| architecture |
| calligraphy |
| ceramics |
| clothing |
| comics |
| gardens |
| lacquerwork |
| literature |
| movies |
| music |
| painting |
| poetry |
| sculpture |
| tea ceremony |
| television |
| theatre |
| weaponry |
| thematic routes |
| timeline |
| the site |
context: gardens > sources
Japanese Gardens by Gunter Nitschke
This is one of Taschen's wonderful art books - I think they are sometimes disdained because of their mass market production and remainder shop prominence, but they are superb books, always with very high quality text and imagery - we shouldn't think less of their standards because they are easily and cheaply available. This is excellent even by those high standards, genuinely expert and thoughtful and thorough, at least until a slightly skimpy section on modern gardens. You'd have to go a long way to get a better understanding of the ideas, or a better primer for the major phases and styles. Very highly recommended.
See also his excellent architecture and gardens blog.