Secret Teachings in the Art of Japanese Gardens: Design Principles, Aesthetic Values

by David A. Slawson

Overview

The art of the Japanese garden is a 1,500-year-old landscape design tradition that is still evolving, still instructive. Secret Teachings in the Art of Japanese Gardens explains the fundamental principles of this tradition and describes how those principles may be applied to a much wider range of environments than exists in Japan.


In the first section the author draws on his own experience as an apprentice to a master gardener in Kyoto, as well as his considerable knowledge of Japanese classical texts, to present the garden design process in terms of three primary aesthetic considerations:


Scenic effects—reproductions of appealing natural landscape forms.


Sensory effects—varieties of scale, framing, rhythm, motion, and spatial quality.


Cultural effects—the incorporation of allusions to classical literature, poetry, and painting.


The final section comprises a complete translation of a classic gardening manual used by Buddhist monks in medieval Japan. Its rules for planting trees and setting rocks still make good design sense today, and the author includes numerous garden descriptions as examples of how ancient masters practiced their craft.


This clear, authoritative work, fully illustrated with diagrams and photographs, elucidates much about the Japanese compositional sense. But at the same time it is a plea for a more holistic approach to landscape design-a recognition that a garden should conform to certain natural principles as well as meet the emotional needs of those who view it.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781568364940
Publisher:	Kodansha USA
Publication date:	06/21/2013
Pages:	220
Product dimensions:	6.90(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

DAVID A. SLAWSON studied under noted designer Kinsaku Nakane in Kyoto. He received his Ph.D. in Japanese aesthetics and landscape garden design from Indiana University in 1985; he presently designs gardens for private residences and public buildings, and he has taught at Carleton College in Minnesota and the Harvard University Graduate School of Design.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments 11

Preface 13

Plates 19

1 The Art of Japanese Gardens 38

1 Transmission of the Art 40

Viewing the Works of Past Masters 41

Learning from Nature 43

Apprenticeship 43

Oral Transmission 46

Secret Texts 48

The Learning Process 53

2 The Art We See: Scenic Effects 56

Feature-Oriented Landscape 58

Plants and the Principle of Natural Habitat 62

Rocks and the Principle of Geological Zones 66

Fuzti and the Shift to Quality-Oriented Landscape 70

3 The Art We See: Sensory Effects 76

Garden Scale: Unity of Site and Situation 77

Framing: The Site and the Visual Field 80

Rhythm: Proportions of Size and Spacing 85

Motion: Directional Forces of Shape, Grain, and Juxtaposition 96

Spatial Quality: Depth Cues and Atmospheric Effects 106

4 The Art We See: Cultural Values 123

The Power of the Garden to Bring Fulfillment 124

The Quest for an Earthly Paradise 126

Literary Landscapes in the Garden 131

The Names of Rocks: Toward a Vocabulary of Scenic and Sensory Effects 133

2 Translation: Illustrations For Designing Mountain, Water, And Hillside Field Landscapes By Zoen 142

3 Reference Materials 176

Appendix 1 Descriptions of Gardens Mentioned in the Text 178

Appendix 2 Rocks Mentioned in the Illustrations, Listed by Naming Category and Geological Zone 181

Appendix 3 Plants Mentioned in the Illustrations, Listed by Size and Habitat 185

Appendix 4 "Make It Your Own": Listening to Nature and Art 188

Notes 198

Bibliography 213

Index 217

Editorial Reviews

"Truly a remarkable book; nominally a garden book, it is also a design manual, a study of Japanese aesthetics." -Choice

From the Publisher

Truly a remarkable book; nominally a garden gook, it is also a design manual, a study of Japanese aesthetics.

Choice