by David and Michiko Young. Published by Tuttle, 2005. ISBN: 978-4-8053-1125-7 Hc. Also available in paperback from the publisher or Amazon.com.
**Winner of the 2006 American Horticultural Society Book Award**
The Art of the Japanese Garden is the only historical overview of Japanese gardens that covers Japanese gardening culture in one beautiful book.
From Fly of Book:
Japanese gardens are rooted in two traditions: an indigenous prehistoric tradition in which patches of traveled forest or pebbled beach were dedicated to nature spirits, and a tradition from China and Korea that included elements such as ponds, streams, waterfalls, rock compositions and a variety of vegetation. This book traces the development and blending of these two traditions as well as the inclusion of new features as gardening reached new heights of sophistication on Japanese soil. It presents a number of the most notable gardens in Japan, including traveled courtyards, early aristocratic gardens, esoteric and paradise gardens, Zen gardens, warrior gardens, tea gardens and stroll gardens. Also included are sections on modern trends and Japanese gardens in other countries.
by David and Michiko Young. Tuttle, 2007. ISBN: 978-0-8948-3838-2 Hc. Also available in paperback from the publisher or Amazon.com.
From Fly of Book:
Simplicity, asymmetry, sensitivity to the natural environment, and the use of natural materials are the hallmarks of Japanese architecture. This book provides an overview of Japanese architecture in its historical and cultural context. It begins with a discussion of prehistoric dwellings and concludes with a description of important modern buildings. Distinctive features found today in Japanese buildings are described in terms of changes wrought by the introduction of Buddhist culture from Korea and China, the consolidation of indigenous design traditions, the development of feudalism and samurai culture, many influences from the West and the adoption of international building styles in contemporary times. Through all of these changes, a restrained aesthetic developed in marked contrast to an earlier exuberant tradition characterized by monumentality and the se of bold colours. This book provides deep insights into the dynamic nature of this contrast and the way it reflects an underlying diversity in Japanese culture and society. The book is profusely illustrated with hundreds of color photographs, prints, maps, diagrams, and specially commissioned watercolors.
by David and Michiko Young, 2012. ISBN: 978-0-9881110-1-1. Available from Amazon.
From Back of Book
There are two major aesthetic traditions in Japan —what might be called a Restrained Tradition and an Exuberant Tradition. In phenomena as diverse as art, architecture, gardens, clothing, the objects people use, and interior decor, the influence of both traditions can be seen. Instead of competing with each other, the authors view these two traditions as opposite ends of a continuum on which people move back and forth between restraint and exuberance in the course of their daily lives, depending upon the circumstances. This movement is not arbitrary but governed by principles that go to the core of Japanese culture. The goal of this book is to use a socio-scientific approach to provide a better understanding of some of these basic principles, illustrated with more than 200 color photographs.
Excerpts from two recent reviews:
“Spontaneity in Japanese Art and Culture is not just a book for the aficionados of Japanese culture; therefore, it is a book that can enrich us all. David and Michiko Young, known for their in depth, academically detailed books, “Introduction to Japanese Architecture”, “The Art of Japanese Architecture”, and “The Art of the Japanese Garden” have been able to convey, in this book, complex ideas in layperson language; this is thanks to their more than thirty years of research into Japanese culture and aesthetics."
Naomi Beth Wakan
http://www.naomiwakan.com/ Click here for the complete review
"The richness and complexities of Japanese art and aesthetics are presented so clearly and illustrated so beautifully in this book, the reader truly is transported to the heart of Japanese culture and given a wonderful tool by which to see the logic and connection among such different aspects of Japanese life, while also making clear the profound concepts underlying different forms of art. To make sense of diversity in a culture and to reveal the social norms that underlie it is the heart of the anthropological enterprise. This book is not only one of the clearest expositions of Japanese aesthetics; it is an anthropological triumph."
Pamela Asquith,
www.pamelaasquith.ca Click here for the complete review
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