{"product_id":"the-imperial-gardens-of-japan-sento-gosho-katsura-shugakuin-9780834815070","title":"The Imperial Gardens of Japan: Sento Gosho  Katsura  Shugaku-in","description":"\u003cp\u003eFrom the front flap of this 290 page book: \"More than three centuries ago  when Kyoto was the capital of Japan  three magnificent gardens were created for the imperial court - gardens intended for such elegant pastimes as tea ceremonies  poetry contests  and moon-viewing parties and  in general  for the appreciation of nature in its various manifestations and moods. Today these three gardens - those of the Sento Imperial Palace  the Katsura Detached Palace  and the Shugaku-in Detached Palace - are among the most celebrated in Japanese garden art  and here  for the first time in a book designed for Western readers  their beauty is revealed in striking photography and intimate detail. All of the gardens were designed to a great extent by members of the court; all are much larger than the average Japanese garden; all are stroll gardens in which the visitor is charmed by an almost endless succession of delightful views; and all date from the middle seventeenth century  when the stroll garden emerged into prominence. Emperors and princes  deprived of all political power by the ruling shoguns  turned to artistic pursuits  among them the art of garden design. Today these gardens  reverently preserved and universally admired  stand as monuments to their discriminating taste  outshining all surviving gardens created by the military rulers and their vassals. Through the photographs and the accompanying essays the reader is invited not only to see these gardens in a variety of seasons and moods  but also to have a look at their history and the distinguishing features of their construction and design: the ponds  waterfalls  and streams; the bridges and islands; the teahouses; the steppingstones  paths and lanterns; ornamental rockwork; the trees and shrubbery  but more important than this  it conveys the spirit of the gardens themselves and the aesthetic philosophy that went into their making.\"\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45652315635765,"sku":"ByrdShop_0834815079","price":279.79,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780834815070.jpg?v=1781851134","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-imperial-gardens-of-japan-sento-gosho-katsura-shugakuin-9780834815070","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}