BOOKS OF INTEREST
THE JAPANESE GARDEN
This book isn’t so much a “how-to” for Japanese gardens as a “why”. Short essays shine light on individual gardens, while longer pieces examine philosophical and other issues of design. Even the book’s cover invites contemplation: a die-cut circle in the deep green cover reveals a peach title page beneath. The circle theme recurs in the book: In on photograph, taken inside a Kyoto meditation hall, a circular window frames a view of lush trees outside “According to Buddhist philosophy” notes Walker “the Window of Enlightenment forms a perfect circle, which, with no beginning and no end, simultaneously points in all directions.”