The beauty of the Japanese garden lies in its combination of natural and artificial beauty. It represents the unique aesthetic taste of the Japanese people, mainly because of the distinct seasons of the insular country. Under the influence of religion, culture, history and customs, Japanese landscapes feature delicacy in design and elaboration in materials. An exquisite garden often reflects ideas in literature, calligraphy, paintings, ikebana and teaism, becoming an art work that assembles the essence of Japanese culture. We thus can find the zen implied in the design of Japanese gardens. The concept of Zen could be found throughout their designs. In their works, a narrow space could turn into a deep, richly-layered, savoring and meaningful landscape that was poetic and somewhat zenic. This book consists of three chapters, Japanese gardens, public landscapes and interior landscapes, including the outstanding works of Japanses landscape designers, and giving full expression to the essence of Japanese landscape. May the book a source of inspiration to all the lovers of landscaping design.
