Space and Spirit in Modern Japan

• Main Author: Greenbie, Barrie B
• Format: Book
• Language: English
• Published: New Haven Yale University Press 1988
• Subjects: Landscape assessment > Japan; Environmental psychology; Landscape architecture > Japan
• Online Access: Click Here to View Status and Holdings.
• Item Description: Includes index
• Physical Description: xii, 195 pages illustrations 29 cm
• ISBN: 0300041225

Tokyo, Kyoto, Kobe-such Japanese cities evoke in many people images of graceful shrines, delicate gardens, and crowded colorful streets. For others, Japan conjures up visions of cars, cameras, and computers. What is most evident from these two opposing views is Japan's extraordinary capacity to absorb the advanced cultural and technical ways of other peoples without giving up its own traditions in the process. In this insightful book, urban designer Barrie B. Greenbie asks how the Japanese can be so up-to date and so traditional at the same time. He finds the answer in the way they structure their private and public spaces. Pairing his written observations with hundreds of lively and informative photo graphs, he explores traditional Japanese homes with their walled-in gardens and ambience of pri vacy and security, contrasting these with the freely accessible and varied public spaces of major Japa nese cities. He then discusses parks and agricul tural lands, considering the Japanese concept of nature and their various programs to preserve pub lic "green space" in both urban and rural areas.