Japan's Master Gardens: Lessons in Space and Environment (Tuttle Specials) - Hardcover

Mansfield, Stephen

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0804850542 ISBN 13: 9780804850544

Publisher: Tuttle Publishing, 2018

Synopsis

Presenting twenty-five master gardens, this landscape design book explores the ingenuity and range of Japanese landscaping, from the self-imposed confines of courtyard designs to the open expanses of the stroll garden.

No two Japanese gardens are ever the same. The Japanese Zen garden is a work of art equivalent in scale to an installation, but it is also an urban refuge, a setting where we can attain composure and equipoise. It is a place to collect our thoughts, examine deeper feelings, and ponder our responses to managed nature. Zen gardens comprise a sensory as much as a cultural experience. They are multifaceted, satisfying both our personal and intellectual yearnings.

This beautifully-photographed book illustrates a tradition that benefits from a thousand years of applied knowledge. It also demonstrates how contemporary landscaping draws from its history and reflects on why ancient gardening should be relevant to the lives of people in the twenty-first century.

In this beautifully illustrated book, Japanese gardening specialist Stephen Mansfield takes readers on an exploration of the outward forms, underpinning principles, sophisticated use of metaphor and allusion, and beauty and depth that set the Zen garden apart. Readers of his previous book, Japanese Stone Gardens, will find in this new work a worthy companion volume.

Japan's Master Gardens is an inspiring, thought-provoking tribute to the landscape design wisdom of the Japanese.

About this title

From the Back Cover

"A poetic homage to the Japanese gardenłnot just for its artistry and grandeur, but also as the locus of our desire for balance and equanimity." łLeza Lowitz, author of Green Tea to Go: Stories from Tokyo

Praise for Japanese Stone Gardens

"[T]his survey of the best of Japan's stone gardens may send you into the sort of fugue state in which you wake up to find yourself floating through the airport, boarding pass in hand." łNew York Times Book Review

About the Author

Stephen Mansfield, an author and freelance photojournalist based in Japan, has contributed to over 60 magazines, newspapers and journals worldwide. His books include Japanese Stone Gardens: Origins, Meaning, Form and Tokyo: A Cultural and Literary History. A specialist in the field, he has visited over two hundred gardens in Japan, written extensively on the topic and designed a Japanese garden of his own.

Edition details

• Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 0804850542
• ISBN 13: 9780804850544
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 144