Nibei Foundation’s Japan Study Club Lecture Series
Japanese Gardens by Dr. Takeo Uesugi 6·23·09
Presenter: Dr. Takeo Uesugi, Professor Emeritus of Landscape Architecture at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
Theme: The beauty of Japanese traditional garden
This Summary was completed by Cultural News
About Dr. Takeo Uesugi
Dr. Takeo Uesugi is a Professor Emeritus at CSU, Pomona and President of Takeo Uesugi Associates. His landscape architecture practice focuses on Japanese gardens.
He came to the United States in 1965 and earned a MLA, Master’s of Landscape Architecture in 1967 from the University of California at Berkeley. He returned to Japan and taught landscape architecture at Kyoto University from 1969 to 1970.
He then returned to the United States in 1970 to teach at Cal Poly Pomona and became a full professor in 1982. He also earned a PhD in Landscape Architecture from Kyoto University in 1981.
While teaching at Cal Poly, he was asked to design some Japanese gardens for a number of clients. From these simple beginnings, he soon began to specialize in California-style Japanese gardens. His future was laid out for him at that time. He would soon be recognized for his genius and talent in the creation of unique and beautiful Japanese gardens on US soil.
Some of his most notable projects include Japan Pavilion at the Expo ’70 in Osaka; the City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, California; Hotel Nikko (now Grand Hyatt Hotel) in Atlanta, Georgia; San Diego Japanese Friendship Garden ; Washington Center in Washington D.C.; George and Sakaye Aratani Japanese Garden at Cal Poly Pomona; and the James Irvine Garden at the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center in Los Angeles, California.
He was most notably honored and recognized for the James Irvine Garden with the presentation of the National Landscape Award by First Lady Nancy Reagan in 1981 at the White House. This garden is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful settings in the greater LA area.
Japan Study Club Lecture
Dr. Uesugi shared his many slides with the audience as he explained how the present elements in a Japanese garden have evolved and how they have been so influenced from as early as prehistoric times. He explained how Japanese aesthetics evolved from a historical, topographical, and cultural base.
He discussed the differences among Chinese, Korean, and Japanese Gardens by using the mountain and water form in the garden as follows: Chinese garden as more picturesque and poetic, Korean garden as more idealistic and geometric, and Japanese garden as more symbolic and abstract.
Concepts of Hinduism, Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism were beought from the continent to Japan, and made a major impact on Japanese culture, thinking and art.
Dr. Uesugi presented slides of three famous Japanese gardens to illustrate the basic Japanese garden principles of beauty, shape and form.
1.) Saihoji Temple, Moss Garden, was a representation of enlightened world by Muso Kokushi. It became a model of two famous temple gardens such as Kinkakuji and Ginkakuji.
2.) Kinkakuji, the Golden Pavilion in Kyoto which is a Zen Buddhist temple. This three-story building is surrounded by a magnificent strolling garden. The pond has strategically placed trees and stones with a mountain background.
3.) Ryoanji Temple, Kyoto, is famous for the dry landscape Zen stone garden. It consists of a flat, rectangular surface of raked white sand in which fifteen rocks are laid out in simplicity.
In Japan, where 71% is mountains, geography and climate dictate much of how a garden would be set up. Dr. Uesugi traced Japan through its historical periods and showed the evolution of Japanese aesthetic principles.
Highlights where the Jomon Period (prehistoric to 4th century B.C.); Yayoi Period (5th century B.C. to 3rd century A.D.); Haniwa figures (3rd to 6th century A.D.); Nara Period (3rd-7th century); Heian Period (late 7th century to early 11th century); Kamakura Period (11th –13th century); artist Sesshu and Zen influences on art.
He concluded with stating the four basic concepts of a Japanese garden.
1.) Form-Natural seasons, accompanying flowers, and architecture all to conform to its environment.
2.) Composition-Architecturally a 2-dimensional life pattern with a function. Space is a function of life itself and therefore a garden itself also has a function.
3.) Wabi, Sabi and Shibui-A simple and silent elegance and serenity in tune with nature. The tea ceremony and haiku are examples of this principle.
4.) Borrowed Scenery-Scenes brought in from other area both geographically, aesthetically and emotionally.
Dr Uesugi says that a Japanese garden in the United States, though it has many of the basic Japanese elements, is transformed as it crosses the sea to America and mixes thus with American attributes.
The Japanese garden of Japan cannot just be duplicated in America. The American version of the garden must be reflected in its new environment.
Just as culture never remains stagnant, the Japanese garden in America will also undergo changes with the passing of time. New times and trends will accompany new changes for the Japanese garden also.
Dr. Uesugi’s philosophy and approach is unique. He incorporates Japanese design principles with contemporary western landscape that results in a wonderful balance that takes the best of both Japanese cultural and American cultural concepts.
The evening concluded with a question regarding the present water crisis and its ecological ramifications and influence on the future of the Japanese garden in America.
He agreed these are all basic considerations that have to be taken into account when planning and developing of the Japanese garden.
June 23, 2009, Japan Study Club
Dinner: 6:30PMPresentation: 7:30PM
Japanese gardens are an international phenomenon. Prized for their artful beauty and associated with feeling of serenity and peace, more than 250 public Japanese gardens have been built in North America alone.
Born in Osaka as the 14th generation of garden builder’s family, Dr. Takeo Uesugi choose to become an landscape architect in Japan, and moved to Southern California in 1970s as exchange teacher to Cal Poly Pomona from Kyoto University.
Dr. Uesugi, one of most renowned Japanese garden designers in North America, has worked numerous Japanese gardens such as Japanese American Cultural and Community Center’s James Irvine Garden, San Diego Tech Center, and the Japanese Friendship Garden of San Diego.
Dr. Uesugi recently received “Lifetime Achievement Award” at the International Conference on Japanese Gardens Outside of Japan.