On September 11th, the Japan Society of Northern California held an online seminar titled "Understanding Japanese Gardens." During the seminar, Steve Beimel, founder of JapanCraft21, explained the genius and techniques behind these internationally recognized treasures and their evolution, with moderation by Steve Pollock, the president of the Japan Society of Northern California.

00:00 Introduction
00:43 Opening
04:49 JapanCraft21 Introduction
06:45 Understanding Japanese gardens and the crafts that make them
07:29 Tenryu-ji - How Japanese gardens emulate nature
09:04 Agenda
09:18 Breaking down the Japanese understanding of gardens
10:18 The history of Japanese gardens
13:14 Types of Japanese gardens
16:47 Basic elements of Japanese gardens
28:36 Concepts and techniques of Japanese gardens
45:50 Tenryu-ji - How Japanese gardening techniques come together
48:20 Overview of program
48:54 Crafts and JapanCraft21
52:48 Q&A Introduction
53:58 How have Japanese gardens evolved?
55:47 Who is the master craftsman of a Japanese garden and how are they trained?
59:23 What is the state of garden design in Japan today?
01:01:29 How have Japanese garden techniques spread globally?
01:03:29 What gardening innovations appeared after the Meiji era?
01:05:15 Does tourism support Japanese gardens or hurt them?
01:07:42 Despite inspiring Japanese gardens, why are Chinese gardens lesser-known?
01:09:45 How many of these gardens are public?
01:11:19 Which crafts from JapanCraft21 are most popular?
01:13:32 Has JapanCraft21 considered training tour guides on crafts knowledge to support craftsmanship?
01:16:34 Where/when can I observe pruning?
01:17:44 How do you find Japanese gardens outside of Japan?
01:18:41 Steve Beimel's closing remarks
01:20:32 Upcoming JSNC events

Interested in more events? Check out upcoming Japan Society events here: https://www.usajapan.org/events/

#arts #gardens #japan #japanesegardens #japaneseculture #JapanCraft21