Descanso Gardens Celebrates 50th Anniversary of the Japanese Garden

The women who served tea in Descanso Gardens' Japanese Garden starting in the 1960s and 1970s reunite.

Descanso Gardens celebrated the 50th anniversary of its Japanese Garden on Wednesday, Oct. 12, with a reunion decades in the making, a bridge rededication ceremony and an art gallery preview. Delighting generations of visitors, the Japanese Garden has become an iconic part of the Descanso Gardens landscape.

Built with the support of the local Japanese American community, the Japanese Garden debuted at Descanso Garden on June 3, 1966. The celebration started Wednesday morning with a reunion of the women who served tea in the Japanese Garden after its opening. “The reunion was one of my favorite parts of our 50th anniversary celebration,” said Descanso Gardens Education Programs Manager Emi Yoshimura. “I was so pleased that, with Mary Matsumoto and Naomi Hirahara as our unofficial hosts, we were able to bring members of this community back together and back to the Japanese Garden. People make the Japanese Garden complete, and these women were, and continue to be, an important part of the story of this special place.”

Tim Morphy, Descanso Gardens board of trustees chair, Akira Chiba, counsel general of Japan in Los Angeles, John Wicker, director of Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation, and David Brown, Descanso Gardens executive director, cut the ribbon for the rededication ceremony of the recently restored Japanese Garden bridge.

Guests were then welcomed with opening remarks by David Brown, Descanso Gardens executive director, Akira Chiba, consul general of Japan in Los Angeles, Tim Morphy, chair of the Descanso Gardens board of trustees, and John Wicker, director of Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation. After a meticulous one-month restoration of the bridge by carpenter Harold Greene in conjunction with the Historic Resources Group, the Descanso Gardens landmark was rededicated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

“For 50 years, the Japanese Garden has been one of the most popular exhibits within Descanso Gardens,” Brown said. “Its bridge, designed originally by Kenneth Masao Nishimoto and patterned after a famous temple bridge in Kyoto, is probably one of Descanso’s most photographed features. A physical bridge is also a powerful metaphor for the desired effect of a Japanese-style garden: to connect people and cultures and ideas through time. Gardens are a form of art, just like paintings, symphonies and plays, but fundamentally are accessible to all people everywhere.”

Guests enjoy the artifacts on display at the "Sharing Culture | Creating Community" exhibit at the Sturt Haaga Gallery.

Up the hill at the Sturt Haaga Gallery, guests were treated to an ikebana demonstration by Kazuo Yokou Kitajima of the Sogetsu School of Ikebana. Inside the gallery, they enjoyed a preview of Descanso Gardens’ newest exhibit, “Sharing Culture | Creating Community.” The exhibit showcases art and artifacts relating to the Japanese Garden at Descanso Gardens and Japanese-style gardens in North America.

“‘Sharing Culture | Creating Community’ honors our predecessors from the early days of Descanso Gardens,” said Descanso Gardens Membership and Visitor Experience Manager Cristeen Martinez. “The exhibit tells the story of the commitment of the local Japanese community and the Descanso Gardens Guild to construct a space to bridge cultures and make connections that celebrate nature. The fiftieth anniversary of the Japanese Gardens provides the opportunity to take another look and notice how the garden still resonates with the community, in Japanese-style gardens across America and in their influences on contemporary art.”

“Sharing Culture | Creating Community” opened to the public on Oct. 15, 2016, during Descanso Gardens’ annual Japanese Garden Festival. Curated by Dr. Kendall Brown, Naomi Hirahara and David Brown, “Sharing Culture | Creating Community” will be on display in the Sturt Haaga Gallery until Jan. 29, 2017. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day except Monday, when the Gallery is closed.