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Terms and conditions applyThe Gardens of Japan
Helena Attlee
Product details
Format: Book
Pages: 136
Publisher: Frances Lincoln
Date Published: Mar 2010
Stock Code: 72199
ISBN: 9780711229716
Binding: Hardback
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Reviews (3)
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Total votes: 0
Description
In Japanese gardens, visitors find nature condensed and brought to perfection. Trees are trained and sculpted until they epitomize the very best of the trees' tree-like qualities; the finest natural landscapes are reproduced in miniature; and the seasons are celebrated with spring blossom and the fiery leaves of autumn. This book showcases twenty-eight of the finest examples.
Here are gardens such as Ryoan-ji, which originated in the golden age of the great aristocratic garden, when the heart of the garden was a pond decorated with rocky islands, inlets and peninsulas. Dry gardens like Saiho-ji - a dynamic arrangement of carefully placed rocks that suggests the flow of a great mass of water - express the simpler and austere aesthetic of Zen Buddhism. Tea ceremony gardens, created as a place of transition between everyday existence and a more contemplative world, include Konchi-in.
Gardens such as Katsura Rikyu exemplify stroll gardens: large, beautifully landscaped parks where a narrow, winding path leads visitors along the water's edge, over bridges and stepping stones, through groves of beautifully pruned trees, between artificial rolling hills and past tea houses and elaborate arrangements of rocks.
While Alex Ramsay's photographs capture the gardens' beauty, Helena Attlee elegantly and informatively explains their composition, the people and influences who made them, and how in all old and new are interleaved. Words and pictures marry to make a most pleasing introduction to the gardens of Japan.
Featured Reviews
Oxford Times
Having visited the gardens of Kyoto extensively I was almost afraid to open this book in case it disappointed. It didn't. The photographs capture the detail and ethos. The prose is informed and I'm able to recapture my experiences through this wonderful book.
Outdoor Photography
Attlee's informative text is supported by the photography of Alex Ramsey, who has captured the elegance and majestic quality of these immaculately groomed gardens. Featuring iconic Japanese imagery: koi carp in milky ponds, trained trees, stepping stones, spring blossoms and vibrant autumn leaves, this book is a real treat for the eye.
BBC Gardens Illustrated
This book cannot be bettered as an introduction to the subject for visitors - a ravishingly beautiful and inspirational read that makes you want to jump on the next plane to Tokyo.
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