The Top 5 Japanese Garden Books Every Enthusiast Should Own
Stone setting in a client garden, December 2024. The design and techniques are heavily influenced by the teaching in these Top 5 books.
Top 5 (or 10 or 100) lists are always tricky. Preferences, particularly ranked preferences, are inherently slippery. What seems most valuable today may seem less significant in light of tomorrow’s needs. Opinions about relative value are judgments of the moment and reflect the moment as much as the overall quality of the things being ranked.
So, rather than a strict “top 5” list, I am offering five (plus ten) books that I have found valuable over and over. Books that stand up to re-reading or as evergreen references. These books have been instrumental in my learning, and I would unequivocally recommend them to anyone who wants to grow their connection and understanding of Japanese garden arts.
Each book on this list has its strong points and weak points, and each book is, in its own way, highly specialized. Each book does precisely what it needs to do. Japanese Gardens thrive on specialization, and this list represents that fact. This is by no means meant to be a comprehensive list. There are glaring omissions, some books that more “expert” experts would insist are indispensable. I recommend reading all information on any subject you love with an open mind and a critical eye.
Space and Illusion in the Japanese Garden by Teji Itoh
When this book was originally published in 1965, the Japanese title was Shakkei to Tsuboniwa or Borrowed (captured) Scenery and Courtyard (enclosed) Gardens, and these subjects run throughout the book. Focusing on the design principles of ‘the great within the small’ and ‘bringing the outside in,’ Itoh presents a compelling, complex, and comprehensive view of Japanese Garden art and history.
While moving through the history and evolution of Japanese Gardens, Itoh also teases out underlying design concepts, how they came to be, and what they mean as applied in both classical and contemporary Gardens.
The text can be a bit dense and academic without being dry or difficult. It is helpful for the reader to have at least a vague grasp of Japanese history for context, but the descriptions, discussions, and conclusions are clear and compelling.
Other recommended titles by the same author:
The Elegant Japanese House is a beautiful coffee-table book providing an overview of Japanese domestic architecture.
The Gardens of Japan, with more photos, illustrations, and a bit lighter text, is 100% worth pursuing.
Ultimately, Teji Itoh is one of the most critical voices in Japanese architectural and aesthetic history, and any of his work is worthwhile.
2. Themes in the History of Japanese Garden Art by Wybe Kuitert
A well-researched, well-written historical overview of how Japanese Garden art grew in response to Japan’s culture and history. Kuitert draws on a deep well of research from archaeology to poetry and literature to explore how Japanese Gardens became the globally significant art form they are today.
This is a great book to help uncover the underlying “how” of Japanese Gardens. They developed in response to Japan and its place in the world, how they reflected the culture of their makers, and how they came to be such potent symbols of a nation and its philosophies.
Peppered with detailed diagrams, plans and illustrations, this book can help get into the mindset of Japanese Gardens. It can be a bit dry and abstract, but very worth the effort, Kuitert does a great job of bridging the world of traditional craft and contemporary academic study.
3. Magic of Trees and Stones by Katsuo Saito and Sadaji Wada
Saito and Wada were practicing professionals in Japanese Gardening, and this is amply reflected in this book: practical and pragmatic; this book is lighter on the history and culture and focuses on the ‘what’ of Japanese Gardens.
Centered on the concept of shibusa, defined as quiet and refined taste, the authors use concrete examples from many of Japan’s most famous Gardens as well as contemporary work. Drilling down to specific elements and including plans and some ‘how-to’ instruction, the voice of this book, even in translation, has the simple, clear declarative language of a seasoned technician describing their work.
This book focuses on the practical over the theoretical while teaching the principle of learning from observation.
Another recommended title from the same author:
Japanese Garden Hints by Katsuo Saito is an even more practice-based ‘how-to’ type manual, with contemporary (1969) examples of Mr. Saito’s work as well as illustrations of stone setting, bamboo fencing, and other construction details.
4. A Japanese Touch for Your Garden by Kiyoshi Seike, Masanobu Kudo and David Engel
Another practical ‘how-to’ guide, this photo and illustration-heavy book is an excellent introduction to the craft of garden-making. It focuses on the elements of Japanese gardens, including numerous examples of famous gardens, waterfalls, bridges, lanterns, and other features.
Where this book may be light on text and short on depth, it more than makes up for the breadth and quality of information. Overall, it is a very valuable reference that I turn to repeatedly.
5. Sakuteiki by Tachiban no Toshitsuna, translation and commentary by Jiro Takei and Mark Keane
This book made this list by being Sakuteiki. It is (probably) the oldest existing book on Japanese Gardening and one of the oldest on landscape gardening in the world. Dating back to the eleventh century, this book helped define the language and basic concepts of Japanese Gardening for over a millennium.
Keane’s commentary is illuminating and has had an extraordinary impact on how the contemporary English-speaking world views and understands Japanese gardens. I tend to read this book (translated Sakuteiki) as a series of epigrams—the concepts, while sound, are presented in the anachronistic terms of Heian period gardening. The practical value is best gained through the lens of the intervening centuries.
As a valuable companion to this classic text: Secret Teachings in the Art of Japanese Gardens, translated and annotated by David Slawson
From Senzui Narabi ni Yagyo no Zu or Illustrations For Designing Mountain, Water, and Hillside landscapes, a fifteenth-century manual attributed to the ‘stone setting priest’ Zoen is another contemporary translation and analysis of centuries-old writing. Both books are valuable references that shaped how people have built, maintained, thought and talked about Gardens for hundreds of years in Japan. Both books are useful for understanding the history of Garden building from the ground up and contain great reference sections with plant lists, descriptions of ancient concepts, and other information that can be really helpful in understanding the world of pre-modern Japanese Gardens.
And a few more:
More specialized books for people active in Garden building and maintenance, these texts are also of interest to anyone seeking a deeper understanding of Japanese Gardens.
Bamboo Fences, Building Bamboo Fences, Stone Basins, and Japanese Gardens in Small Spaces. These books by Isao Yoshikawa are all great hands-on, how-to construction manuals for Garden makers.
Garden Plants of Japan by Yamamori and Taaffe is an extraordinarily helpful encyclopedia-style plant book. (Like the Sunset Western Garden Book). It says pretty much what it says in the title, but it also includes some interesting botanical and cultural information to add to the strictly horticultural interest.
Niwaki by Jake Hobson is an entertaining nuts and bolts guide to Japanese Garden pruning and a must for any English language Garden technician.
Some of these books are out of print or hard to find. Check out Thriftbooks.com or other used bookstores if you can’t find them elsewhere.
