Inquiry into and seccession to traditional Japanese Zen gardens

by 1971- Lee, Yoon Jung

The objectives of this thesis are to find the historical origins and backgrounds of traditional Japanese Zen gardens as meditation gardens in the Eastern culture. Based on this academic research, there is a need for a new design criterion to replace the design vocabulary of traditional Japanese Zen gardens, arguments that have been suggested by landscape architects like Isamu Noguchi and Shodo Suzuki who are proponents of modern Zen gardens. According to this modern criterion, the design guidelines are established and applied in planning a modern Japanese Zen garden on the selected site. Therefore, this thesis is largely divided into three parts. First, it is devoted to a study of traditional Japanese Zen gardens. The second part is a proposal for a design criterion that would replace traditional Japanese Zen gardens. Lastly, the methodology in applying these criteria to a specific design project is explained in the final part of this paper.