Japanese Garden Design

The creation of a Japanese garden combines a profound respect for nature with an adherence to certain basic principles of aesthetics and structure. In Japanese Garden Design, noted garden designer Marc Peter Keane explains the development and the application of traditional concepts and elements underlying all Japanese gardens.

Keane describes the multiple influences of Shinto, Confucian and Buddhist ideas linking poetry, art and philosophy with the remarkable experience of garden creation and enjoyment in Japanese culture. Creative inspiration is found in ancient Japanese precepts about nature; in the gardens of the Heian aristocracy; in the world-renowned Zen meditative rock gardens; in the intimate tea gardens and courtyard gardens of Kyoto; in the public stroll garden of Edo, and many other forms of garden expression.

Detailed explanations of the fundamental design concepts help the reader to to fully appreciate the meaning and intention of these various garden forms and all the principles still used today in designing a Japanese garden.

About the Author

Marc Peter Keane, a licensed landscape architect and garden designer, came to Japan in 1985, and since then has been creating and building gardens for companies, temples, and private individuals. He teaches a design workshop as an adjunct professor at the Kyoto University of Art and Design, and is a staff member of the Research Center for Japanese Garden Art there. He has traveled and lectured widely on traditional and classical approaches to Japanese garden design and landscaping. He lives in Ithaca, NY.

Haruzo Ohashi, born in 1927, is a freelance photographer based in Tokyo and is considered one of Japan's leading garden photographers. Among his many publications are Famous Gardens in Japan, Gardens of Japanese History, Vol. 35, and Japanese Garden, Traditional Forms and Drawings, Vol. 5. He is a member of the Japan Professional Photographers Society.