Japanese Garden Design

Filled with gorgeous photographs, this book explains the theory, history, and intricacies of Japanese gardening.

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 in Japanese culture. Creative inspiration is found in the prehistoric origin of Japanese concepts of nature; the gardens of Heian aristocrats; the world-renowned Zen garden, or rock garden; the tea garden; courtyard garden; and stroll garden.

Detailed explanations of basic design concepts identify and interpret the symbolism of various garden forms and demonstrate these principles in use today in Japanese landscape architecture.

Marc Peter Keane, a licensed landscape architect and garden designer, came to Japan in 1985, and since then has been creating and building gardens for companies, temples, and private individuals. He teaches a design workshop as an adjunct professor at the Kyoto University of Art and Design, and is a staff member of the Research Center for Japanese Garden Art there. He has traveled and lectured widely on traditional and classical approaches to Japanese garden design and landscaping. He lives in Ithaca, NY.

Haruzo Ohashi, born in 1927, is a freelance photographer based in Tokyo and is considered one of Japan's leading garden photographers. Among his many publications are Famous Gardens in Japan (Seibundo Shinko-sha Publishing Co., 1969), Gardens of Japanese History, Vol. 35 (Shakai Shiso-sha Publishing Co., 1976), and Japanese Garden, Traditional Forms and Drawings, Vol. 5 (The Mainichi Newspapers 1977). He is a member of the Japan Professional Photographers Society.