Kyoto Gardens: Masterworks of the Japanese Gardener's Art

Review

..".a most excellent book: a lively, interesting and informative text illustrated with Ben Simmons's brilliant photography. [A] book very much worth adding to one's library." --Shakkei, Japanese Garden Society UK

"A beautiful book that will appeal to gardeners, armchair travelers, or readers interested in Japanese history and culture." --Library Journal

"'Kyoto Gardens' is the sort of travel book that will make you miss Japan, whether you've been there or not." --About.com

"Bring the art and beauty of Japan to your garden with inspiration from Kyoto Gardens, written by Judith Clancy and photographed by Ben Simmons." --HGTV Gardens

"Here is an instance in which one can certainly judge a book by its cover. The cover of Kyoto Gardens: Masterworks of the Japanese Gardener's Art contains eight vignetted color photographs that sumptuously display the rich combination of and man-made features that populate the serenely elegant gardens of Kyoto, Japan. One is immediately drawn to the breathtaking scenes displayed within, accompanied by text that is both descriptive and evocative, yet unobtrusive." —Examiner.com

"Kyoto Gardens: Masterworks of the Japanese Gardener's Art provides a lively survey of Kyoto's gardens and landscapes and comes from a master photographer and a Kyoto-based writer who capture the beauty of the city's major gardens." --Midwest Book Review

"An exquisite appreciation of Kyoto as a spiritual place with its gardens of such beauty, variety and devotion." --Spirituality & Practice blog

"Clancy, living in Kyoto, provides historical, aesthetic and cultural context to the gardens, and Simmons' photographs present a fresh look at Kyoto's most important gardens." --Publishers Weekly

Book Description

"Clancy, living in Kyoto, provides historic, aesthetic and cultural context to the gardens, and Simmons' photographs present a fresh look at Kyoto's most important gardens." — Publishers Weekly

Featuring beautiful Japanese garden photography and inful writing, Kyoto Gardens is a labor of love from master photographer ben Simmons and Kyoto-based writer Judith Clancy. in their rocks and s, empty spaces and details—Kyoto's gardens manifest a unique ability to provoke thought and delight in equal measure. These varied landscapes meld the ity of nature with the disciplines of cosmology, poetry and meditation. Japanese aristocrats created these gardens to display not just wealth and power, but cultural sensitivity and an appreciation for transcendent beauty. A class of professional gardeners eventually emerged, transforming Japanese landscape design into a formalized art. Today, Kyoto's gardens display an enormous range of forms—from rock gardens display of extreme minimalism and subtle hues, to stroll gardens of luscious proportions and vibrant colors.

in Kyoto Gardens Simmons' photographs present a fresh and contemporary look at Kyoto's most important gardens. Their beauty is enhanced and humanized by gardeners tending the grounds using the tools of their art. Clancy's graceful text provides historic, aesthetic and cultural context to the Japanese gardens. Combining wonder and rigor, she describes how Kyoto's most beloved gardens remain faithful to their founders' creative spirit and conception. Journey to Kyoto's thirty gardens with just a turn of a page, or use the handy s to plan your trip.