they are interested in.
A Guide to The Gardens of Kyoto, Marc Treib and Ron Herman.......2005-01-05
Don't leave home without this book! Anyone who is planning a trip to Japan (resident foreigners included) and has even the slighest interest learning about the Gardens of Kyoto should buy a copy of this superb book, which is small enough to carry in your shoulder bag. The book contains gives the balance of detail,giving good a historical background and landscape points overview. This is a buy you will not regret. Well done to the authors.
Book Description
The creation of a Japanese garden combines respect for nature with adherence to simple principles of aesthetics and structure. In Japanese Garden Design, landscape architect Marc Peter Keane presents the history and development of the classical metaphors that underlie all Japanese gardens.
Keane describes the influences of Confucian, Shinto and Buddhist principles that have linked poetry and philosophy to the tangible metaphor of the garden. Detailed explanations of basic design concepts identify and interpret the symbolism of various garden forms and demonstrate these principles in use today.
Average customer rating:
- Beautiful photos but...........
- A good presentation of Kyoto Gardens
- Great picture reference for Japanese gardens and courtyards
- thoughtful and thorough
- A singularly beautiful treasury
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The Hidden Gardens of Kyoto
Masaaki Ono
Manufacturer: Kodansha International
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Similar Items:
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A Guide to the Gardens of Kyoto
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Landscapes for Small Spaces: Japanese Courtyard Gardens
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Courtyard Gardens of Kyoto's Merchant Houses
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Art of the Japanese Garden
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Styles and Motifs Japanese Gardens
ASIN: 4770029373 |
Book Description
ForeWord Magazine's BOOK OF THE YEAR Awards, Silver Medal Winner, Home & Garden
Supreme examples of the art of Japanese gardens, not easily accessible to the public.
The Hidden Gardens of Kyoto is the attractive sequel to Landscapes for Small Spaces by the same photographer, Katsuhiko Mizuno. In this new book, Mizuno introduces the gardens of Kyoto that are not easily accessible or are totally closed to the public.
Mizuno was born in Kyoto and has spent most of his life in this old capital, established in the eighth century. Kyoto is not susceptible to short-term fashions, and this rigidness can be seen in the way it has kept the tradition of garden art alive over the centuries in public and private spaces.
Thanks to his familiarity with the city, Mizuno has been able to penetrate its hidden corners and capture the beauty of unknown gardens with his cameras.
The Hidden Gardens of Kyoto displays more than fifty gardens, from private dwellings to the Imperial Palaces and Villas, temples, tea schools and shrines. The elements and structure of each garden are explained by Masaaki Ono, who studied under the greatest twentieth-century garden designer, Mirei
Shigemori. Plans drawn by Ono also accompany some of the garden descriptions.
Some Japanese gardens are planned so as to be seen from one vantage point, but many are designed for viewing from multiple angles. In his previous book, Mizuno only showed us one aspect per garden, but this time we are given various views as we explore the stroll gardens or look down from the
verandas of the buildings surrounding enclosed gardens. This three-dimensional approach will help both professional and amateur garden designers and landscape architects to understand the structure as well as the diverse vegetation used in one garden.
Customer Reviews:
Beautiful photos but..................2007-09-04
Great picture book, but there isn't much in the way of detailed commentary. Would have enjoyed this book a lot more if there had been some focus on exactly what was highlighted in the photo.
A good presentation of Kyoto Gardens.......2006-03-10
After visiting Kyoto , i think this book gives us many opportunities to appreciate so many details of the wonderful and chaming japanes gardens of the ancient Japan capital.
And the pictures overall taken in fall period are much better,in my opinion, to the spring pictures
Great picture reference for Japanese gardens and courtyards.......2005-08-09
This a beautiful collection of large-sized well composed photographs of the different type of gardens found throughout Kyoto. They are accompanied with brief text on their design principles and historical background. Might proof useful as inspiration and reference for anyone writing and/or illustrating a story set in Feudal Japan like Samurai-Ninja stories. It might also be a nice surprise present to Anime/Manga fans by adding another dimension to their collections.
thoughtful and thorough.......2005-07-24
This book provides an excellent inside look at kyoto's historical gardens, though without much of the context in which they exist (e.g. surrounding city, houses). The photography is fantastic as it realistically shows the reader both the intricate details & broad strokes that make up these complex settings. Keep in mind, it is a serious piece of work and the descriptions are somewhat short and/or dry (but maybe that's the point).
A singularly beautiful treasury.......2004-10-10
The impressively visual photography of Katsuhiko Mizuno deftly combine with the infomative text of Masaaki Ono in The Hidden Gardens Of Kyoto, an amazingly beautiful photography book presenting captivating images of Kyoto gardens. The full-color pictures come with captions in fine print that succinctly inform the reader of the garden's location and style of composition. A summary of basic information and common Japanese garden formations is included in the back, but the majority of The Hidden Gardens Of Kyoto is devoted to resplendent photographs of the gardens themselves. A singularly beautiful treasury.
Book Description
The Sakuteiki, or "Records of Garden Making," was written nearly 1000 years ago, making it the oldest work on Japanese gardening; in fact, the oldest book on gardening in the world! In this edition of the Sakuteiki, the authors provide both an English-language translation of this classic work; and an introduction to the cultural and historical context that led to the development of Japanese gardening.
A Japanese court noble wrote the Sakuteiki during the Heian period (794-1184). During this critical era in Japanese history cultural influences on poetry, clothing-and gardening-that had been imported from China and Korea over the previous centuries were reexamined and reinterpreted into their unique Japanese forms. The Sakuteiki contains the first systematic record of this new gardening style-with both technical advice on gardening-building (much of which is still followed in today's Japanese gardens) and an examination of the four central threads of allegorical meaning which were integral features of Heian-era garden design.
Customer Reviews:
Pretty good book.......2007-01-16
I thought that it was a pretty good book. It wasn't what I had expected and do wish that there were more pictures illistrating what the author was talking about. Also the first half of the book was an introduction and history lesson that was long and somewhat boring. The Sakeutiki itself (which was the second half of the book) was interesting.
Serenity distilled.......2002-06-03
The original blueprint to create a Japanese garden filled with empty spaces, quiet, calm and tranquillity. I enjoy simply reading and rereading the detailed instructions which send my mind travelling along paths of gardens I've yet to see or create. Happy gardening.
Once in a millenium..........2001-12-07
The editorial comments on this book can hardly do it justice.
Not only does this book give you a clear, up-to-date translation of probably the earliest practical garden handbook, a treasure in itself, where those instructions remain relevant to gardening generally and japanese gardening in particular today - you get the result of an extraordinary cooperation between east and west, namely the attention, erudition and dedication of these two thoughtful and careful authors. In addition, you get almost 150 pages of a detailed, yet clearly comprehensible, well illustrated and very readable introduction to japanese gardens, their influences and the sakuteiki itself. If you have ever felt the coffee table japanese garden books are too vague and the academic books too turgid this book majestically spans and outshines both genre - Buy it!
Book Description
Japanese gardens have long been revered for their impeccable design, detail and composition, properties which elevate them from being mere gardens to peaceful havens of serenity and sacredness. Now the ancient Japanese Sakuteiki ("Notes on Garden Design")-the quintessential volume on Japanese garden design-is available for English-speaking readers, alongside gorgeous color photographs of Japan's most famous gardens. Infinite Spaces also includes practical advice and philosophical insights on building and maintaining water features such as miniature ponds and waterways, placing stones for excluding evil spirits and inviting the protection of benevolent deities, and much more. Today's gardeners can gather knowledge, specific design techniques, and inspiration to create magnificent garden sanctuaries in their own backyards.
Customer Reviews:
Beautiful Book.......2001-10-03
If your one of those people that can learn from basic truths and visual stimulous that book is great. Its a simple book with translations from the "bible" of Japanese gardening. And photos to show you examples.
Great photos but very little Sakuteiki.......2001-02-12
This is a better than average coffee-table book about Japanese Gardens. The photos are for the most part excellent (a few are too dark). Many of the gardens shown are located outside of the Kyoto area and have seldom if ever been shown in other such (English language) books on this subject; this is a nice touch because it means that there is little overlap between this book and others. I had high hopes that the book would include a substantial (if not complete) translation of the Sakuteiki but despite the introduction which implies that this might be the case, it is not true. I would guess that less than 25% of the text of Sakuteiki is included, and the authors have rearranged the material into thematic sections to fit their own taste. This is a terrible pity becuase the 11th century gardening manual known by the name "Sakuteiki" is a very important point of reference in understanding the historical developement of Japanese gardens - sections from it are quoted by almost every book written on the subject, yet there is no generally available English translation of it. The 1976 translation by Shigemaru Shimoyama (publ. by Town & City Planners,Inc. Tokyo) was printed in a tiny edition of only 300 copies so the only way to read it is by borrowing a copy thru the academic inter-library loan program at your local public library. The way the authors of this book have rearranged the text into disjointed quotations (with widely varying typographic style & presentation) really does not do justice to the orginal material and is in considerable danger of reinforcing the old western stereotype of "pearls of wisdom from the inscrutable orient". I would suggest that you buy this book for the pictures alone and not pay too much attention to the text as currently presented. If the book is popular enough to merit a 2nd edition I hope the authors will reconsider the current format.
Incredible photography!.......2000-10-17
The photos are so luscious--I can't think of a more appropriate term--that it's as if you're in these gardens. I believe all of the photos are of the ancient gardens in Kyoto, and if not, they're definately all from Japan. This book is truly one that was inspired by the Sakuteki, not an illustrated edition of the Sakuteki. You'll want it for dreamy page turning, not as an instruction book for your own gardens.
Average customer rating:
- Gardens of Longevity explains why a few designed landscapes are fabulous
- rock in Chinese
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Gardens of Longevity In China & Japan
Rizzoli
Manufacturer: Rizzoli
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0847808378
Release Date: 1987-09-15 |
Customer Reviews:
Gardens of Longevity explains why a few designed landscapes are fabulous.......2007-03-28
Gardens of Longevity is a beautiful book which illustrates why some landscape design immediately looks spectacular and feels "right", while most landscape design feels dead. The book relies upon the iconography of landscape paintings and gardens in Japan and China, but the principles apply to all types of design (painting, sculpture, architecture, as well as landscape).
By analyzing original works of art and comparing them with western copies, the author explains the principles of allowing the dragon through. Those familiar with some branches of fung shui will understand that this means, in crude imagery, letting the good "chi" through and deflecting the bad "chi." However, what sounds like trendy gibberish to most scientific types, actually finds visual proof in this book.
I am a successful practicing architect, who marries the design of landscape with my buildings and urban designs. This book comes closer to explaining how to do this, and why some landscapes (natural and human-made) are so spectacular and most are humdrum or worse than any other book I know of on this subject.
The book also contains many examples to explain Chinese landscape painting to westeners which give us the aesthetics to "see" and then value an aesthetic tradition different from that of western Europe.
Incredibly, one example from the book, on a larger, geological scale, illustrated by the river drainage of China, explains why the country is killing the dragon which has sustained it for thousands of years, by damming and polluting the Yangtze, Yellow, and other rivers.
I can't say enough good things about this book. It's just marvelous. I have gone back to it many times to refresh my knowledge and to review the examples.
rock in Chinese.......2000-01-25
I would like to read the digist about book. I am interested in rock in garded in China.
Book Description
The art of the Japanese garden is a 1,500-year-old landscape design tradition that is still evolving, still instructive. Secret Teachings in the Art of Japanese Gardens explains the fundamental principles of this tradition and describes how those principles may be applied to a much wider range
of environments than exists in Japan.
In the first section the author draws on his own experience as an apprentice to a master gardener in Kyoto, as well as his considerable knowledge of Japanese classical texts, to present the garden design process in terms of three primary aesthetic considerations:
Scenic effects-reproductions of appealing natural landscape forms.
Sensory effects-varieties of scale, framing, rhythm, motion, and spatial quality.
Cultural effects-the incorporation of allusions to classical literature, poetry, and painting.
The final section comprises a complete translation of a classic gardening manual used by Buddhist monks in medieval Japan. Its rules for planting trees and setting rocks still make good design sense today, and the author includes numerous garden descriptions as examples of how ancient masters
practiced their craft.
This clear, authoritative work, fully illustrated with diagrams and photographs, elucidates much about the Japanese compositional sense. But at the same time it is a plea for a more holistic approach to landscape design-a recognition that a garden should conform to certain natural principles as well
as meet the emotional needs of those who view it.
Customer Reviews:
The Best Book on Japanese Garden Design Theory.......2005-07-26
I first found this book over twenty years ago and have not found another that comes close to giving the reader as comprehensive an understanding of Japanese garden design. At first, I read the book from cover to cover. However, because of its depth it is best to re-read the book (the second and all subsequent times) in sections. A more thorough and complete understanding is achieved.
It is true that this book is not an easy read. However, it has always been an enjoyable and enlightened one.
Too dense!.......2002-10-11
This book is too dense for my needs. If you need to read liquid platinum about Japanese gardens, go for this book. If you need a quicker hitter, go elsewhere.
An invaluable and in-depth resource.......2000-02-08
I have, over the years, collected a number of books on the art of Japanese Gardens. Most rely on glossy photos and provide very little written content on the complexities of Japanese garden composition. What sets this work apart is its depth and focus on unraveling the underlying design principles and its intent on providing a deeper understanding into the art of Japanese gardening. If you were looking for a purely visual reference I would advise you not purchase this book. If however you were searching for a scholarly study in the design aesthetics of Japanese gardens, I would give this book my strongest recommendation. Slawson begins with his experiences as a master gardener's apprentice in Japan and ends with a full translation of an ancient gardening manual used by Buddhist monks. Each page overflows with background, details and inspiration. He urges and inspires you not to transplant an existing garden design, but gives the reader the foundation to evolve a plan reflective of your own individual location and taste. By clearly dissecting the aesthetic principal behind Japanese garden design, the book succeeds in creating a truly inspirational guide. Have a highlighter and note pad ready from the first page of the acknowledgements to the comprehensive bibliography.
Inspiration and perspiration for an aspiring garden designer.......2000-01-14
Of all the books we consulted, read, and reread before we began to design and create our own Japanese-style garden -- really, just a small front yard of a rowhouse on a pretty street on Capitol Hill -- Slawson's book was the most useful. Why? Not because it's easy reading! Understanding what the author is trying to say requires careful and slow reading (and rereading) of almost every sentence. It's effort well spent! Unlike so many pretty-picture books about Japanese garden design, which amaze the reader with their photos but leave him/her dumbfounded as to how one would go about designing a garden from scratch (as opposed to merely copying some handsome garden pictured on one of the book's pages!), Slawson's book unlocks -- to the persistent reader -- the fundamentals (secrets, if you insist) of what makes a garden Japanese. As the preceding reviewer already pointed out, this essentially boils down to being able to express one's own experience and impression of nature. Once you're at this stage, the selection of rocks and other materials and their harmonious placement in the space at hand, is almost a piece of cake. (OK, it's still a lot of work to implement one's design, but at least you know what you're supposed to be doing!)
In case you're wondering about the outcome of our design effort: we've gotten lots of praise from neighbors and from total strangers, from American and from Japanese friends, for our little Japanese-style rock garden. And everybody who looks at our front yard gets what we were trying to express artistically! I have no doubts that we could never had this type of success without having had access to Slawson's remarkable book.
Excellent resource. Requires re-reading & note taking........1999-01-22
I purchased the hardcover of this book in 1988. I read it cover to cover immediately. I used the rock setting techniques described by Slawson "hands on" in my landscape contracting business in Boulder, CO. I found it immensely useful.
A number of years passed, nearly four of them spent in graduate architecture school studying formal geometries, history, architecture as a verb.....architecture with a great big capital A.
Yet, I did not fully appreciate the book until recently. I dusted it off when I was hired to set 2 semi-truck loads of stones. I reviewed it and found that my studies from it ten years earlier had indeed made an indelible impression upon me. The seemingly daunting task of composing 50 tons of boulders in an aesthetically pleasing manner was made much easier thanks to Slawson's studies. His book was more useful than 3 1/2 years of architecture school. Believe me, read it and get your hands dirty. Work with big stones, the dirt. It is the real work.
You will likely find the book "thick" in the sense that at times, each sentence is filled with succinct words. You may find yourself re-reading sentences to understand. Better graphic descriptions could have helped here. In particular the sections comparing Arnheims "Art and Visual Perception" with compositional arrangements, proportions and general japanese garden aesthetics are excellent. It is in these sections where one begins to understand how intelligent japanese garden design is. It fully engages the haptic sense as well as one's psychology.
Slawson makes many important notes and observations about the making of Japanese gardens. Yet he also points out that Japanese gardens evolved in Japan because of particular conditions of culture and nature. He points out that the teachings would not necessarily recomend "copying" these teachings in other region with climates different than those of Japan.
Slawson gives us an excellent resource to consider Japanese "teachings" in composing gardens, for example, in the desert southwest (USA). A garden influenced by the desert southwest would simply not fit in Japan. Yet, if you make the "teachings" your own you could create a japanese influenced garden.
Similarly, many Japanese garden copies in America don't fit. With the exception of the Portland Japanese Garden in Portland, Oregon.
I recomend the book because I continue to turn to it year after year. The sign for me of a valuable book.
Patrick Healy
Book Description
IN THE TRADITION OF JAPANESE TOUCH FOR YOUR GARDEN, THE PERFECT BOOK FOR CONTEMPOLATING A ZEN-STYLE GARDEN FOR HOME OR TOWNHOUSE, YARD OR BALCONY.
Japanese gardens are renowned for their serene and peaceful ambiance. The New Zen Garden presents the Japanese garden as it exists today, with all its traditional qualities joined to modern architecture and viewed from a modern perspective.
This book takes the concept introduced in the best-selling Japanese Touch for Your Garden and, focusing on the more contemplative gardens that are drawing greater and greater attention, blends it with a more practical approach.
Lavishly illustrated with many previously unpublished photographs and featuring the works of contemporary garden designers and landscape architects, The New Zen Garden begins with a brief introduction of the history of the Japanese garden and its spiritual roots. It then guides the reader through
the basics of garden concepts, layout, and personal needs.
With a focus on small- and medium-size home gardens, author Joseph Cali introduces a visually explicit process in which anyone can conceive their own home garden, whether for a single-family residence or the balcony of an apartment or townhouse. Cali also includes a handful "spotlight sections" that
feature guidance from prominent Japanese garden designers, each of whom steers the reader step-by-step through a specific building technique, including the making of textured clay walls, traditional stone walkways, and stone settings.
The New Zen Garden provides a wealth of information on designing a garden to harmonize with any home or private space. It is a provocative eye-opener both for the serious Japanese garden enthusiast and the weekend gardener.
Customer Reviews:
A wonderful book!.......2004-10-04
This book is itself a work of art, the best I've ever seen in the field. The photographs convey the quiet, peaceful, beauty of small Zen gardens so well, that it is a joy to look at. Mr. Cali's text clearly introduces and explains both the historical background and the philosophical/aesthetic concepts behind Zen gardens. The traditional techniques to create your own garden space, large or small, are explained clearly enough to give anyone the confidence to create even a tiny oasis of natural peace within their home environment. This is best book on zen gardens to come out in a long time. Highly recommended.
Books:
- Bonsai Life Histories: The Lives of over 50 Bonsai Trees in Photos and Words
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- Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica, Third Edition
- Classic Bulbs: Hidden Treasures for the Modern Garden
- Creating Your Own Japanese Garden
- Designing with Succulents
- Diseases of Trees and Shrubs (Comstock Book)
- Dreaming of Tuscany: Where to Find the Best There Is: Perfect Hilltowns; Splendid Palazzos; Rustic Farmhouses; Glorious Gardens; Authentic Cuisine; Great Wines; Intriguing Shops;
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