M28E, Nagoya

Kenji Furukawa

Whilst in Kyoto I visited the Modern Zen Garden, which was a beautiful space with water features and an area for Geisha performance (see below). I got in touch with Kenji Furukawa through Takeshi and spent a very busy day with him visiting his studio and several of his landscapes. His gardens are very traditional Japanese Zen Gardens which are very beautiful and peaceful. He uses traditional materials and techniques such as woven bamboo and raked pebbles. I had a go at the traditional method of bamboo splitting, Kenji made it look much simpler than it actually was!

Modern Zen Garden, Kyoto

Splitting Bamboo at Kenji's Home

For more information visit m28e@orihime.ne.jp

Landscape Architecture and Garden Design Meeting, Tokyo

Whilst in Tokyo I attended a design meeting in Showa Kinen Park. Landscape architects, garden designers, graphic designers and landscape architecture students from the University of Tokyo attended. This was a fantastic opportunity to meet some really interesting people although slightly difficult with the language barrier. We spent the day BBQing, looking through everybodies portfolios and in the evening went for a traditional Japanese meal. I particularly liked the work of Japan Lanscape Consultants, Life Landscape Planning, Yamagiwa Musouen and Katsunori Ogura.

N-Tree, Tokyo

Illusive Space

Takeshi Nagasaki is a Fine Artist and Landscape Architect who lives and works in Japan. His work has been shown in magazines such as Brutus and photographed by Michael Freeman. His home is his studio and it also became a gallery as he talked me through his current projects. His work is mainly small scale private gardens in a traditional Japanese style with a contemporary twist. Due to the lack of space in much of Japan's urban areas, the majority of people only own a small balcony or terrace. Much of his work deals with this small scale and he works with an intricate amount of detail and high level of quality. This was a real highlight of my trip to Japan. In May Takeshi hopes to hold an exhibition in London which will be well worth taking a look at!

Tomb Garden

Sculptures in Takeshi's House

Garden Inside the Cave of Iron Composition

To view more of his work visit www.n-tree.jp