The Spirit of Japanese Gardens
Japanese civilization places a major emphasis on the art of gardens, which embody ethical, religious, and aesthetic ideals, whether these are places for pleasure, meditation, contemplation, or strolling. Many of these gardens are listed as “exceptional landscape sites” under the Cultural Property Protection Act, and some are even listed as World Heritage Sites.
For a long time, this complex art was passed down by initiation from master to disciple, although manuals appeared as early as the year 1000. Drawing on different sources, from Shintoism, Taoism, Buddhism, geomancy and Chinese gardens, to later Zen Buddhism and the aesthetics of the tea ceremony, Japanese gardens have taken on different forms over the centuries.
This photography exhibition by Frédéric Soreau presents the different types of Japanese gardens through their design and form: landscaped gardens, moss gardens, Zen gardens, tea gardens, scholarly gardens and contemporary gardens. Presented in color and black and white, the photographs offer a sensitive and contrasting approach to these worlds. The whole constitutes an invitation to contemplation and knowledge, notably through the work of the great landscaper Mirei Shigemori, a major figure in the revival of the Japanese garden in the 20th century.
