Japan 10±, China 1: A first attempt at explaining the numerical discrepancy between Japanese-style gardens outside Japan and Chinese-style gardens outside China

Author： Missingham Gregory Kenneth

Publisher： Routledge Ltd

ISSN： 1469-9710

Source： Landscape Research, Vol.32, Iss.2, 2007-04, pp. : 117-146

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Abstract

This paper canvasses explanations for the nearly ten-fold discrepancy between the number of Japanese-style gardens constructed outside Japan and Chinese-style gardens constructed outside China since the 1860s. The East Asian countries' histories of engagement with the West and the purposes for which publicly accessible gardens were built occupy much of the discussion. Various explanations are suggested including access to information about the gardens, Japan's relative economic strength, that of the United States, Canadian attempts after the Second World War to make amends for internments, and the consequences for designers of Chinese-style gardens of Japanese-style gardens having got there first.