The garden as a poem. Not simply a beautiful design to be appreciated by looking, but a living poem that can actually be read. That is the way gardens were thought of in Japan during the Heian period (794-1185). In that ancient society, a detailed understanding of poetry was an essential part of life for people in the literate classes. Poetic anthologies were learned by heart and all manner of communications either included poems or were interwoven with references to poetry. A central aspect of Heian-period poetry was that it employed images of nature as symbols of human emotions. A lonely pine tree on a windswept, rocky seashore evoked the bitter sadness of someone waiting for their lover. A scene of cut reeds, fallen and scattered this way and that, was a standard epithet to express unsettled, scattered emotions. When gardens were built, many of those same elements of nature — pines and reeds and so many more — were also incorporated into the designs. When gardens were viewed, they were understood not simply as objects of visual beauty, but as being filled with allegorical meanings drawn from poetry. These visual cues triggered in the minds of people in the garden the memory of poems they knew, and acted as catalysts in the creation of new ones. The word for poem, uta, was the same as that for song, and poems at that time were often sung or chanted, rather than spoken. In this way, the poetic elements were like songs in the garden. The author, Marc Peter Keane, is well-known both as a garden designer and writer. Having lived 18 years in Kyoto, Japan, he brings ample first hand knowledge to the subject. Songs in the Garden not only describes the nature of gardens in Japan 1000 years ago, but also suggests a new paradigm for understanding what gardens can mean to us today.

Songs in the Garden: Poetry and Gardens in Ancient Japan

Crafts, Hobbies & Home

Keane, Marc Peter

Gardening & Landscape Design

mpk books

The creation of a Japanese garden combines respect for nature with adherence to simple principles of aesthetics and structure. In Japanese Garden Design, landscape architect Marc Peter Keane presents the history and development of the classical metaphors that underlie all Japanese gardens. Keane describes the influences of Confucian, Shinto and Buddhist principles that have linked poetry and philosophy to the tangible metaphor of the garden. Detailed explanations of basic design concepts identify and interpret the symbolism of various garden forms and demonstrate these principles in use today.

Japanese Garden Design

Arts & Photography

Ohashi, Haruzo

Keane, Marc P.

Photography & Video

Tuttle+publishing

"A necessary addition to the library of any serious student."—The New York Times Sunday Book Review
Almost every Japanese garden is influenced by the tea garden. Here, Marc Peter Keane describes the history, design, and aesthetics of tea gardens, from T'ang China to the present day, with over 115 stunning photographs, floor plans, and illustrations. The most extensive book on this genre ever published in English, The Japanese Tea Garden is a rich resource for garden lovers, historians, and landscape architects.
Landscape architect Marc Peter Keane lived in Kyoto for twenty years and has a design practice in Ithaca, New York.

The Japanese Tea Garden

History & Criticism

Stone Bridge Press

"The undisputed American master of Japanese garden scholars.”New York Times, Dominique Browning
Matching some 400 color photographs to brief, informed observations, renowned garden designer Marc Peter Keane walks us through 100 Japanese gardens, stopping along the way to note essential elements of design, technique, and culture. Covering everything from large-scale aspects of space and balance to subtle elements that are often overlooked, this is an innovative, stunningly visual guide for planning and inspiration.
Landscape architect and author Marc Peter Keane lived in Kyoto, Japan, for nearly 20 years and specializes in Japanese garden design. He lives in Ithaca, New York.

Japanese Garden Notes: A Visual Guide to Elements and Design

From his vantage point as a garden designer and writer based in Kyoto, Marc Peter Keane examines the world around him and delivers astonishing insights through an array of narratives. How the names of gardens reveal their essential meaning. A new definition of what art is. What trees are really made of. The true meaning of the enigmatic torii gate found at Shinto shrines. Why we give flowers as gifts. The essential, underlying unity of the world.

Of Arcs and Circles: Insights from Japan on Gardens, Nature, and Art

In Japanese gardens, composition follows from placement of the first stone; all elements and plantings become interconnected. These eight essays on Kyoto gardens similarly begin with keen description and build into richly meditative excursions into art, Buddhism, nature, and science. Landscape architect Marc Keane shows how Japanese gardens are both a microcosm of the natural universe and a clear expression of our humanity, mirroring how we think, worship, and organize our lives and communities. Filled with passages of alluring beauty, this is a truly transcendent book about "experiencing" Japanese design.
Marc Peter Keane has lived in Kyoto for 17 years and is author of Japanese Garden Design. He designs residential, company, and temple gardens.

The Art of Setting Stones: And Other Writings from the Japanese Garden

"When Marc Peter Keane describes, with poetry and erudition, the experience of the Japanese garden today, he has no peer."—Leonard Koren, author of Wabi-Sabi Almost every Japanese garden is influenced by the tea garden. Marc Peter Keane describes the history, design, and aesthetics of tea gardens, from T’ang China to the present day, with over one hundred stunning photographs, floor plans, and illustrations. The most extensive book on this genre ever published in English, The Japanese Tea Garden is a rich resource for garden lovers, landscape designers, and architects—and anyone who admires the striking aesthetic of the Japanese garden.

Sakuteiki oder die Kunst des japanischen Gartens

Takei, Jiro

Architecture

Ulmer Eugen Verlag

Japanese Garden Design explains the theory, history, and intricacies of Japanese gardening through gorgeous photographs and expert commentary. The creation of a Japanese garden combines respect for nature with adherence to simple principles of aesthetics and structure. In Japanese Garden Design landscape architect Marc Peter Keane presents the history and development of the classical metaphors that underlie all Japanese gardens in this. Keane describes the influences of Confucian, Shinto and Buddhist principles that have linked poetry and philosophy to the tangible metaphor of the garden in Japanese culture. Creative inspiration is found in the prehistoric origin of Japanese concepts of nature; the gardens of Heian aristocrats; the world-renowned Zen garden, or rock garden; the tea garden; courtyard garden; and stroll garden. Detailed explanations of basic design concepts identify and interpret the symbolism of various garden forms and demonstrate these principles in use today in Japanese landscape architecture. Topics include:<ul>
<li> Design Principles</li>
<li> Design Techniques</li>
<li> Design Elements</li>
<li> Godspirit in Nature</li>
<li> Poetry in Paradise</li>
<li> The Art of Emptiness</li>
<li> Spiritual Passage</li>
<li> Private Niches</li>
<li> A Collector's Park</li>
</ul>

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Keane, Marc Peter. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Keane, Marc Peter

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Keane, Marc Peter. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Songs in the Garden: Poetry and Gardens in Ancient Japan

Japanese Garden Design

The Japanese Tea Garden

Japanese Garden Notes: A Visual Guide to Elements and Design

Of Arcs and Circles: Insights from Japan on Gardens, Nature, and Art

The Art of Setting Stones: And Other Writings from the Japanese Garden

The Japanese Tea Garden

Sakuteiki oder die Kunst des japanischen Gartens

Japanese Garden Design