Mirei Shigemori - Rebel in the Garden: Modern Japanese Landscape Architecture

by Christian Tschumi

The first profound depiction of the great reformer of Japanese garden design in the twentieth century Mirei Shigemori decisively shaped the development of Japanese landscape architecture in the twentieth century. He founded the Kyoto Garden Society in 1932 and published the 26-volume Illustrated Book on the History of the Japanese Garden in 1938. One year later he designed his own first masterwork, the garden of the main hall of T???fuku-ji Temple. Between then and his death in 1975, he went on to design 240 gardens ... Read More

The first profound depiction of the great reformer of Japanese garden design in the twentieth century Mirei Shigemori decisively shaped the development of Japanese landscape architecture in the twentieth century. He founded the Kyoto Garden Society in 1932 and published the 26-volume Illustrated Book on the History of the Japanese Garden in 1938. One year later he designed his own first masterwork, the garden of the main hall of T???fuku-ji Temple. Between then and his death in 1975, he went on to design 240 gardens throughout Japan. Among the most famous are the Tenrai-an tea garden (1969) and the Matsuo Taisha garden (1975). All of his gardens are distinguished by the fact that they honor tradition while at the same time - through their openness to Western modernity - they free themselves from its weight and develop a language of their own. The first part of the book will deal with Shigemori's life and influences, including his interest in ikebana and tea ceremonies. The second part will offer detailed presentations of some seventeen different gardens. Mirei Shigemori pr???gte ma???geblich die Entwicklung der japanischen Landschaftsarchitektur im 20. Jahrhundert. Seit den 1920er Jahren t???tig, gr???ndete er 1932 die Kyotoer Gartengesellschaft und publizierte 1938 das 26-b???ndige Werk Illustrated Book on the History of the Japanese Garden .Ein Jahr sp???terentwarf er sein erstes eigenes Meisterwerk, den Garten bei der Haupthalle des T???fuku-ji Tempels. Von da an gestaltete er 240 G???rten in ganz Japan bis zu seinem Tod 1975; zu den ber???hmtesten geh???ren der Teegarten Tenrai-an (1969) und der Matsuo Taisha-Garten (1975). Kennzeichen seiner G???rten ist, dass sie die Tradition ehren und sich zugleich - in der ???ffnung gegen???ber den Einfl???ssen der westlichen Moderne - von dem Althergebrachten durch eine eigene Sprache l???sen. Der erste Teil des Buches wird sich mit dem Leben Shigemoris und den Einfl???ssen auf sein Werk auseinandersetzen. Dabei wird auch seine Auseinandersetzung mit Ikebana und Teezeremonien eine Rolle spielen. Der zweite Teil wirdetwa 17 G???rten ausf???hrlich darstellen. Read Less