The event was sponsered by the Consulate General of Japan in Detroit.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI – A Japanese garden, which serves as one of the popular attractions at Meijer Gardens, served as a perfect backdrop for an award-winning gardener.
A Japanese master garden designer, Chisato Takeuchi, held a Japanese Tea Garden presentation on Sunday, Aug. 26 at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park.
Sponsored by the Consulate General of Japan in Detroit, Takeuchi gave her presentation, called “The Japanese Tea Garden – The First Step to Tea,” and explained the importance of the Japanese gardens’ tradition.
Describing the beauty of Japanese style as “special,” Takeuchi said she hopes to encourage more people to learn about them.
“I hope people during my presentation take interest and want to explore more about the Japanese garden spirit,” Takeuchi said.
The presentation went into depth about Japanese tea gardens and the differences from regular Japanese gardens and what goes into the traditional tea ceremonies.
The tea garden is associated with drinking tea and architectural spaces designed to be used for a tea ceremony.
Although man made, the gardens are designed to intentionally mimick the natural environment.
The Richard and Helen DeVos Japanese Garden opened its Main Gate to visitors at Meijer Gardens in 2015. A Japanese garden is a garden style steeped in centuries of tradition.
The three essential elements in a Japanese garden are rocks, water and plants. It is the plants that provide seasonal changes and color in the garden, according to the Meijer Gardens website.
After the presentation, guests could attend a workshop on how to make a tome ishi stone. Tome ishi stones are a similar to a traffic cone in America.
The stones are wrapped in rope and placed in a path or in front of a gate. They’re sometimes called “stop-stones.”
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs feels very strongly that Japanese Gardens can be a wonderful outreach to other communities,” said Anita Savio, Public Affairs official for the Consulate General of Japan in Detroit. “It is a beautiful part of Japanese culture that people all over the world can share. We want to utilize this opportunity with the beautiful garden that you have here at Frederik Meijer Gardens.”
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At a young age, Takeuchi said she wasn’t initially interested in gardening and was more interested in designing. However, as time went on, she said she was fascinated about gardening and decided to pursue it as a career.
“I started studying about Japanese gardens and there was a lot to learn about trees, rocks and pruning skills,” Takeuchi said. “After I graduated horticultural school in Japan, I worked in construction in Japanese gardens.”
The master gardener studied at the Techno Horticultural Technical College in Japan and Writtle University College in the United Kingdom, where she was awarded a National Certificate in Horticulture.
Takeunchi practiced garden design and management at the Yamagiwa Creating Dreams Garden and is a co-owner and chief designer of the Japanese garden design company, Ryokuseien, with her husband in Japan.
