Amano aquariums are a Japanese style minimalistic natural garden under water introduced by Takashi Amano in the glorious 90’s. A celebrated Japanese photographer and designer, Takashi Amano, left behind a legacy of natural aquariums for generations to witness and delve in. His avidness for aquaria and fish keeping culminated into one of the most aesthetic work of art in the form of Aquascaping. Amano drew inspiration from the Wabi Sabi concepts that include creating an appeal through minimalism, simplicity, asymmetry, soberness and roughness. Takashi’s natural terrestrial miniature landscapes were built (in aquariums) by means of Japanese gardening methods (such as Zen rock arrangement) to create the perfect aesthetics using a least amount of plant species unevenly put together with suitable rocks, cave work, driftwood/marine debris and fish species. In short the Japanese style mimics a scene from wilderness and not a bright garden as seen in Dutch style aquascapes.
Behold this remarkable collection of beauty and one of a kind craft! The below images will evoke better insight.
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[Image Credit: all4aquarium.ru]
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[Image Credit: Wongsawan Wetchasit]
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Takashi Amano breathed his last on 4th August 2015 (61 years of age) in Niigata Japan. Although his unique style of plant arrangement amid freshwater aquascapes continues to be cherished and followed globally. Plant material with tiny leaves such as Glossostigma elatinoides, Riccia fluitans, little aquatic ferns, Staurogene repens, Eleocharis parvula, Java moss, and Hemianthus callitichoides are extensively used to look like grass. A limited species of fresh water shrimps are used to keep the growth of algae under control and balance the entire setting. Mr. Takashi also founded the Aqua design Amano Company in the year 1982 that supplied aquatic plant growing apparatus. Amano shrimp is a species of freshwater shrimp named after the great artist himself commonly used as the main feature in freshwater natural aquariums.