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

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. 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. This clear, authoritative work, fully illustrated with diagrams and photographs, elucidates much about the Japanese compositional sense. (Amazon.com)