Create Your Own Japanese Garden: A Practical Guide

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Overview

In this book, renowned garden designer Motomi Oguchi offers the reader a step-by-step, practical approach to creating Japanese gardens, drawn from a wealth of experience that covers thirty years and encompasses the design of more than 400 gardens. The author uses real examples from gardens he has designed, constructed, and photographed to illustrate his key points, approaching each work from the perspective of the home or building owner.

Oguchi begins with front gardens, as these are usually what one encounters first when entering a home. Typically, these front plantings are not defined Japanese garden types but rather, physical areas. He then moves on to tsubo niwa (courtyard gardens) and kare sansui (dry gardens) that might be found in the middle or rear of a building, or any available small space. Next, he introduces tea and tree gardens, which are more likely to be sections of a larger garden; and highlights specific characteristics and conditions of interior gardens.

Within each chapter are general layouts and methods of developing the various gardens, which precede specific, step-by-step instructions. The author also offers practical and affordable variations on more ambitious designs and shows how they can be adapted to the readers home or building. In addition, Oguchi emphasizes the importance of proper maintenance and offers suggestions for special touches and restoration.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

Oguchi, longtime designer of Japanese gardens and author of more than 18 books on the subject in Japanese, offers English speakers both an overview and practical knowledge of this easily recognized but to many Westerners mysterious art form. Oguchi describes the Japanese garden's relation to architecture from the ancient era to the mid-19th century, tracing its evolution from the lavish hills, ponds and waterfalls of early estates to the inward-turning, abbreviated and abstracted gardens of urban townhouses. He calls the guidelines of Japanese garden design "naturalness, studied tastefulness, and harmony," tempered by flexibility for "site conditions, current needs and desires, and self-expression," and presents essential "design devices" such as asymmetry, miekakure(hide and reveal). Most of the book gives concrete details on how to design and build a garden for the home or small business, using as examples the author's designs for restaurants, homes and his traditional teahouse. With precise instructions and illustrations for building typical elements such as bamboo fences and stone bridges, the book gives Americans all the information they need to create authentic Japanese gardens. The lack of a glossary may make it hard for readers to retain meanings of the many Japanese terms strewn throughout the text. (Aug.)

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9784770028044
Publisher: Kodansha USA
Publication date: 7/1/2007
Pages: 144
Sales rank: 452,409
Product dimensions: 10.30 (w) x 7.60 (h) x 0.50 (d)

Meet the Author

Motomi Oguchi was born in 1947. Since he began his career as a garden designer, he has created about 400 Japanese gardens for homes, temples, and public buildings including the Schloss Schoenbrunn in Vienna and his current project, the Shizen-An spa/retreat on the north fork of Long Island, NY.

His co-author, Joseph Cali, wrote The New Zen Garden published by Kodansha International.

Introduction: The Intimate Relationship of House and Garden     6
Approaches, Entrances, and Front Gardens     16
A Soba Restaurant in a Wooded Retreat     16
Theme, Layout, and Elements     18
Creating the Garden     20
Constructing a Stone Walkway     22
Constructing a Misu Gaki Bamboo Fence     24
General Techniques: How to Handle Bamboo     26
A Modest Sukiya-style Environment for a Sukiya-style House     29
Theme, Layout, and Elements     30
Creating the Garden     32
Entrance Gate and a Gyo-style Nobedan     33
Approach and Entrance Variations     36
An Economic "Weed" Garden for the Sakura Noodle Restaurant     41
Theme, Layout, and Elements     42
Making the "Weed" Garden     44
Courtyard and Dry Landscape Gardens     48
Small Courtyard Garden for a Modest Home     48
Theme, Layout, and Elements     50
Creating the Garden     52
Creating an Ajiro Gaki Plaited Bamboo Fence     54
Creating a Nure-en Deck     57
Tsubo Niwa and Kare Sansui Variations     58
"Ancient" Dry Landscape Garden for a Modern Three-story Residence     65
Theme, Layout, and Elements     65
Creating the Design     68
Creating a Stone Bridge     70
Creating a Katsura Gaki Bamboo Fence     72
General Techniques: Garden Sand and Pattern Making     74
Tea Gardens, Tree Gardens     76
Tea Garden of the Author's Residence     76
Theme, Layout, and Elements     78
Creating the Garden     80
Tea Garden Variations     82
Harmonious Blend of Japanese and Western Style     89
Theme, Layout, and Elements     90
General Techniques: Constructing a Basic Crane-and-Turtle Island     94
General Techniques: Restoration of a Waterfall and Gogan Setting     96
General Techniques: Planting and Arranging Garden Trees     100
General Techniques: Handling Stone     102
Interior and Veranda Gardens in Commercial Spaces     104
A Garden of Large-scale Bonsai     104
Theme, Layout, and Elements     104
Creating the Garden     108
Constructing the Indoor Stream Garden     110
Constructing an Indoor Tea Garden     112
Constructing a Small Veranda Garden     114
Terrace Garden of Fujiiso Hotel     115
Creating the Garden     115
Constructing the Ryoanji Gaki     116
General Techniques: Assembling and Placing Stone Lanterns     117
Special Touches, Restoration, and Maintenance     120
Making a Basic Fuyugakoi     120
Transplanting Trees     124
Yukitsuri     126
Kadomatsu     126
Restoring a Bamboo Fence     126
Maintenance and Restoration     127

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Create Your Own Japanese Garden: A Practical Guide

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Overview

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