Japan’s Master Gardens: Lessons in Space and Environment

Japan’s Master Gardens: Lessons in Space and Environment
by: Stephen Mansfield (Author)
Publisher: Tuttle Shokai Inc
Publication Date: 15 Mar. 2012
Language: English
Print Length: 144 pages
ISBN-10: 4805311282
ISBN-13: 9784805311288
Book Description
No two Japanese gardens are ever the same. Each is inimitable, yet embodies commonalities of design and aesthetic taste. Each finds the space for innovation within a tradition that benefits from a thousand years of applied knowledge. Presenting twenty-five master gardens, this 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. The Japanese 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. Gardens comprise a sensory as much as a cultural experience. They are a medium for artistic expression, a place to unwind, and a portal to the elemental and emotional. They are multifaceted, satisfying both our subjective and intellectual yearnings. Epitomising serenity and calm, at the same time Japanese gardens harness at their core a powerful conceptual dynamism. This book illustrates how, through the ministrations of generations of gardeners, these original landscapes have maintained their mastery of time and made their principals central to any discussion about space and the environment. It also demonstrates how contemporary landscaping draws from tradition, and reflects on why an ancient garden should be relevant to the lives of people in the twenty-first century.