Japanese Gardens

About this book

138 of Japan's greatest gardens — Zen rock gardens, imperial villas and the great strolling landscapes of the feudal lords, in the most complete English guide to Japanese gardens on Kindle.

From the fifteen stones of Ryoan-ji and the moss sea of Saiho-ji to Kenroku-en in Kanazawa, Katsura Imperial Villa in Kyoto and the tidal pond of Hama-rikyu beneath Tokyo's towers, this guide gives 138 gardens the full treatment: their history, their designers, their planting and the ideas — borrowed scenery, hide-and-reveal, the stroll circuit — that make them works of art. Every garden here is drawn from a verified database of 886 Japanese gardens, and every chapter is built on a substantial, source-checked account.

The gardens are organised in five parts: temple gardens (Zen, Pure Land and the great monasteries), imperial, palace and villa gardens, the great daimyo stroll gardens and other named gardens (including all Three Great Gardens of Japan), shrine and castle gardens, and parks, botanical and modern gardens from Hokkaido to Okinawa. Each chapter opens with an original summary and an At a Glance fact panel — location, garden type, designations, nearest station — followed by the complete story in depth, and most chapters close with a gallery of photographs: 460 credited photographs in all.

A closing chapter, "How to Read a Japanese Garden," shows you how to walk these landscapes the way their makers intended, and a glossary unlocks the vocabulary of the art.

Inside: 138 gardens in 5 parts · 460 photographs with full credits · original introductions and summaries · practical guidance on reservations and garden manners.

Written and created in Japan by Japanese author Aki Wakamatsu. Published by Takikawa TOKOTOKO Kids LLC, a Japanese publisher in Hokkaido, Japan. Authentic Japanese content, carefully made in Japan — not mass-produced.