Looking at Japanese gardens will quickly reveal that they cannot be viewed as isolated from other art forms or social processes. Concepts of various origins converge in them, all aimed at creating a balance in their arrangement of the elements of the mental and physical world. The Japanese garden thus appears neither void and contemplative nor purely aesthetic, but a social compendium that contains stories about an order that lies at the very foundation of a society--it is a total work of art and applied philosophy. The Viennese art historian and cultural scientist Carola Platzek takes an eleventh-century Japanese gardening manual as a starting point for her exploration of the history of Japanese gardens. The essence of the Sakuteiki still holds true today: only the precise observation of nature will warrant a garden design that is in harmony with its environment. Platzek spoke with gardeners, garden historians, a sound researcher as well as Buddhist and Shinto priests about their work with traditional and modern concepts that shape Japanese design. The book introduces readers to systems such as the Sakuteiki, the Tea Way, the Eight Views genre, and waka poetry, presenting them in a way that makes their interconnections accessible.
About the Author: Akasaka Makoto is a Professor Emeritus at the Faculty of Horticulture at Chiba University and Vice President of ICOMOS Japan. Amasaki Hiromasa supervised the garden design of the Kyoto State Guest House and the preservation and restoration of the Japanese gardens of various cultural sites. Fujisato Myokyu is a Buddhist high priest and acting abbot of the Motsu-ji in Hiraizumi. Kaji Kenji is the eighteenth Guji (Shinto high priest) of the Ichigaya-Kamegaoka-Hachiman-gu in Tokyo. Kato Tomoki is President of Ueyakato Landscape Co., Ltd. and visiting professor at the Kyoto University of Art and Design (Kyoto Zokei Geijutsu Daigaku). Mitani Yasuhiko is a landscape architect and gardener teaching at the University of Tokyo. A member of the Administrative Commission of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Nishiyama Masatoshi has been involved in strategic planning to preserve forests and green areas in urban environments. Noda Eiichi studied history and Japanese literature at the Daito Bunka University in Tokyo. After a ten-year training under a master of traditional Japanese garden art, Oguni Syuichi founded his own horticultural enterprise in Tokyo. Carola Platzek studied history and philosophy in Leipzig, Grenoble, and Vienna. Torigoe Keiko is a professor at the University of the Sacred Heart (Seishin Joshi Daigaku) and Professor of Comprehensive Cultural Policy at Aoyama Gakuin University in Tokyo. Yagasaki Zentaro graduated in engineering and holds a doctorate in philosophy.