Zen Gardens : The Complete Works of Shunmyo Masuno, Japan's Leading Garden Designer

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 Temple in Yokohama. He is celebrated for his unique ability to blend strikingly contemporary elements with the traditional design vernacular. He has worked in ultramodern urban hotels and in some of Japan's most famous classic gardens. In each project, his work as a designer is inseparable from his Buddhist practice. Each becomes a Zen garden, "a special spiritual place where the mind dwells." This beautiful book, illustrated with more than 400 drawings and color photographs, is the first complete retrospective of Masuno's work to be published in English. It presents 37 major gardens around the world in a wide variety of types and settings: traditional and contemporary, urban and rural, public spaces and private residences, and including temple, office, hotel and campus venues. Masuno achieved fame for his work in Japan, but he is becoming increasingly known internationally, and in 2011 completed his first commission in the United States which is shown here. The book, divided into three chapters, covers: "Traditional Zen Gardens," "Contemporary Zen Gardens," and "Zen Gardens outside Japan." Illustrated with photographs and architectural plans or sketches, each garden is described and analyzed by author Mira Locher, herself an architect and a scholar well versed in Japanese culture. Celebrating the accomplishments of a major, world-class designer, Zen Gardens also serves as something of a master class in Japanese garden design and appreciation: how to perceive a Japanese garden, how to understand one, even how to make one yourself. Like one of Masuno's gardens, the book can be a place for contemplation and mindful repose. Title Page......Page 6 Copyright......Page 7 Table of Contents......Page 9 Foreword by Shigeru Uchida......Page 11 Two Pairs of Straw Sandals: Zen Priest Garden Designer Shunmyo Masuno......Page 13 Notes on Language......Page 24 TRADITIONAL GARDENS......Page 26 Traditional Zen Gardens in the 21st Century......Page 27 Soseien Retreat House......Page 29 Ginrinso Company Guesthouse......Page 33 Kyoto Prefectural Reception Hall......Page 38 Art Lake Golf Club......Page 43 Bakushotei, Imbarai Kokusai Hotel......Page 48 Ryumontei, Gionji Temple......Page 51 Fushotei, Renshoji Temple Guesthouse......Page 56 Zanshintei, Sankeien Kakushokaku Reception Hall......Page 60 Sando, Koenji Temple......Page 63 Mushintei, Guesthouse Suifuso......Page 67 Shojutei, Rifugio......Page 75 Chofutei and Suitokyosei, Gionji Temple Reception Building......Page 77 Baikatei, Saikenji Temple......Page 81 Gesshinsoteien......Page 84 Chosetsuko, Ginriso Ryokan......Page 87 Choraitei......Page 90 Keizan Zenji Tenborin No Niwa, Gotanjoji Temple......Page 96 Kantakeyama Shinen, Samukawa Shrine......Page 99 Design and Contstruction Process: The Kantakeyama Shinen at the Samukawa Shrine......Page 108 MODERN GARDENS......Page 116 Modern Zen Gardens: The Essence of Emptiness......Page 117 New Campus for Tokyo Metropolitan University......Page 121 The Canadian Embassy, Tokyo......Page 126 Fuma Byakuren Plaza, National Institue for Materials Science......Page 129 Nigata Prefectural Museum of Modern Art......Page 133 Seifu Kyorai No Niwa, Kagawa Prefectural Library......Page 137 Seizan Ryokusui No Niwa, Hotel Le Port......Page 140 Kanzatei, Cerulean Tower Tokyo Hotel......Page 145 Yukyuen, Hofu City Crematorium......Page 151 Seifudoko No Niwa, Opus Arisugawa Terrace and Residence......Page 155 Sankitei, Ministry of Foregin Affairs......Page 159 Yui No Niwa Shinshotei......Page 163 Mondo: A Dialogue with Shunmyo Masuno......Page 169 GARDENS OUTSIDE JAPAN......Page 175 Zen Gardens Outside Japan: Intercultural Communication......Page 177 Wakei No Niwa, Canadian Museum of Civilization......Page 182 Yusuien, Erholungspark Marzahn......Page 185 Seijaku No Niwa, University of Bergen......Page 191 Sanshintei, One Kowloon Office Building......Page 195 Funitei......Page 201 Zanmaitei, Nassim Park Residences Showflat......Page 205 Wakeiseijyaku No Niwa, Nassim Park Residencies......Page 207 Seikantei......Page 215 Major Works 1984-2011......Page 219 Endnotes......Page 221 Glossary......Page 223 Acknowledgments......Page 225 Bibliography......Page 226 The Tuttle Story......Page 227 "Locher's stunning presentation highlights 37 master gardens in Japan and abroad (including in the U.S.) that embody a transcendent marriage between the primal elements of nature and metaphysics. ... With 320 color photos and designs, Locher captures the mystery and mastery of Masuno's work.— Publishers Weekly ""Literacy is not the only skill needed to write a decent book, just as the ability to stick plants in the ground is not the only skill needed to make a decent garden. Zen Gardens gives a glimpse of the knowledge and dedication required to create a Japanese garden. Enthusiastic amateur garden designers should be forced to read it—particularly the description of this Zen Buddhist priest's work at the Canadian Museum of Civilisation in Ottawa.""— Financial Times "" Zen Gardens endorses a spiritual approach to the process of garden design, whereby the design and its inherent aesthetic qualities are allowed to grow from the place, rather than being imposed on it. Illustrated with more than 400 drawings and colour photographs, this book is a wonderful source of inspiration for creating beautiful, contemplative landscapes.""— Garden Design Journal ""Even just a quick riffle through the pages of Zen Gardens: The Complete Works of Shunmyo Masuno can cause a healthy lowering of one's blood pressure. Seeing such tranquil spaces in our generally chaotic world offers an escape to an oasis of serenity, or what Shunmyo Masuno himself calls an ""unmoving truth."" ... Author Mira Locher, an architect and professor based in the United States and Japan, is an excellent guide to this tour of Masuno's work, explaining key elements of Zen and Japanese design and the complexity of such calm splendor. ... Zen Gardens: The Complete Works of Shunmyo Masuno is surely best approached just as one would enter a Masuno garden—with a sense of quiet, curious wonder at how man and nature can sometimes meet as one.""— ForeWord Reviews "|ING_08 Review quote 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 Temple in Yokohama. He is celebrated for his unique ability to blend strikingly contemporary elements with the traditional design vernacular. He has worked in ultramodern urban hotels and in some of Japan's most famous classic gardens. In each project, his work as a designer of landscape architecture is inseparable from his Buddhist practice. Each becomes a Zen garden, "a special spiritual place where the mind dwells."

This beautiful book, illustrated with more than 400 drawings and color photographs, is the first complete retrospective of Masuno's work to be published in English. It presents 37 major gardens around the world in a wide variety of types and settings: traditional and contemporary, urban and rural, public spaces and private residences, and including temple, office, hotel and campus venues. Masuno achieved fame for his work in Japan, but he is becoming increasingly known internationally, and in 2011 completed his first commission in the United States which is shown here.

Zen Gardens, divided into three chapters, covers: "Traditional Zen Gardens," "Contemporary Zen Gardens" and "Zen Gardens outside Japan." Each Zen garden is illustrated with photographs and architectural plans or sketches. The designs are described and analyzed by author Mira Locher, herself an architect and a scholar well versed in Japanese culture.

Celebrating the accomplishments of a major, world-class designer, Zen Gardens also serves as something of a master class in Japanese garden design and appreciation: how to perceive a Japanese garden, how to understand one, even how to make one yourself. Like one of Masuno's gardens, the book can be a place for contemplation and mindful repose. 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 Temple in Yokohama. He is celebrated for his unique ability to blend strikingly contemporary elements with the traditional design vernacular. He has worked in ultramodern urban hotels and some of Japan's most famous classic gardens. In each project, his work as a designer of landscape architecture is inseparable from his Buddhist practice. Each becomes a Zen garden, "a special spiritual place where the mind dwells." This beautiful book, illustrated with more than 400 drawings and color photographs, is the first complete retrospective of Masuno's work to be published in English. It presents 37 major gardens around the world in a wide variety of types and settings: traditional and contemporary, urban and rural, public spaces and private residences, and including temple, office, hotel and campus venues. Masuno achieved fame for his work in Japan, but he is becoming increasingly known internationally, and in 2011 completed his first commission in the United States which is shown here. Zen Gardens, divided into three chapters, covers: "Traditional Zen Gardens," "Contemporary Zen Gardens" and "Zen Gardens outside Japan." Each Zen garden design is described and analyzed by author Mira Locher, herself an architect and a scholar well versed in Japanese culture. Celebrating the accomplishments of an influential, world-class designer, Zen Gardens also serves as something of a master class in Japanese garden design and appreciation: how to perceive a Japanese garden, how to understand one, even how to make one yourself. Like one of Masuno's gardens, the book can be a place for contemplation and mindful repose. "[F]irst complete retrospective of Masuno's work to be published in English. It presents 37 major gardens around the world in a wide variety of types and settings: traditional and contemporary, urban and rural, public spaces and private residences, and including temple, office, hotel, campus, and guesthouses venues"--Flap of book jacket.