Of Arcs and Circles: Insights from Japan on Gardens, Nature, and Art

by Marc Peter Keane

From his vantage point as a garden designer and writer based in Kyoto, Marc Peter Keane examines the world around him and delivers astonishing insights through an array of narratives.

How the names of gardens reveal their essential meaning. A new definition of what art is. What trees are really made of. The true meaning of the enigmatic torii gate found at Shinto shrines. Why we give flowers as gifts. The essential, underlying unity of the world.

Genres: Art, Japanese Literature, Japan, Essays, Nonfiction

180 pages, Paperback

Published November 16, 2021

Reviews

[Reading_ Tamishly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review coming up

[David Wineberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of Arcs and Circles is an essay collection with a twist. The essays are not political. They hold no ulterior motive. There are no beginnings or endings. There are no messages, motives, goals or conclusions. There are no characters to follow. No psychological studies are cited. There are no climaxes. Nothing ever happens. And despite all, it is a warm, comfortable and calming read.

Marc Peter Keane doesn’t explain himself, but occasional clues make him out to be an American from the northeast, whose fascination with Japanese gardens took him to Kyoto, where he has been living quite happily for about 20 years. He seems to know the language and the culture inside out, and his garden designs impress even the Japanese. He is successful, confident, calm and married, with one son. His wife likes to make pottery, while he is all about garden design.

The book can be a little confusing at times because there is no date or location information. So an essay that actually takes place in New York City only reveals itself as such well into it. Then it’s right back in Kyoto, with no indication of that at all.

The essays can be about a daydream, meeting someone for coffee or tea, the social structure of termite society, the temporary nature of wood buildings in Kyoto, or the infinitesimally fine disciplines of serving tea or making flower arrangements. And gardens: lots on plants, rocks, sands and trees.

One of the essays, right in the middle of the book, actually takes a position. It’s the only one that does, so it sticks out. It’s a rant on art, and Keane’s take on what art is. The title is There is no such thing as art, if that’s any help. “There is no art in the gallery I had visited, none in any museum or private collection, because art is an emotion not a thing… The real art happened inside the artist.“ But there are works of art, he says. It is their job to transmit what went on inside the artist’s mind and body, where the art developed. He waxes nostalgic over craft, the years of training and practice that allow true artists to create perfect works to make the art experience vivid, real and clear. That discipline is vanishing in favor of the quick and dirty in artwork: “(Art) is the skillful manipulation of sensory markers, the control of the aesthetics of a work of art, that can result in the seduction of one’s audience, and it is that moment of enthrallment that is the key to creating a powerful work of art.”

This is most consistent with Keane’s approach to everything. He is all about sensations, visual, tactile, auditory… Every essay is an intimate and intricate description of something. It could be words or insects, water or soil, birds or houses, or the story of torri gates in Japanese temples. Keane doesn’t just see sand, he sees grains of feldspar or sandstone and how they travel in water.

These are long form koans: don’t try to assign meaning to the essays; just let them flow through you. Keane is heavily influenced by eastern philosophy and religions, taking the time to observe and absorb everything around him. It does not have to have meaning, it just is.

Here’s a paragraph to demonstrate all those points:
“Sit watching wasps build their nest out of a dissolved essence that a few seconds before was a screen made of lake reeds. Drift in rivers of cool mountain water that elicit other rivers of drifting thoughts. Sit next to a courtyard garden so small as to defy the name and watch an old stump decompose and grow at the same time. These are the wheels against which I lay myself knowing that will carry me beyond what I have already come to know.”

So, not your average essay collection then.

David Wineberg

[Mira Akbar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely gorgeous and meandering while highly reflective. Short in length, but expansive in feel. Poetic and metaphorical, but grounded in the earth. An embodiment of Tao through the tension of opposites, mixed with the ineffability of life and the art we create. A zen calm amid the "mono no aware" of cycles, traditions, rituals, and seasons. I find no easy way to describe this work except through the intersections of paired descriptors. It's like walking in a garden in silence and beauty while contemplating life and death and everything in between.

[Zuzana Be · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the book I needed right now. A small island of hope in a current tumultuous world.
Marc Peter Keane is a landscape architect who lived almost 20 years in Kyoto, Japan. And since I love Japan (in a healthy way, duh), I just needed to read this book as soon as I discovered it.

Marc's writing style is ideal for short essays. I had a similar feeling of calm while reading, as if to be in a garden itself or strolling around streets, looking for hidden shrines. You know, that feeling of not rushing anywhere, just taking pleasure in surroudings around you.
I would recommend it to anyone who is in need for peace of mind in a book or just generally loves Japan. Although, second half was more personal, I liked his imagination in every situation (casual thinking as you do every now and then, about how would your city looked post-apocalyptic).

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC, this was definitely a catch.

[Kelly Hodgkins · Rating 2 out of 5]

As this book centres on Japanese garden design, I anticipated a book full of images, photos of what has been created. What I received was book full of narrative, short essays on topics. As such, 10% into the philosophising, I put it down. I was looking for garden inspiration and this is not that for me.

[Laura Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautifully written book of short essays, each one focused on one tiny aspect of the author’s world which are broadened out via train-of-thought writing to encompass wider and often unexpected ideas. Marc Peter Keane lives in Japan and he writes a lot about the country, it’s culture and history. I enjoyed observing how he moves from one idea to the other, tying different thoughts together into a cohesive whole. I found it to be a truly fascinating read.

In trying to identify the theme of this book, I found several: the author’s love of the natural world, the cycle of nature, and in some of the essays there is a general feeling of melancholy at how progress leads to a disconnection from nature. This book offers a unique look at Japanese culture and includes an exploration of the simplicity of the tea ceremony, reflections on government policies, the beauty of the environment and the origins of many iconic Japanese symbols such as karesansui gardens and torii gates.

It is not a book to be read quickly, and don’t expect to finish it too soon. Each essay invites you to mull over what you have read, to absorb it fully before moving on to the next one. I enjoyed every word I read in this book and if you enjoy reading well written, thoughtful essays, or if you have an interest in Japanese culture, I definitely recommend this book.

[Farida Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book of insightful essays on the authors experiences as a Westerner living in Japan. Marc Peter Keane is a garden designer and writer based in the city of Kyoto and has an acute sense of all things Japanese. His observations of everyday life enlighten the reader and at times transport you to his vision of the country and its people.
We discover the origins of Japanese symbols and explore the elegance of the tea ceremony and understand why we give flowers as gifts.
A thoughtful book, from an introspective writer. Of Arcs and Circles needs to be read slowly, one essay at a time. The book will appeal to nature lovers and those who enjoy reading about the rich culture of Japan. I highly recommend this book.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading this book, I am in absolute awe over the author's thought process and ability to share that in language that reeks of beauty in inexplicable ways. His view of the natural world and how it intersects with his life is almost beyond comprehension.
This isn't a book that you expect or want to read quickly. You need to stop periodically and consider what you've read and reflect on that which the author has noticed and that you, the reader, have never thought of. His knowledge is also amazing; he must be very well read or educated.
It's a hard book to categorize and I'm not entirely sure who will enjoy reading this--but if you have an interest in nature, Japan, philosophy, life or the insect world, this may be your book.

[Katy Wheatley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a rather lovely book of essays about life in Japan and Keane's observations of the natural world that inform the gardens he makes. Each small essay is accompanied by a zen drawing in ink and he draws parallels between what he observes and his Buddhist practice. It's rather calming on the whole. It's quite a lot less about actual gardens than I imagined from what I read about it, but that's ok.

[Catherine Jue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes a bit contrived, but there were a surprising number of passages that were both surprising and immediately relatable.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Each little section packs a punch--gives readers lots to consider.

[Taina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Esseitä Japanista ja sen luonnosta. Torii-porttien historiasta, kaiken ykseydestä, sammaleisista kivistä. Kuitenkin jätti hetkittäin kylmäksi, liikaa samojen asioiden toistoa.

[GONZA · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this book can not be recommended to everyone, for those who love Japan, Buddhism, rarefied atmospheres and a culture so completely different from ours, this essay really collects a series of situations that more Japanese than this is not possible.

Per quanto questo libro non possa essere consigliato a tutti, per coloro che amano il Giappone, il buddismo, le atmosfere rarefatte e una cultura cosí completamente diversa dalla nostra, questo saggio raccoglie veramente una serie di situazioni che piú giapponesi di cosí non é possibile.

I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.