Japanese Gardens (Midsize) [Paperback]

Guenther Nitschke (Author)

Book Description

Series: Midsize | Publication Date: December 1, 2002

In this reissued title, the author identifies the common motif underlying five major epochs in Japanese gardening, which is the recurrent attempt to unite natural beauty and human perceptions of beauty to achieve an aesthetic symbiosis.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Taschen (December 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 3822820350
• ISBN-13: 978-3822820353
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 7.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,233,260 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Man's search for his place in nature is a search for himself, May 11, 2006

By 

Sakuteiki "sakuteiki" (Grants Pass, OR United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Japanese Gardens (Big Series Art) (Hardcover)

"...our earth is both a living and conscious entity. . .when a human being becomes conscious of himself as part of the earth, and of the earth as part of the universe, so the universe itself thereby becomes conscious of itself. . . enlightenment. . .consciousness becoming aware of itself.

At this delicate moment... a flower opens in the "garden" of the universe."

Japanese Gardens is a 239 page historical visual spiritual odyssey through man's interpretation of nature in confined space. Chapter subheadings focus atmosphere: Gardens as mindscapes, Gardens as subsitutes for travel, Gardens of seclusion, Gardens of austerity, Gardens of joy.

Drawings, b/w and color photos illustrate the history and evolution of Japanese garden design.

The book Intimate Spaces by Joe Earle, exclusively color photographs of spiritual gardens, is a fine complement to Nitschke's book with it's comprehensive written text.

Video sources of garden inspiration can be seen in movie backgrounds: James Clavell's Shogun (5 disc 12 hour miniseries on DVD with extra disc explaining tea ceremony, geisha, samurai), Sayonara (tiny household garden, public garden spaces), The Last Samurai [Blu-ray] (community as garden, cherry blossoms), Memoirs of a Geisha (Widescreen Two-Disc Special Edition) (cherry blossom garden), Departures healing through landscape and music.

Actual Japanese Gardens to visit: Japanese Garden San Francisco, Japanese Garden Portland Oregon, Hakone Garden (site of filming of Memoirs of Geisha) Saratoga Village (south of San Francisco) California.

Thoughtful quiet moving book.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Detailed Education about Japanese Gardens, December 2, 2011

By 

Matthew M. Cohen "Author,Garden Watering a Ze... (north Florida, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Japanese Gardens (Big Series Art) (Hardcover)

This book provides a detailed education about Japanese gardens. It is logically organized, beautifully photographed, and pleasing. The content as it explains structure leaves one impressed by the flexibility of the inflexible rules. The book belongs on a coffee table. It is quite different from Garden Watering A Zen Experience which is not conventional. I would be remiss with out mentioning the illustrations are from famous public and private spaces --with a bow to the author. Matt Cohen