The Gardens of Japan

This book was a gift to a horticulturist who had actually been to Japan and seen/experienced some of the gardens there. As best as he could describe, it did not come close to the gardens shown in this book - some of these gardens are not open to the public, and it would be nearly impossible for the amateur photographer to capture the neatness and serenity of Japanese gardens. Just leafing through the book is enough to calm the soul and enrich the eyes of the beholder. Expecially for those who wouldn't want to travel that far, but still "be there" to enjoy it, these photos of gardens is the next best thing.

As a monograph on the Japanese garden this book contains a wealth of some of the best color photographs currently in print. Although the text gives a general overview of garden history and design elements, I find it somewhat lacking in structure and completeness. This book does contain an excellent description of the origins of the garden at Saiho-ji, also known as the Moss Temple garden, and it is a varyed collection of material that will amuse the reader, especially the anecdotal accounts of the lives and statements of the more legendary figures of Japanese garden design. The Japanese have created a wealth of myths surrounding these figures, that have gained a special place in their cultural history, but in recent years most scholars have started to question the extent to which they were involved in the actual design and building of the gardens that are attriobuted to them.

Anyone who has ever enjoyed a Japanese niwa (loosely translated as "garden" in English) has come away with a sense of peace, timelessness, and natural order. Relatively few have enjoyed niwas in the presence of someone who can explain the significance of the niwa. The Gardens of Japan fills in that missing knowledge very well with an excellent, brief history of the niwa, including the religious and agricultural influences. The niwa's design in part deals with the Chinese discipline of Fengshui, whereby the natural geography determines where are appropriate places to build. The Japanese took this concept, and translated its elements into trees so that an artificial geography can be built to provide the same elements anywhere. As you will agree, this is a most practical solution to creating harmony. The gravel-spread zones have a significance as places where gods descend. Despite these artifices, the purpose is to make the plants and stones appear unaltered by humans. Natural outcroppings are studied to get just the right look in the niwa. These insights are very helpfully provided by the author, who is a former president of Kogakuin University in Tokyo. This edition of the book is slightly reduced in size from the well-known original English translation in 1984, that has been so widely admired. Although I would have liked to see larger pages (especially for the black-and-white photographs), this reduction does not significantly detract from this classic.The Gardens of Japan creates a nice balance between looking at the elements of the niwa (design, stones, water, and plants) and its holistic existence (interaction with the sky as a natural dome, integration with the building spaces, spiritual meanings, and significance for daily life in Japan). Naturally, you will find some of Japan's finest niwas gorgeously portrayed in two-page layouts in full color here. My favorites included the upper villa of the Shugakuin Detached Palace ("cloud-filled sky dome is part of the garden . . . an attempt to expand the garden to almost cosmic proportions"), Temple Sanpo-in garden, Kuwata residence, Furumine Shrine, Tenryu-ji, Hokoku-ji, Ichitani residence, and Rokuon-ji. Many other gardens are captured in a few images, many in black and white to capture their design elements. Should you have an opportunity to visit Japan, the book also has a helpful map that locates each niwa. Where I live, the winters are cold and often snowy. To be able to pull out this book and commune with the gorgeous vistas of tranquillity during ideal weather will add to my sense of "inward mutability and interpermeability." Where can you find peace? Do you go there often enough? How can you get more renewal from these experiences?Feel the timeless truth all around you, let it imbue you . . . and relax when you take up your daily tasks in the future.

This book is a treasure of visual delights. The large format permits the reproduction of strikingly vivid photographs of the most famous and beautiful gardens in Japan. The layout of the book provides an excellent introduction to the many styles of gardens which have evolved over the past 1000 years in Japan. Detailed narrative descriptions of the various styles introduce each section and include many drawings to help the reader to understand the development of the gardens. Of special interest and beauty is the description and photographs of Saiho-ji commonly refered to as The Moss Garden in Kyoto. The full page photographs capture the lushness, serenity and beauty of the garden at its peak of color. Having visited the garden several times over the past few years, I can say that the presentation in this book is much lovelier that the actual garden is and given the cost of admission to the garden the cost of the book is very reasonable.