Takaya Kurimoto gave a talk “Water in Japanese Gardens” at the Japan Center at Stony Brook University on December 2nd, 2019. Many enthusiastic students and faculty members attended this event!
Water has been one of the most important elements of Japanese gardens. Takaya introduced its three different characteristics and background that make it so unique. They are the interpreted nature, Buddhism idealisms, and Zen practices.
The discussion session was very lively! One question was about Japanse gardens’ response to the idea of change, especially to seasons. Another was about the volcanos. They are so prominent in the Japanese landscape, yet why are they not represented in Japan Gardens? We always love these questions from the audience, since they provoke us toward new ideas!