A man of wide interests, Conder was encouraged by the warm reception given his 1891 Flowers of Japan and the Art of Floral Arrangement to undertake a book on gardening. In preparing the present book, he relied not entirely on his own observations but consulted, and "freely borrowed from," some of the most reliable Japanese sources available at the time, the oldest dating to 1633. The resulting book is the product of a Western, Victorian perspective with access to Japanese authoritative texts.

Conder's study of the Japanese landscape garden led him to conclude that it represented universal qualities that could be applied to gardening anywhere. In addition to a discussion of these broader truths, the book is so finely detailed and so richly illustrated that it still serves today as a guide to modern garden-lovers, whether of a practical or a theoretical bent. The present volume combines the original study with an additional volume of photographs of famous gardens that was published shortly thereafter and entitled Supplement to Landscape Gardening in Japan. The interior of the book has been redesigned and the text newly set for easier reading and viewing.

The book has a new Foreword by Azby Brown and an Afterword by Terunobu Fujimori, providing background information on Conder and putting his accomplishments into perspective.

Jacket Illustration: Yokuon-en Zenzu (detail), National Diet Library. The Yokuon-en garden and villa was constructed by Matsudaira Sadanobu around 1794. (See Conder's description in Chapter 1 under Yoku-on-En.) The present illustration is a copy of an original bird's-eye view commemoratively painted in 1842 after the garden's destruction by fire in 1829.

From the Inside Flap
Contents of the first part of the book, "Landscape Gardening in Japan"; the second part, the "Supplement," has a seperate table of contents

List of Illustrations Introduction

CHAPTER I: HISTORY Origin of Japanese Gardening Earliest Style Kamakura Period Muromachi Period Influence of the Tea Ceremonial Gardens of the Tokugawa Times Tokio Gardens Kioto Gardens Provincial Gardens Descriptions of Fukiage Garden Hama Rikiu Garden Shiba Rikiu Garden Akasaka Rikiu Garden Koishikawa "Koraku En" Garden "Horai En" Garden "Toyama En" Garden "Yoku on En" Garden Okayama "Koraku En" Garden "Hongwanji" Garden

CHAPTER II: GARDEN STONES Special Importance of Garden Stones Scale of Stones Sex of Stones Symbolism of Stones Geological Character Nomenclature Radical Shapes Hill Stones Lake and River Stones Cascade Stones Island Stones Valley Stones Water Basin Stones Tea Garden Stones Stepping Stones

CHAPTER III: GARDEN LANTERNS Origin of Garden Lanterns Employment of Garden Lanterns Materials for Construction Standard Lanterns Varieties and Nomenclature Snow-scene Lanterns Varieties Hanging Lanterns Bronze Lanterns Grouping of Stones with Lanterns

CHAPTER IV: GARDEN PAGODAS Religious Origin of Garden Pagodas Various Shapes of Garden Pagodas Employment in Gardens

CHAPTER V: GARDEN WATER BASINS Relation between Basins and Buildings Use of Garden Basins Different Shapes of Basins and Nomenclature

CHAPTER VI: GARDEN ENCLOSURES Enclosing Walls to Gardens Garden Fences Wooden Fences Bamboo Fences Open Fences Garden Hedges Garden Gateways and Gates Screen Fences

CHAPTER VII: GARDEN WELLS Purpose of Garden Wells Arrangement of Garden Wells Different Forms of Well Frames and Coverings Well Buckets Well Drains

CHAPTER VIII: GARDEN BRIDGES Stone Bridges Wooden Bridges Earth Bridges Rustic Bridges

CHAPTER IX: GARDEN ARBOURS Open Arbours and Summer-houses Closed Arbours Fancy Arbours Position of Arbours

CHAPTER X: ORNAMENTAL WATER Importance of Water in Landscape Gardens Garden Lakes Garden Cascades Garden Rivers and Streams Garden Islands Duck Ponds Drainage

CHAPTER XI: GARDEN VEGETATION Arrangement of Vegetation Trimming of Trees and Shrubs List of Garden Trees, Shrubs, and Plants Evergreens Deciduous Trees and Shrubs Flowering Trees and Shrubs Flowering Plants Creeping Plants Large-leaved Plants

Bamboos, Rushes, and Grasses Selection of Vegetation Limited Use of Flowering Plants Trees and Plants in Relation to Special Positions Proportion of Trees Pollards

CHAPTER XII: GARDEN COMPOSITION Preparatory Training for Designing Out Door Sketching Examination of the Site Methods of Designing Hill Gardens Flat Gardens Tea Gardens Passage Gardens Fancy Gardens

From the Publisher
Foreword (abridged)

Josiah Conder was arguably the central figure in the establishment of modern Western architectural and construction practice in Japan. As a designer, his 50-plus built structures provided tangible models of Western style and thought; as an educator the curriculum he established at the Imperial College of Engineering (now the Department of Engineering at the University of Tokyo) shaped the first native Japanese architects in the technical and theoretical aspects of the craft, and they in turn passed their knowledge on to succeeding generations. And finally, Conder's writings on Japanese architecture and its allied arts had a tremendous influence abroad, appearing at a time when informed first-hand accounts of Japanese buildings and their environments by Westerners were still quite rare. The present volume, Landscape Gardening in Japan, is a reprint of Conder's landmark work, originally published in 1893, some 16 years after his arrival in Japan; this book was revised and reissued in 1912.

It is interesting to keep in mind that a ready audience existed in America and Europe for books of this sort, and indeed its initial popularity is not surprising. The fad of "Japonisme" had been in swing for over a decade by the early 1890s, having been fueled by exhibitions and collections of more portable items, such as ukioye woodblock prints, pottery, and decorative artifacts. But actual buildings and gardens were difficult, if not impossible to see without actually traveling to Japan, a tremendous undertaking a century ago. Written accounts of the Japanese manner of building, occasionally touching on the subject of gardens, had appeared sporadically even before the opening of the country to the West in 1868. Marco Polo, for instance, described Japanese cities as being filled with buildings made of gold, and a handful of Dutch and Portuguese accounts from the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, often published and fancifully illustrated years later in Europe, mention, usually disparagingly, the buildings and gardens encountered. After the Meiji Restoration and the opening of the country, the Japanese government exhibited traditional buildings, often with gardens, at international expositions in Philadelphia in 1876, and in Paris in 1878 -- precursors of a notable contribution sent to the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893 -- and many Westerners were able to get a taste of authentic Japanese design during these events. But if one was deeply interested in Japanese gardens, and wanted to know more, or perhaps wanted to make an authentic one for oneself, there were few sources of good information. Conder's book stepped into this breach.

Prior to this, Conder had written about flowers and flower arranging and contributed articles on Japanese building practice to scholarly journals. And notably, his colleague at the Imperial College, the American zoologist Edwin S. Morse, had published a wonderfully evocative and detailed book entitled Japanese Homes and Their Surroundings in 1886. While biographical details about Conder's personal life and associations are scarce, it can be inferred that the "establishment/academic" Conder was not on particularly close terms with the "populist/romantic" Morse -- for the latter was an architectural amateur, though in the best sense. And yet if the men themselves were not partners, their books definitely are. Morse describes and illustrates a couple of gardens, but the focus of his book is interiors and details, warmly depicted. And though he was unquestionably qualified to do so, Conder never produced a major written work about Japanese architecture, domestic or otherwise. In! Landscape Gardening in Japan, the role of buildings in garden design is noted, and several illustrations feature beautifully depicted teahouses and other structures -- particularly the lithographed plates XXXI and XXXII (by the Japanese artist E. Kojima), whose subtle ochre tinting unfortunately cannot be conveyed in the present edition. But Conder concentrates on comprehensively cataloguing the types of plants, rocks, lanterns, gates, fences, and other features used in gardens proper, and provides a similarly detailed resume of historical and poetic allusion, and of design principles and theory. And as has been mentioned by previous writers, the photographs by K. Ogawa included in the supplement to the original edition form an invaluable record of the appearance and condition of important gardens at the turn of the century.

To the original audience, then, Conder's book could serve as a gardening manual. The illustrations dealing with layout -- such as XXVIII, XXVIX, and XXX -- are schematic enough that the compositional principles outlined in the text can be easily grasped. And the depictions of arbors (XXIV), bridges (such as XXIII), fences (such as XVIII and XIX), lanterns ( V, VI, and VII), and other items are clear and detailed enough to serve as the basis for reproduction. When coupled with the included photographs, and perhaps bolstered by other visual sources, Landscape Gardening in Japan contained enough information to enable a garden designer in the West to create a respectable replica, and undoubtedly it has been used in this fashion time and again.

The present audience, however, is blessed with a greater abundance of sources. Entire shelves can be filled with beautifully illustrated volumes on Japanese gardens -- on Zen gardens, on landscape gardens, on creating Japanese gardens for oneself, on Japanese gardens in many seasons, on small gardens, on the use of water in Japanese gardens, and so on. Japanese gardens are among the most photographed in the world, and any number of large format books, beautifully printed in color, can be found. And yet very few books deal with garden design theory the way Conder's does.

In seeking to explain everything thoroughly, however, Conder sometimes slips into generalizations. No doubt he is describing things as they were presented to him, and he undoubtedly had access to prominent authorities and was able to see almost everything he wanted to for himself. But when he states unequivocally in his introduction that "A garden in Japan is a representation of the scenery of the country, though it is essentially a Japanese representation. Favorite rural spots and famous views serve as models for its composition and arrangement," he is overstating. As he elaborates on this theme, one gets the impression that every Japanese garden is based on actual scenery, or on a specific set of mythical and religious imagery, and this is not the case. He gives proper note to the different degrees of formality -- shin, gyo, so, or "finished," "intermediary," and "rough" -- and to the role of custom and notions of propriety in garden design. He clearly conveys the fact that the best gardens are based on well-established rules. But readers today might detect that Conder was from the outset working against a prevailing popular impression that Japanese gardens were chaotic or freakish, and that he strove to counter these ideas with a somewhat heavy emphasis on rules of order....

Azby Brown

About the Author
Josiah Conder (1852-1920), a graduate of the Royal Institute of Architects, came to Japan at the age of twenty-four to play a role in the modernization of the emerging Japanese state. He served concurrently as a professor of architecture and a consultant to the Japanese government. Between 1878 and 1907 he designed over 50 major buildings in the Tokyo area, which served as models to the rapidly industrializing nation. His name is mentioned in all books dealing with early modern architecture in Japan. The many pupils he taught over the years were to form the first generation of Japanese architects building in the Western style. He remained in Japan until his death and is buried at Gokokuji Temple, Tokyo.

Keywords: Landscape Gardening in Japan, Books, Josiah Conder, Gardening/Plants, Gardening / Horticulture, Gardening, Japanese Gardens - General, Landscape