Mirei Shigemori: Modernizing the Japanese Garden (Paperback)

~ (Author), Markuz Wernli (Photographer) "The book you are holding in your hands is not just another general introduction to the art of the Japanese garden..." (more)
Key Phrases: karesansui style, karesansui garden, dry landscape garden, Mirei Shigemori, Matsuo Taisha, Red Phoenix (more...)

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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Product Description

Mirei Shigemori (1896 - 1975), a garden maker and scholar, who was trained in painting, flower arranging and the tea ceremony, is increasingly admired for his contemporary designs, the result of his life's objective to restore the evolution of the Japanese garden.

Believing that the Japanese dry landscape garden (or Zen garden) had fallen into cliche, Shigemori applied modernist shapes, colors, and materials to create stunning avant-garde works that also celebrated the ancient gods and rituals at the heart of Japanese culture.

This book explores ten major Shigemori works -- 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) -- using design/cultural analysis, garden plans, and photographs.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Stone Bridge Press (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.com Sales Rank: #413,693 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 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)

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.

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

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.

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

By	Fin. Adv. "FA" (Florida) - See all my reviews

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.