Japanese Stone Gardens: Origins, Meaning, Form

Text and Photos by Stephen Mansfield

Foreword by Donald Richie

Wednesday, September 15, 2010 6.30 pm to 8.30 pm

(The speech and Q & A will be in English)

Japanese gardens are often described as imitations or miniaturizations of nature. But in his most recent book "Japanese Stone Gardens: Origins, Meanings, Form," author and photographer Stephen Mansfield reveals that stone gardens attempt to transcend nature rather than replicate nature. Mansfield spotlights the parallels between stone gardens, architecture, photography and design, and how the history of these gardens mirror the social shifts in Japan, from the exclusive to the inclusive, feudal to egalitarian, passing from the private to the public domain.

The book provides a comprehensive introduction to the history of the Japanese stone garden by examining the steps in its development. These include the instinctive use of rock and sand arrangements as props in animistic rituals conducted in the depths of sacred groves; their appropriation by Zen monks and priests as aesthetic tools incorporating Buddhist principals and concepts for meditation and contemplation; to their current usage and meaning.

Both the text and visuals examine the cultural context, highlighting the way in which the finest garden designers have cultivated stone landscapes as an expression of high art and connoisseurship. The book's insights into and analysis of complex design principles is moderated by simple examples and illustrations that create a cultural and sensory, rather than burdensomely intellectual reading experience.

Englishman Stephen Mansfield first came to Japan in the late 1980s. His photojournalism work has appeared in over 60 magazines, newspapers and journals worldwide. To date he has had sixteen books published, four of them on the culture and people of Laos. He is also the author of Japan: Islands of the Floating World, the Insight Pocket Guide to Tokyo and Eyewitness Travel Guide Tokyo for Dorling Kindersley. Steve published his China: A Guide to Yunnan Province, now in its second edition. He has contributed to several other Tokyo guides.

A Dinner will be served at a cost of 1,850 yen (including tax). Sign up now at the reception desk (3211-3161) or online at http://www.fccj.or.jp/node/5941. To help us plan proper seating and food　preparation, please reserve in advance, preferably by noon of the day of the event. Those without reservations will be turned away once available seats are filled.

Reservations cancelled less than 24 hours in advance will be charged in full.

Library Committee, THE FOREIGN CORRESPONDENTS' CLUB OF JAPAN