The Art of Setting Stones: And Other Writings from the Japanese Garden

Marc Keane is a landscape architect practicing and teaching in Japan, and in this little gem he does an excellent job of explaining the function of the various components in a Japanese garden, and the function of the garden itself. You learn from reading the title essay that in traditional Japan there was no word corresponding to our "garden". Instead, the phrase "the art of setting stones" was used. This is not a technical manual intended to inform the reader on how to create a Japanese garden. Instead, Keane uses his personal observations and experience to give life to the symbolism endemic to the components of a Japanese garden.The book is comprised of eight essays, each examining a different aspect of the garden, such as "Currents", "Boundaries", "Layers", "Trees", and more. And of course, stones. As an example of his approach, he begins the title essay by describing the setting of stones. How he, along with three other men, using all of their strength, work in unison to carry a stone and place it correctly. He moves from this description to explain how the setting of stones relates to earlier traditions, and is an affirmation of community. What I enjoyed so much about the book is that he relates the physical components of the garden to larger aspects of life and our relationship to the natural world and to one another.Keane is both a practitioner and a teacher, and his views are a synthesis of direct experience and academic research. He's clearly a man of deep feeling and his presentation is that of a poet.

Pensive musings.

Weaving together ideas of Japanese garden design and architecture with philosophical musings about ecology, biology and physics this book is a quiet reflective experience. If that's what you are seeking you will be rewarded by the text and the author 's illustrations

As a Japanese garden draws us in to experience its serene, beautiful, and exquisitely designed patterns of rocks, trees, ferns, and water, so does this author who shares how the art of setting stones becomes a state of mind and being for one who lives to create beauty in a natural setting.

Fluid like water. This is a darn good book on Japanese philosophy of garden experience.

The Setting of Stones is a beautiful book to enjoy and to learn from. It has interesting Japanese historical symbolism, a respect for gardens and nature, as it brings serenity in its poetic prose with added philosophical depth. It is a book to have and to keep.

I have long loved this beautiful collection of essays by Marc Peter Keane...drawing from his work and life in Japan. So glad it is now available on Kindle...and will be one of the books our book club will read this year.

Marc Keane is an artist extraordinaire! I thoroughly enjoyed every word, every thought from this garden genius.

Keane explores the meaning of Japanese Garden through a series of poetic personal stories. Each story focuses on different aspects of Japanese Garden design. I read this while travelling in Japan and it was beautiful background text to be reading while visiting gardens. His latest book is s great way to get an overview of Japanese Garden design and this book gives a deeper understanding.

Title misleading. Far from focused on, or anything about the art of setting stones. More a poetic essay sort of about gardens

Very disappointed. This is not at all a book about setting stones but a sort of logorrhoea about JAPAN.

I didn't find this book quite so helpful as I needed more factual account of Japanese gardens

Le contenu de ce livre n'a rien à voir avec son titre -l'art des jardins de pierre japonais -. Il s'agit de textes poétiques.