Synopses

Shunmyo Masuno is one of the most important garden artists of our times. The 50 year old Professor of Garden Design lives in Yokohama, Japan's second largest city. He is an 18th Generation Zen Priest, and the last such priest engaged in garden layout. His gardens are inspired by the great Japanese and Buddhist traditions. Still, the Zen Monk has not withdrawn behind cloister walls. His garden designs can be seen in such metropolitan centers as Tokyo and Yokohama. It is Masuno's intention that these modern, contemporary gardens offer stressed city inhabitants a place of quiet, an oasis for contemplation. For Shunmyo Masuno the layout and positioning of the stones is the decisive act in the creation of a garden.