LANDSCAPE GARDENING IN JAPAN. by CONDER, Josiah

Tokio 1912,1893, Maruzen.Green cloth,very good,gold stamped, 2 vol.set, index, many illustrations 40 collotype photos by K. Ogawa, tall folio 161+40p. photos, bibliography, plans, neatly rebacked, 26.5 x 36.5 cm. 2nd & BEST EDITION. SCARCE BINDING: The pictorial are gold-stamped with garden illustrations, the backs are blind-stamped as issued. Large size format. *** THE FRONTIS: This was a lovely print done with 80 color woodblocks., highlighted by gold and silver, colors superbly done by T. Tamura. * CONTENTS: Treatise on authentic Japanese garden design & construction. Covering in detail, the history, garden stones, lanterns, pagodas, water basins, garden enclosures, wells, bridges, arbors, ornamental water, garden vegetation & composition. The supplemental volume contains some forty photo collotypes of individual gardens in Japan, superbly photographed by the celebrated Japanese photographer, K. Ogawa. This work is a classic study on the construction and design of Japanese gardens, as well as a photographic essay of some of the best examples throughout Japan. A corner stone of Japanese garden books & teahouse gardens. Always R A R E in the complete two volume set. Volume 1 contains history, garden stones, lanterns, pagodas, water basins, enclosures, wells, bridges, arbors, water use, vegetation, garden composition. An excellent resource. * WHO WAS JOSIAH CONDER: Josiah Conder, the father of Japanese architecture of the many foreign architects invited to Japan in the last quarter of the 19th century, Conder was the man who made the biggest impact on the Japanese. A graduate of the Royal Institute of British Architects, where he was a pupil of William Burgess, Conder was awarded the institute's prestigious Soane Prize in 1876, recognition of his talent and potential. In 1877, aged 25, Conder arrived in Japan, where he served concurrently as professor of architecture at the Imperial College of Engineering, and as consultant to the Building and Repair Division of the Ministry of Public Works. He was to remain in Japan until his death in 1920, devoting his life to modernizing Japan's architectural technology. . Between 1878 and 1907, Conder designed over 50 major Western-style buildings in Tokyo. These included the Tokyo Imperial Museum in Ueno (1881), the largest brick building in Japan of its day, the Kaitakushi Bussan Urisabakijo [1881], a marketplace for selling produce from Hokkaido, and the Rokumeikan state reception hall (1883), a symbol of the Meiji government's Westernizing aspirations. Conder built in a variety of styles, ranging from Gothic to Renaissance to Tudor to Moorish, contributing to the progressive, eclectic appearance of Meiji period architecture while suggesting he was struggling to find a suitable idiom for Japan. For example, the Tokyo Imperial Museum showed Islamic Indian influence, the Kaitakushi building Victorian Gothic tendencies, and the Rokumeikan English Renaissance tastes. . For the Meiji administration, however, which sought a more mainstream European style, Conder's approach proved a little too wide-ranging, and in due course he set up his own firm, although he continued to advise the government. Conder went into private practice in 1888. His commissions included the first Mitsubishi building in the redbrick Marunouchi district of Tokyo [1894], a residence in Yushima for Hisaya Iwasaki [1896] and the Mitsui Club in Mita, used by the Mitsui family for entertaining [1913]. He paid full attention to interiors as well as exteriors, so that these residences were perfectly coordinated, and all his projects bore his distinctive touch. As the Imperial College of Engineering's chief instructor for the Engineering Science Department, Conder organized lessons and delivered lectures. His courses covered everything from ancient Egyptian through Indian to contemporary European architecture, and focused on construction techniques using wood, brick and stone. . Conder also gave demonstrations on site, such as at the Tokyo Imperial Museum, ensuring that he not only taught theory but also gave his students a solid practical training as well. . Many of Condor's pupils went on to become pillars of the Japanese architectural establishment. Among his first group of graduates were Tatsuno Kingo, who designed Tokyo Station, and Toukuma Katayama, responsible for the Akasaka Detached Palace [State Guest House]. * Condor was also a patron of Japanese arts and artists. His high watermark work on Japanese gardens stands today as the pinnacle and a classic on the subject. All of his several titles remain superb reference works on the subjects he loved and devoted his life to. The contribution from his Japanese wife was major. . He encouraged K. Ogawa a famous photographer even at that time to contribute the stunning photos for this book. Please inquire with us for other albums and individual photos by this photographer. *** THE EDITION: The 1912 revised 2 volume edition is the best of the two editions. *** CONDITION: Contents is remarkable clean, and with the tissue guards. The endpapers are quite clean and bright. *** This is a large and heavy set, apropriate packing, insurance and postage apply. * .