The Japanese Garden

This is a beautiful book. I could look at the cover all day. And then flick through the pages all night. It's a homage to all thats creative and mysterious about Japan. Each page is so full of wisdom and because of this its also a brave book exploring huge mysterious and magical subjects elegantly and with an open spirit that makes me want to book a ticket to Japan, book in hand, and stay there for at least a year, exploring all that the book talks about. I gave this book to my mother and am buying it again for myself. Genuinely lovely.

Beautiful images with insightful text on each garden. A thoughtful present for anyone about to go to Japan, or indeed, anyone who isn't going to Japan. Reading this book will give them an idea of the enormous breadth and beauty of Japanese Gardens. The book is inspiring and makes me want immediately to go back to Japan and walk barefoot around the gardens.

I went to Japan a few years ago for the first time and travelled all round the country. I was awestruck by so many things but particularly Japanese culture in its many different aspects. Their reverence for stripping away the extraneous and getting to the essence of the object. Nowhere is this more apparent than in their gardens, so foreign to anyone brought up in the land of Gertrude Jekyll where a garden is all about abundance and show and colour. I've longed to know more about Japanese gardens, their meaning, their history, the central place they occupy in Japanese life, and the significance of the rock, the gravel, the raking, the trees, the moss . . . I have not yet read every word in this book but I shall. How Sophie Walker knows so much about Japanese gardens is a mystery and a wonder. For a westerner this beautifully written and presented book opens a door into a world I long to know more about. I suspect even the Japanese would learn from it. A tour de force.

Through meticulous research, exquisite photography and thought provoking text, Sophie Walker reveals to her reader the exquisitely refined sensibility behind the Japanese garden and in doing so pulls back the curtain of an insular and unique culture. This book is a remarkable work of insight and passion, celebrating nature, nurture, narrative, history and identity. A book to treasure.

If you like Japanese gardens, this book is for you. In addition to pictures of many Japanese gardens (mostly “traditional” but a handful of more modern ones too) there are 11 essays by the author, and 7 essays by contributors.The essays are:- Introduction: the nature of the garden- beauty, terror and power- the way, body and mind- expanded understanding- duality and reflection- the hidden, implied and imagined- zen challenge: the unenterable garden- time, space and the dry garden- death, tea and the garden- inner space: the courtyard garden- the poetry of plantsContributors are: Lee Ufan, Tan Twan Eng, Tatsuo Miyajima, Marcus du Sautoy, John Pawson, Amish Kapoor, Tadao AndoThe essays are insightful and cover themes about history of the Japanese garden, visuals (such as ponds, rocks) and touch upon religion and culture and design.The photos of the gardens are of course beautiful, usually they take up around 60% of one page with the space underneath providing details and a description of the garden.So why 4* not 5*?Well, similar to other reviews I had a few “why did they do this” “ moments.Firstly, I think the paper used for the price could have been improved. It’s a very matte, almost grainy paper and I feel it washes out some of the colours of the photos.Secondly, the book binding is just awkward with the front cover not being attached so it sort of flaps open and then you have the bound paperback inside just attached to the back. I don’t think it adds anything visually and is more annoying to handle and probably provides less protection for the book spine and cover inside.The selected contributors have no bio or detail given other than their names in the essay section. And why they have been selected or wanted to contribute would have been interesting too. On the very very back page (difficult to find as it almost “sticks” to the back cover due to the book design) we do get brief bios of the contributors and the author, but I would have liked to have a little more detail. For example for the author Sophie Walker, how did a British (?) woman become so interested in Japanese gardens - and so lucky to have seen so many! (Although we assume she has visited each one she discusses, this is not certain as she could have pulled descriptions from other sources.) Did she actually visit all of these gardens in person or only some? What was the selection process?Another quite minor point is it’s unclear how the gardens in each chapter relate to each other, or to the chapter “theme”. Perhaps they’re not meant to and they should be seen as individual essays breaking up the photos of gardens. Sometimes in one essay a garden is referred to that appears in a different “chapter”. Maybe this is part of the discovery you’re meant to go on and it’s either a mystery if it has meaning, or it doesn’t.I agree with another review that the glossary, index and bibliography could have been designed better - bigger font for starters and then a less dark paper colour for more ease of reading.*Now onto more of the “I wish they’d done this” - not negatives but things that could have enhanced the book.This is not necessarily a negative but this is a smaller format book than some of the bigger coffee table books - perhaps easier to read but the pictures and text therefore are a bit smaller than standard perhaps. I would have made the book a bit bigger, or perhaps a more landscape format, to accommodate bigger photos of the gardens on one page.Maybe this would have made the book financially unsustainable but the photos are mainly from generic picture libraries. How much it would have elevated the book to have its own photographer, or even if the author had visited each of the gardens could she have taken a picture herself, highlighting the “special” feature that is discussed in an essay or a description?There is also a very basic map of Japan provided (highlighting key cities). How amazing would it have been to have a map of Kyoto identifying all the garden locations (most of the gardens included are in Kyoto) so we can see their relation to one another - and also for those lucky enough to facilitate planning seeing them in person.Overall this book is highly recommended although it does seem expensive for the price comparative to other coffee table books. But it’s very insightful and I’ve enjoyed reading it, and will return it many times!

Without doubt the best book on the subject. Also puts the gardens into wider culture of Japan. It’s super, highly recommend.

A fresh and insightful take on the subject that really thinks about the Japenese garden in relation to high art and culture globally. Very accessible despite taking on a complicated subject - and a very beautiful present.

Fabulous book. I love the hysterical intro written by the author. And the binding is so original -- it's going to look great on my coffee table.

This book has many dimensions to offer. The photographs are breathtaking and thoughtful towards a full perspective. The philosophy contained in this book can accelerate one's view of a novel representation. Anyone engaging in a landscape activity be it biodynamic, productive, or recreational will fully appreciate the systems articulated within. There is a high potential for cultivating a better unit for the future in our collective garden we consider our community. The Japanese garden will pave better greenways for the betterments of our travels and cross-communication utilitarianly. Thanks for the guidance-----Cornmike the Undeserved

Beautiful book for the lover of all things Japanese

FabulosoLastima que no tenga versión española

A beautiful book that’s gives a great introduction to what a Japanese garden is.

I bought this book since I have an absolute fascination and love of Japanese gardens. Having a yard with enough space to have several different types of gardens, I bought this book. It’s worth every penny of whatever price you’re paying for it. Sophie Walker does an excellent job of comprehensively describing the six types of Japanese gardens, there are stream, pond, dry, tea, stroll and courtyard. Beautiful, abundant pictures are throughput the book. The text flows nicely and I read this book cover to cover in a few days. The history is covered of how Japanese gardens evolved, with Chinese influence, Buddha, Shinto, Zen meanings within the gardens, etc, and it’s all fascinating. I do not recommend simply looking at the pictures for inspiration since there is layered meaning within how the garden is laid out, and what you see. The Japanese even have a word for it, mitate. What I did, is borrow from several garden styles, and incorporate them in one area, and then plan several distinct areas for separate gardens in other areas of my property. This book, no mater what size your yard, will inspire you to have Japanese elements somewhere for a garden, no mater how small or large. In my opinion, the Japanese are the truly best artisans in whatever they do, and after reading this book, I’m more convinced in that perspective. They generally seem to approach whatever they do with a Zen focus of precision and reverence, which culminates in a beautiful mysticism. Any of these various garden styles end up being ethereal art. This book really shows you don’t need to pack too much into your garden, if you’re buying it for ideas to make your own Japanese style garden. I have many books on Japanese gardens. This has been the most informative and helpful.