Japanese garden book
The manifold interpretations of Ryoan-ji – an excerpt
虎の子渡し – Tiger family crossing a river 碧巌録に示された臥龍 – Sleeping dragon 星座カシオペヤ – The constellation Cassiopeia 心の字 – Heart character 京都盆地を囲む五山 – Five mountains surrounding Kyoto 光の反射板 – Reflecting of Light 満月を巡る – The moon phases around the full moon Today I want to dig deeper into the manifold interpretations of Ryoan-jis zen garden. Surely, […]
The Real Japanese Gardens calendar 2023
Yeah! It‘s this time of year again!I am always happy when December is close and I can decide the pictures for the next Japanese garden calendar. This year, I have looked up which pictures were the most popular on our Instagram account over the last twelve months. Of course, I also chose them in accordance […]
Bridges in the Japanese garden
Bridges are an element in the Japanese garden, that is often neglected in the literature. After the main elements, water, rocks, and plants, the stone lanterns follow as the next most often mentioned element. Or so it seems. Today, I would like to put the focus on bridges. What types exist, and how they are […]
Building ponds in the Japanese gardens
The way how ponds were built in Japan changed massively over time. In this article I want to introduce the ancient way and the more recent methods. Let’s begin when rich people wanted to build private gardens in the outskirts of Kyoto in as early as the Heian period (794-1185). There were still no electric […]
Pine pruning – Sukashi, Niban me, Ha mushiri, Mekiri, Mitsubushi
A lot of words connected to pine pruning we want to explore today! While midoritsumi みどり摘み and momiage 揉み上げ are already well known when it comes to pine pruning, there is still so much more to explore, even beyond the terms I will explain today. All techniques and examples I am showing, are applying either for Pinus […]
Ponds in the Japanese Garden
Water is one of the three important elements in the Japanese garden. Today we want to explore how water is integrated into the garden design in form of ponds. Ponds in the Japanese garden differ, depending on the type of the garden, in size and shape. History of ponds in Japanese gardens We have a […]
Treasure Ship – 宝船 ・ Ship Stone – 船石 explained
What I always tried to find out was the relationship between the Treasure Ship (takarabune) with the Seven Lucky Gods (shichifukujin), and the Ship Stone (funaishi). Now that I stuck at home, I have time to investigate! Let’s start with a more or less short explanation of these three: Treasure Ship – takarabune – 宝船 This […]
Craving Nature but Can’t Stand the Heat – Gardens to visit in Tokyo
Summer is a living nightmare for most in Japan with temperatures only getting higher in recent years. As a professional gardener living and working in Tokyo for the past seven years, I have no choice but to leave our lovely air-conditioned office and head to whichever garden we are working on. However, the truth […]
Zen Gardens: The Complete Works of Shunmyo Masuno
Zen Gardens: The Complete Works of Shunmyo Masuno First published on 1977 (English) By Mira Locher / Tuttle Hardcover ISBN-10: 4805311940 ISBN-13: 978-4805311943 224 Pages $ 27.64 Shunmyo Masuno, Japan’s leading garden designer, is at once Japan’s most highly acclaimed landscape architect and an 18th-generation Zen Buddhist priest, presiding over daily ceremonies at the Kenkoji […]
[Book review] The Garden’s rope work / 目で見る庭のロープワーク
目で見る庭のロープワーク / The Garden’s rope work First published 1980. Reviewed edition first published May 30 2008. By Junzou Ishida / 龍居庭園研究所 Paperback ISBN-10: 4-87460-985-6 ISBN-13: 978-4-87460-985-9 222 Pages ¥ 1300 +tax I couldn’t find any additional information about the author. Introduction by the author (translated and summarized by the reviewer): During the creation of this book the author […]