往還する日本庭園の文化史 : ジョサイア・コンドルの日本庭園論の考察を中心に
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概要
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Landscape Gardening in Japan (1893), by Josiah Conder (1852_1920), an English architect, is one of the earliest systematic outlines on Japanese gardens published in English. Since its publication, Landscape Gardening in Japan has frequently been referred to by Western authors of Japanese Gardens, including scholars in various fields, essayists, travel writers and so on, and has become a prototype of the study of Japanese gardens in European languages. However, Josiah Conder's writings on Japanese gardens had been disregarded for some while by Japanese scholars of gardens, and it was in the 1930s that a few of them strongly criticized Conder's writings. Since then, Conder's writings have been neglected within their circle, and consequently have hardly been discussed in the academic study of gardens within Japan. On the contrary, Conder as an architect has been studied extensively and his achievement has been recognized in the study of architecture in Japan. It is worth noting that how Conder has been regarded by the Japanese gardens scholars considerably differs from those in the field of architecture and authors who have written about Japanese gardens in the Western countries. Then, where has such difference come from, or in what way has such difference appeared ? The essay will closely look at the Conder's writing on Japanese gardens and the reaction of Japanese scholars of gardens in the 1930s, with reference to the historical contexts in both England and Japan. Conder's writings are more than introduction of Japanese gardens to the readers of the West, in fact, they reflect how the interest toward Japanese gardens had been formed in late 19th century England. In his writings, Conder testifies how gardens in Europe have historically domesticated and adopted different styles from all sorts of various cultures over the centuries. By using the terms such as Picturesque and Chinoiserie, I will clarify the cultural and historical context of how Japanese gardens were perceived in the late 19th Europe. The ways the Japanese scholars reacted to Conder also implies the process in which the academic circle concerning Japanese gardens in the 1930s was constructing a certain value system. That is, the gardens built in or the styles developed in the Muromachi period (1336_1573) were regarded as high art, whereas, those of the Edo period (1603_1867) were considered as mere representation of natural scenery and thus have nearly the same value as the ones of the Muromachi period. The idea of establishing such hierarchical value system arouse from the desire of garden scholars in Japan to establish an authorized history of Japanese gardens which should be comparative to the history of European gardens. This essay will analyze Conder's writings and the reaction of Japanese scholars, and aims to draw a cross-cultural history of Japanese gardens in the late 19th and early 20th century.
- 2010-01-25