This is a comprehensive guide to Kyoto’s most important Zen garden and temple sites. Kyoto’s Zen heritage represents one of mankind’s greatest achievements—recognized by the large number which have been declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Millions of visitors travel to Kyoto yearly in search of their secrets, and here for the first time is a comprehensive overview of every major site.
Over 50 Japanese temples and gardens—including all World Heritage Sites—are captured in sensitive photos by acclaimed Kyoto-based photographer John Einarsen. A detailed introduction to each temple by local expert John Dougill includes information about special opportunities for visitors to the temples—such as early morning meditation sessions, temple food offerings and special green tea sets provided to enhance the contemplative experience—along with other “insider” information that no other guide provides.
The foreword by Takafumi Kawakami, the deputy head priest of the respected Shunkoin Temple in Kyoto, serves to place the book in the context of eastern and western Buddhist thought and practice. His widely viewed TED Talk “How mindfulness can help you to live in the present” has been viewed by over 100,000 people.
About the Author:
Author John Dougill is a professor at Ryukoku, Kyoto’s largest Buddhist university. He has written many books about Japan including In Search of Japan’s Hidden Christians, Japan’s World Heritage Sites and Kyoto: A Cultural History. In addition to running the Green Shinto blog, he is the associate editor of Japanese Religions and founder of the “Writers in Kyoto” group. He lives in Kyoto, plays chess and loves to wander the banks of the Kamogawa River.
Photographer John Einarsen is a photographer, designer, curator and founding editor of Kyoto Journal, an international magazine on Japanese and Asian culture established in 1987. His photographs have been published in Kyoto: The Forest Within the Gate and Small Buildings of Kyoto. From 2013-2015 he served as an advisor to the Japan Times and in 2013 received the Commissioner’s Award of the Japanese Cultural Affairs Agency. He lives near Kyoto’s Nanzenji temple.
Zen Gardens and Temples of Kyoto, Tuttle Publishing, ISBN:9784805314012, Hardcover, 2017, Illustrations: full-colour photos throughout, Pages: 144
Japanese Inns and Hot Springs presents the finest ryokans in Japan, from historic properties like Hiiragiya in Kyoto and Kikkaso in Hakone to luxury retreats like Zaborin in Hokkaido and Tenku-no-Mori in Kyushu.
In this Japan travel guide you will find:
The 40 best Japanese ryokan and onsens for English-speaking visitors (including 13 in the Tokyo area and 11 in and around Kyoto and Nara)
A description of the special features of each ryokan and what is included in your stay
Tips on how to choose the right ryokan for you
and practical advice on how to book a stay and a detailed etiquette guide.
Above all else this ryokan guide reveals the enduring traditions of Japanese hospitality, a rich heritage reaching back a thousand years to the time when Japan’s hot spring bathing culture took root. The beautiful properties in this book also illustrate the unique design sensibility for which Japan is so justly renowned.
Indispensable tips on booking a Japanese ryokan that is right for you and reaching each property by train, bus and taxi are provided along with a detailed etiquette guide to staying at a ryokan and bathing in an onsen, as well as descriptions of the special features of each of the inns featured.
About the Author:
Rob Goss is an award-winning British writer and long-term Tokyo resident focusing on Japan, travel writing, and creative writing that ranges from short fiction to short-form poetry. His books include the NATJA award-winning guidebooks Tuttle Travel Pack: Japan, Tokyo: Capital of Cool and Japan: a Traveler’s Companion. Rob has also contributed to books for Fodors, Insight Guides, Dorling Kindersley and Rough Guides, as well as for magazines including Time, National Geographic Travelerand 100 other publications around the globe.
Japanese Inns and Hot Springs, Tuttle Publishing, ISBN:9784805313923, Paperback, 2017, Illustrations:over 300 full-colour photographs, Pages: 240.
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Categories: Book reviews, Buddhism, Chan / Seon / Zen
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