Mirei Shigemori: Modernizing the Japanese Garden [Paperback]

Christian Tschumi (Author), Markuz Wernli (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2005

Mirei Shigemori (1896–1975), a historian trained in painting and ikebana, is increasingly admired for his contemporary Japanese garden designs. Believing the garden had fallen into cliché, Shigemori applied modernist shapes, colors and materials to create stunning avant-garde works that also celebrated the ancient Japanese gods and rituals. This book explores 10 major Shigemori works—from the checkerboard garden of Tofukuji (1939) and the “Hidden Christian” dry landscape at Zuiho-in (1961) to the masterful stone settings at Matsuo Taisha (1975)—using design/cultural analysis, garden plans and photographs.

Christian Tschumi is a landscape architect with degrees from Harvard and Kyoto.

Markuz Wernli is a designer and photographer in Kyoto.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Deeply rooted in Japanese tradition, Mirei Shigemori (1896–1975) began his study of the tea ceremony and ikebana (the Japanese art of flower arranging) as a teenager. He pursued a career in fine arts and went on to revitalize the practice of Japanese gardening. Shigemori's approach combined "the garden's religious roots" with "the consciousness of his own place in history" to create a "compelling manifesto for continuous cultural renewal." Tschumi, a landscape architect who has written extensively on Japanese gardens, introduces the master's work to an American audience through an analysis of 10 of Shigemori's finest designs. An informative, meditative introduction sets the tone, followed by chapters devoted to individual gardens in Japan, each one presenting the project's historical context—often going back centuries or more—and describing the garden in detail. As readers move from one chapter to the next, insights accumulate. By the thoughtful afterword, serious scholars of Japanese gardening and neophytes alike will find new understanding of the discipline and Shigemori's unique contribution to it. Saito's perceptively framed photographs deepen the experience, providing a view of "beautiful texture and detailing" that is "hardly visible to the ordinary garden visitor." Notes, a time line, a list of contacts, maps of locations and a glossary are helpful starting points for the further study this elegant volume inspires. (Apr.)
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About the Author

Christian Tschumi is a practicing landscape architect with advanced degrees from Harvard and Kyoto University, including a Ph.D. in the history of the Japanese garden. Markuz Wernli, an interdisciplinary designer and photographer based in Kyoto and san francisco, is fascinated by the dialectic of humans and their environment.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Stone Bridge Press; First Edition first Printing edition (April 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1880656949
• ISBN-13: 978-1880656945
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #930,259 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Modernizing the Japanese garden, June 17, 2007

By 

H. Corvers - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mirei Shigemori: Modernizing the Japanese Garden (Paperback)

Being quite new to Japanese garden architecture I first try to learn and understand what's done and what's not done and the reasons behind it. This book immediately shows you why Shigemori is a so much respected innovator in his time and at the same time explains you why by referring to the classical Japanese gardens. His point of view is that a Japanese garden should fit into the time we are living in. And up until than, Japanese gardens had not changed much. Newer gardens used to be copies of the old methods instead of innovations. This work opens your mind about this and stimulates you to develop the concept of the Japanese garden into something which is more modern/timebound and more a creation of yourself.
An absolute 'mustread' for people that like the Japanese garden.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mind opener, March 23, 2009

By 

The good guys "FA" (Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mirei Shigemori: Modernizing the Japanese Garden (Paperback)

Well written and explained in terms that we(regular mortals) can understand. Mr. Shigemori was ahead of his time in terms of thinking and producing gardens of exceptional clarity, beauty & simplicity.
If you ever consider 'doing' or having someone do a Japanese garden concept for you then this book is a must prior to you deciding how to.
Great book and great pictures with detail explanations.

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Explores ten major Shigemori projects, June 5, 2005

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mirei Shigemori: Modernizing the Japanese Garden (Paperback)

Mirei Shigemori (1896-1975) was the imaginative creator of very special gardens and a scholar who was trained in painting, flower arranging, and the tea ceremony. Shigemori is still admired for his contemporary designs, the result of his life's objective to restore the evolution of the Japanese garden. In Mirei Shigemori: Modernizing The Japanese Garden, practicing landscape architect Christian Tschumi explores ten major Shigemori projects ranging from the checker-board garden of Tofukuji (1939) and the "Hidden Christian" dry landscape at Zuiho-in (1961), to the masterful stone settings at Matsuo Taisha (1975), all while utilizing a design/cultural analysis, garden plans, and a profusion of illustrative photographs taken by visual artist and photographer Markuz Wernli Saito. Mirei Shigemori: Modernizing The Japanese Garden is a welcome and respected contribution that will be of immense interest to professional gardeners, landscapists, horticultural experts, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in Japanese gardening and culture.