Japanese tea garden at Golden Gate Park
Encyclopedia
The Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco
, California
, is a popular feature of Golden Gate Park
, originally built as part of a sprawling World's Fair, the California Midwinter International Exposition of 1894
. For more than 20 years San Francisco Parks Trusts' Park Guides have given free tours to San Francisco Parks trust members, providing context and history for this historic Japanese-style garden.
The oldest public Japanese garden
in the United States
, this complex of many paths, ponds and a teahouse features native Japanese and Chinese plants. The gardens 5 acres (2 ha) contain many sculptures and bridges.
, a Japanese immigrant and gardener, approached John McLaren
with the idea to convert the temporary exhibit into a permanent park. Hagiwara personally oversaw the building of the Japanese Tea Garden and was official caretaker of the garden from 1895 to 1925. He specifically requested that one thousand flowering cherry trees be imported from Japan, as well as other native plants, birds, and the now famous goldfish. His family lived in and maintained the Japanese Tea Garden until 1942, when Executive Order 9066
forced them to leave San Francisco and relocate to an internment camp with thousands of other Japanese American families. The garden was renamed the 'Oriental Tea Garden', and the garden fell into disarray.
In 1949, a large bronze Buddha, originally cast in Tajima, Japan in 1790, was presented to the garden by the S & G Gump Company. The name 'Japanese Tea Garden' was officially reinstated in 1952. In 1953 the Zen Garden, designed by Nagao Sakurai
and representing a modern version of kare sansui (a dry garden which symbolizes a miniature mountain scene complete with a stone waterfall and small island surrounded by a gravel river) was dedicated at the same time as the 9000 pounds (4,082.3 kg) Lantern of Peace, which was purchased by contributions from Japanese children and presented on their behalf as a symbol of friendship for future generations.
Nagao Sakurai also redesigned the area in front of Tea House.
The first evidence of fortune cookie
s in the United States is in connection with this tea garden. The descendants of Makoto Hagiwara
lay claim to introducing the fortune cookie to the United States from Japan. Visitors to the garden were served fortune cookies made by a San Francisco bakery, Benkyodo.
It is now known that fortune cookies originated in Japan as early as 1878.
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, is a popular feature of Golden Gate Park
Golden Gate Park
Golden Gate Park, located in San Francisco, California, is a large urban park consisting of of public grounds. Configured as a rectangle, it is similar in shape but 20% larger than Central Park in New York, to which it is often compared. It is over three miles long east to west, and about half a...
, originally built as part of a sprawling World's Fair, the California Midwinter International Exposition of 1894
California Midwinter International Exposition of 1894
The California Midwinter International Exposition of 1894, commonly referred to as the "Midwinter Exposition" or the "Midwinter Fair", was a World's Fair that operated from January 27 to July 5 in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. In 1892, U.S. President Benjamin Harrison appointed M. H...
. For more than 20 years San Francisco Parks Trusts' Park Guides have given free tours to San Francisco Parks trust members, providing context and history for this historic Japanese-style garden.
The oldest public Japanese garden
Japanese garden
, that is, gardens in traditional Japanese style, can be found at private homes, in neighborhood or city parks, and at historical landmarks such as Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines and old castles....
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, this complex of many paths, ponds and a teahouse features native Japanese and Chinese plants. The gardens 5 acres (2 ha) contain many sculptures and bridges.
History of the Tea Garden
After the conclusion of the World's Fair, Makoto HagiwaraMakoto Hagiwara
Baron was a Japanese American immigrant and landscape designer responsible for the creating and maintaining the Japanese Tea Garden at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, California from 1895 until his death in 1925...
, a Japanese immigrant and gardener, approached John McLaren
John McLaren
John McLaren is the name of:*John McLaren , built Golden Gate Park*John McLaren, Lord McLaren , Scottish Liberal MP and judge*John McLaren , Australian cricketer...
with the idea to convert the temporary exhibit into a permanent park. Hagiwara personally oversaw the building of the Japanese Tea Garden and was official caretaker of the garden from 1895 to 1925. He specifically requested that one thousand flowering cherry trees be imported from Japan, as well as other native plants, birds, and the now famous goldfish. His family lived in and maintained the Japanese Tea Garden until 1942, when Executive Order 9066
Executive Order 9066
United States Executive Order 9066 was a United States presidential executive order signed and issued during World War II by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942 authorizing the Secretary of War to prescribe certain areas as military zones...
forced them to leave San Francisco and relocate to an internment camp with thousands of other Japanese American families. The garden was renamed the 'Oriental Tea Garden', and the garden fell into disarray.
In 1949, a large bronze Buddha, originally cast in Tajima, Japan in 1790, was presented to the garden by the S & G Gump Company. The name 'Japanese Tea Garden' was officially reinstated in 1952. In 1953 the Zen Garden, designed by Nagao Sakurai
Nagao Sakurai
- Notable designs :*Tea Garden, City of San Mateo.*Nishinomiya Japanese Garden, in the Manito Park and Botanical Gardens, Spokane, Washington, 1967*Zen Garden and area in front of Tea House, both within the Japanese Tea Garden of Golden Gate Park, in San Francisco...
and representing a modern version of kare sansui (a dry garden which symbolizes a miniature mountain scene complete with a stone waterfall and small island surrounded by a gravel river) was dedicated at the same time as the 9000 pounds (4,082.3 kg) Lantern of Peace, which was purchased by contributions from Japanese children and presented on their behalf as a symbol of friendship for future generations.
Nagao Sakurai also redesigned the area in front of Tea House.
Fortune cookies and the Tea Garden
Fortune cookie
A fortune cookie is a crisp cookie usually made from flour, sugar, vanilla, and oil with a "fortune" wrapped inside. A "fortune" is a piece of paper with words of faux wisdom or a vague prophecy...
s in the United States is in connection with this tea garden. The descendants of Makoto Hagiwara
Makoto Hagiwara
Baron was a Japanese American immigrant and landscape designer responsible for the creating and maintaining the Japanese Tea Garden at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, California from 1895 until his death in 1925...
lay claim to introducing the fortune cookie to the United States from Japan. Visitors to the garden were served fortune cookies made by a San Francisco bakery, Benkyodo.
It is now known that fortune cookies originated in Japan as early as 1878.
External links
- Japanese Tea Garden Website
- Tea Garden's radiant foliage invites quiet reflection
- Makoto Hagiwara and San Francisco's Japanese Tea Garden John Tambis, Pacific Horticulture Magazine, vol 45,number 1 Spring,1984