Japanese Garden Design

Erudite book detailing the history design and philosophical ethos of Japanese garden design, its roots in natural landscape, seascape, Bhuddist principles and concepts. Short on illustration but long on theory, so not so much a practical design guide.

Marvellously detailed history and evolution of this beautiful Japanese art. Inspired in our efforts to turn our garden into this beautiful style.

Excellent introduction to the mysterious gardens of Japan and its unique culture. Well illustrated, the whole production has the right ambience.

Very Informative, and great price and prompt delivery

I really liked the book. However, it is important to know that about 90% of the book is about HISTORY of japanese garden. It is not a guide on gardening. The book does not dedicate any paragraph on Japanese Maple, for example. The photos are beautiful, the printing is great, the content and language are top notch. I recommend it for lovers of history and japanese gardens.

Mark P Keane offers the most comprehensive historical account of an ever-changing concept in Japanese Gardens. The book is written for those who want to experience the philosophy behind the many different examples of these Cultural and Political Reflections in nature.

This is a wonderful book. I ordered the Kindle version first, but honestly, it is a joke compared to the physical copy. The book is beautifully illustrated, which is lost in the digital version, to the point that certain tables are blurred/pixelated beyond recognition. If you are really interrested in the topic, do yourself a favour and order a physical copy.The book itself imho is a real gem. It obtains a short and concise cultural history of Japan. Further, it explains how cultural changes in this history had an impact on the design and reception of gardens, and explains many motivs used in Japanese garden design. I would say that you can learn as much about Japanese culture and thinking in the book, as about Japan's gardens.It easily became one of my favourite books on this topic. There are books which explain Japanese gardening from a more practical perspective (as e.g. Oguchi's "Create your own Japanese garden", which is a perfect practical companion to this book), but to get a deeper understanding of these gardens this book is more than useful. The illustrations are also fantastic.

Ok

This is the most serious and complete of the 10 books I own covering Japanese Gardens. Everything is carefully laid out and well written. The photos by Haruzo Ohashi, drawings (by the author), and design by John Einarsen are noteworthy by themselves, but as a whole blend and complement the text perfectly. It ends with an excellent glossary, timeline, and even a plant list. As his drawings clearly show, Marc Peter Keane is a man who looks deeply into nature and design and thinks about what he sees. As a keen gardener and lover of art history, I've visited about 20 gardens in Japan, and this book, more than any other, gives the reader a clear idea of what these gardens feel like, not only a dry description of who did what when and with what materials. This isn't a do it yourself manual for westerners who want to start dropping rocks and spreading gravel in their gardens. Deeper, more difficult questions are answered - like why do these gardens look like they do, and how have they changed over the years. If the gardens he designs are as good as this book, I'd love him to create a garden at Galeazza one day.