Japanese Art of Stone Appreciation bookcovers

A New Zealand friend living in Tokyo asked about obtaining a book to share with his girlfriend, who is anxious to learn about stone collecting. I checked the usual sources for a copy of The Japanese Art of Stone Appreciation (Covello/Yoshimura) & find that a new edition is being released in September. Surprisingly, the author of the forward in the to-be-released edition is given billing with Covello & Yoshimura, and the book is advertised with slightly fewer pages.

From the covers of each edition, it appears Tuttle's (or Periplus's) artists never cracked open the book since the earliest edition. Illustrated left-to-right: the hardcover dustjacket (earliest edition), the first paperback cover, the next-release paperback cover (a land & water penjing!)...

Chris,

The cover on my paperback copy is muted green vertical lines with a wonderful mountain stone pictured. I'm appalled that the book's editors could accept a Chinese penjing cover for a hardcover book on Japanese stone art. Where are the representatives for the authors and could they be as ignorant of the difference in art forms?
When you referred to Periplus , is this a new publisher ?

I wonder if the change will also involve the paperback publications and if not ,this would be a better choice for your friend from New Zealand.

Norma

Hi again,

The additional author who writes the foreword to the new edition is Sonja Arntzen . I tried finding the Arntzen' Foreword which Amazon is already advertising but it was not shown in its page reviews.

So I looked for Sonja Arntzen and here is a brief description:

http://www.poetrygabriola.com/archives/2007/Artist%27s%20Bios.htm

Stone expert? Leaves me wondering.... ??

Norma

Japan's best-known rock website http://www.suiseki-assn.gr.jp/

Hi Norma... The subtitle is "Suiseki & Its Use with Bonsai." In Chapter 5, Yuji promoted traditional planted-on & clinging-to rock planting bonsai as well as innovative (in modern practice) miniature tray scenes using stones with ground cover & miniature tree plantings. The authors noted that "the combination (stone + bonsai) takes on additional life & beauty (p.89)." Periplus Editions (HK), Ltd. will distribute the book under its U.S. subsidiary "Tuttle (Classics)" imprint.

The jury is out on Sonya. The Periplus book summary notes that incorporating suiseki & bonsai creates, "the most popular and rewarding complement to a peaceful suiseki landscape." The full sentence is a bit oddly constructed, but we can catch the publisher's drift conveying the authors' intent.

Hi Deng... The Japanese Meihinten suiseki exhibit is starting, today, at the Meiji Shrine in Tokyo. Perhaps, my friend from New Zealand will be allowed to take photos & share them. It is gracious of you to promote the Japanese suiseki website!

Norma wrote:Hi again,

The additional author who writes the foreword to the new edition is Sonja Arntzen . I tried finding the Arntzen' Foreword which Amazon is already advertising but it was not shown in its page reviews.

So I looked for Sonja Arntzen and here is a brief description:

http://www.poetrygabriola.com/archives/2007/Artist%27s%20Bios.htm

Stone expert? Leaves me wondering.... ??

Norma

Leaves me wondering, too, Norma. It appears she has some reputation as a translator, but then this is a book which was already written and published in English. Let's hope they didn't botch the classic text with ignorant revisions. I know Yuji would never have permitted the irrelevant cover designs of the later editions. He was a very meticulous man.