Product Description

Japanese Garden Design invites readers into the history, art, and beauty of garden design in the Japanese tradition. Established gardeners and landscape architects will appreciate the Japanese perspective which Keane offers. Stunning photography invites gardening enthusiasts into the world of Japanese garden design. If you thought Japanese gardening was all about ikebana, this book will change your mind and whet your appetite. This book presents the essential concepts that garden designers have employed through the centuries and the knowledge necessary to create these living sculptures, these sacred spaces, these ethereal and graceful gardens of Japan.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #747331 in Books
• Published on: 2004-11-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 200 pages

Review
"As a garden book, it rates a "9"... as an introduction to Japanese aesthetics, it is clearly a "10"... as a unique perspective on Japanese history, it stands alone." - Amazon.co.uk

Customer Reviews

Focus on Japanese aesthetics as well as gardening
The book concisely uses gardens and aesthetic terms as vehicles to better understand both. Keane's insight into changes of aesthetic focus in different historical periods is clearly constructed. It enhances the reader's insight into further studies of Japanese aesthetics, gardening or history. Readers of Makoto Ueda, Sen'ichi Hisamatsu et al. on Japanese aesthetics will be particularly rewarded with a simple structure for considering complex terms that they expose in more detail. As a garden book, it rates a "9"... as an introduction to Japanese aesthetics, it is clearly a "10"... as a unique perspective on Japanese history, it stands alone. While others have said most of what Keene notes, none have integrated it so well. The beauty of the garden book, aside from its text, is exceptional. One could only wish that the pictures were in a larger format.

An authentic overview
Westerners find it literally impossible to cross the great divide and delve into the mind of the East. When done, it involves first hand encounters with the culture and people, and a long learning process. Keane's extensive experiences have lead to a fruitful career; the book a testament to his storytelling skills - his gardens a living proof of his sensitivity.

Keane is able to lead the innocent reader gently, and like the culture he emulates, the chapters flow from one moss covered stone to the next. His expertise is one which belongs to a difficult realm: what are Westerners to do with Eastern knowledge while making Western gardens. This is an illusive agenda, and a one which deserves further research and analysis. Keane's ethos, undoubtedly, is an important milestone, if only by means of inspiration.

It is the best Garden-books I have read.
Landscape garden have two types, natural and geometric, the natural landscape design are in Chinese and Japanese were presented in Asia, So, This book is the best researched of this-typed books I have read. ViVe!!