Post by Noriko on Jan 8, 2011 15:02:40 GMT -5
A translation of the gardening treatise bundled with five essays on various aspects of Heian era life and how they impacted gardening at the time (as well as several appendices), "Sakuteiki: Vision of the Japanese Garden" might not be of immediate utility to the reenactor but does a fantastic job in giving the reader a broad and beautiful picture of what nature and gardens meant to Heian era aristocrats.
The essays cover various topics including Buddhism, taboos, and geomancy that influence not only gardening but peoples' lives. The book is copiously footnoted (almost to the book's detriment making it a wee slow in reading and the text itself has a few weird logic jumps) and is jam-packed full of information and lots of really pretty color and black and white pictures.
4 stars, B+
Amazon Link
The essays cover various topics including Buddhism, taboos, and geomancy that influence not only gardening but peoples' lives. The book is copiously footnoted (almost to the book's detriment making it a wee slow in reading and the text itself has a few weird logic jumps) and is jam-packed full of information and lots of really pretty color and black and white pictures.
4 stars, B+
Amazon Link