Stephen Mansfield 
100 Japanese Gardens 
The Best Gardens to Visit in Japan

100 Japanese Gardens is an ambitious attempt to profile the finest gardens in Japan, while also highlighting lesser known, but equally accomplished landscapes in less-visited parts of the country.


A celebration of Japanese landscape design, this book features gardens from Kyoto and Tokyo, as well as from the sub-arctic island of Hokkaido and the semi-tropical islands of Okinawa. Author Stephen Mansfield traveled the length and breadth of Japan on a quest to identify the most impressive gardens in this vast and culturally varied archipelago. His erudition and love of the Japanese garden shines through on every page, making this the perfect primer for travel to Japan or an enjoyable armchair read for gardening enthusiasts.


Mansfield’s insightful descriptions of each garden examine design concepts and principles, space management, compositional elements, and the iconographic and metaphysical role of Shinto and Buddhist influences.


Through his exquisite visuals and engaging stories, we experience Japanese garden designs not merely as landscapes, but as large-scale art installations.

About the author

Born in England,
Stephen Mansfield is a nonfiction writer, journalist and photographer. A generalist with specific areas of interest, he has written and photographed extensively on Japanese and Asian subjects. Known for his distinctive writing style, Mansfield, one of the foremost photojournalists in Japan has, in books like
Japanese Stone Gardens, and
Japan’s Master Gardens, established himself as a leading authority in the field. The author of twenty books, including his most recent work
Tokyo: A Biography.