Borrowed scenery 2
As I mentioned in the previous blog about borrowed scenery, we cannot control the scenery beyond gardens. Your neighbor’s big house might block a nice view. Therefore, this garden technique may not be versatile. We can use borrowed scenery under some limited conditions only. In Kyoto city, there are a lot of Japanese gardens. We […]
Borrowed scenery
Borrowed scenery, shakkei, is one of the techniques of garden design. It integrates the scenery beyond the backside of the gardens with the actual gardens. In most cases, borrowed scenery can be easily done when the garden site is near mountains. As a Japanese garden designer, I categorize two types of Japanese gardens using borrowed […]
Kenzo Tange’s Own House
I read the interesting book, “The Japanese House Since 1945”, written by Naomi Pollock. It introduces lots of houses designed by architects. In addition to the chronological explanation of the architectural history, unlike other architecture design books, Her book focused on the families who lived in the houses. That made me find unexpected discoveries. I […]
Daimyo garden
Koraku-en is one of the most famous Japanese gardens, located in Okayama, Japan. A garden like this is called a daimyo (feudal lord) garden. In my understanding, the name “daimyo garden” does not refer to a style but a general term for the gardens that feudal lords in the Edo period (1603 – 1867) made […]
Imperfection in Japanese gardens
“The flow of the river never ceases, and the water never stays the same…” This is the opening phrase of Hojoki, a famous Japanese essay by Kamono Chomei in the 13 century. Almost all Japanese children learn this in their schools. I think that transience is something that many Japanese hold in their minds, which […]
