Zen Gardens: The Complete Works of Shunmyo Masuno, Japan's Leading Garden Designer

I feel that the writer compiler could have used the plan layouts more effectively i.e. used annotation/names on the garden sketches instead of trying to describe the layout of how one sub-garden leads to the next which is tiresome most times (a picture/sketch says a thousand words), possibly concentrating more on the designers thoughts and use of certain elements etc. Having said this, however this book is deeply provocative, and leaves me, a wanabee designer, in awe. I'd say this book is a must.

Stunning 😍

This is one of the best books of garden landscape that I ever read. There is a lot in this book: introduction of Japanese gardens, small and big projects in traditional style, gardens in modern style, all created by Zen Master Shunmyo Masuno. Every garden in this book have a drawing plan and great pictures. Beautiful descriptions + interview +more...

Masuno is a master of his arts, gardening and Buddhism. Very pleasant and interesting window into a mind and work of a master. Highly recommended. His book on zen life is a must read too.

Even though the book is not a kind of "how to build a Zen garden" one, it is a good source of inspiration for somebody who wants to have this type of relaxation feature in his house and looks for original (Japanese, not occidental style) ideas. The quality of the pictures and the book in general is outstanding. I enjoy to read it once in a while. The book itself is an excellent piece of decoration on any coffee table.

Japanese gardening is a wonderful art form that celebrates simplicity, creativity and nature. The work of Shunmyo Masuno, perhaps Japan's leading garden designer, is superbly showcased in this beautiful work. The photographs are both inspiring and gorgeously presented. Importantly, the text adds detail about the highlighted gardens that is enlightening and thoughful. As a Japanese garden enthusiast, this book has a special spot in my book collection. I highly recommend purchasing it.

I purchased this as a gift for my boyfriend, it was exactly as I was expecting it to be. The book is in excellent shape, it is well written, and the pages are absolutely gorgeous. I would recommend this to anyone!

Beautiful book. We leave it on the coffee table and it's inspired us to create our own little version of "Zen" at our own home in Los Angeles.

Leider sind gute Bücher über "echten" Zen Landschaftsbau in Deutschland schwer zu bekommen. Um so schöner, dass dieses Buch in englischer Sprache das komplette Schaffen von Shunmyo Masuno, dem letzten echten Zen-Gärtner Japans beschreibt. Insbesondere seine Wassergärten sind von atemberaubender Schönheit und Eleganz. Er schaft wie kein Anderer einen Spagat zwischen klassischer japanischer Gartenbaukunst und moderner Architektur. Das Buch zeigt in vielen Fotos die Eindrücke seines Schaffens.

beautiful book. love the placements of the large rocks.

This is a beautiful book. The Masuno gardens are discussed in lovely detail with some excellent photography. A slight criticism i have is that some of the photographs are clearly taken very soon after the completion of the garden so there has been no time for any kind of maturity of planting or character to set in. What I really liked was an interview with Masuno where he talks about his design philosophy which is a fascinating read. I'm not completely 'there' with some of Masuno's gardens, the stones are fresh and sharp and clearly show signs of the quarry they have been wrested from so some of these are very contemporary and I'm sure are going to need a century of use and wear to achieve anything like a good form. I felt the need to go back to my Sakuteiki frequently when reading the book to consider the use of stones as I did find some of the newness and emptiness very challenging to contemplate. I know I'm going to spend hours poring over the photographs again and again because they are so rich in detail and wisdom. If you are new to these ideas read the Sakuteiki first or look at Motomi Oguchi's guide first.

Le moine paysagiste Shunmyo Masuno réalise des jardins exceptionnels. Ils sont à la foistrès modernes, d'avant-garde, mais s'inspirent, comme le confirme leur créateur, des conceptsdu zen et de l'art des jardins paysages japonais traditionnels. Masuno est également professeurdans des universités hors du Japon et réalise ses jardins au Japon, dans des temples, des édificespublics ou privés, et de même dans le monde entier. Les photographies et le texte permettent de biencomprendre cet artiste justement célèbre dans le monde entier.

Excellent book if you want a better understand on Japanese gardens