2014年05月30日
Ritsurin Garden Events
From spring through fall, there are plenty of events to enjoy at Ritsurin Garden. In May, the garden’s Folkcraft Museum featured beautiful old kites and banners with themes related to Boys’ Day.
Boys’ Day (May 5) was renamed “Children’s Day” a few decades ago in the interest of gender equality, but the motifs showed that the festival’s origins were definitely male-oriented. The kites and banners featured heroes from Japanese folktales and warriors from famous battles, such as the Genpei Wars of the 12th century.
The exhibit was very tastefully done and the regular permanent exhibit surrounding the works really added to the atmosphere. On weekends, the neighboring building hosts craftsmen who demonstrate how their works are made. When I went, I was treated to exhibitions by a lacquer artist and a wood carver.
There was also a bonsai sale taking place just outside, with some lovely specimens.
Takamatsu produces 80% of the pine bonsai in Japan and a walk around Ritsurin Garden demonstrates that it has ancient roots in this town. Many of the pines in the garden have been trained into various shapes over the centuries and are meticulously and lovingly tended by a crew of gardeners.
This visit, I learned that Ritsurin also has a medicinal garden. One of the “medicines” cultivated now is green tea.
A tea-picking event is held annually and local people are invited to come and pick the tea in the garden. I wonder if that is the tea that is served in the two lovely teahouses that grace Ritsurin.
Free tea tasting was also being offered at the new building near the east entrance by some very sweet young ladies. It was not from the garden though.
As I said, there’s lots happening at Ritsurin from spring through fall. Even when there are no events, the garden is designed so that something is in bloom in every season. So drop in when you need a break and enjoy.
For more on Ritsurin:
http://cathy.ashita-sanuki.jp/e229240.html
http://www.pref.kagawa.jp/ritsurin/gaiyou_e.html
For more info on Takamatsu:
http://wikitravel.org/en/Takamatsu
http://www.city.takamatsu.kagawa.jp/english/
http://tia-takamatsu.jp/
http://www.my-kagawa.jp/eg/
Other Takamatsu bloggers:
http://pat.ashita-sanuki.jp/
http://ogijima.com
Boys’ Day (May 5) was renamed “Children’s Day” a few decades ago in the interest of gender equality, but the motifs showed that the festival’s origins were definitely male-oriented. The kites and banners featured heroes from Japanese folktales and warriors from famous battles, such as the Genpei Wars of the 12th century.
The exhibit was very tastefully done and the regular permanent exhibit surrounding the works really added to the atmosphere. On weekends, the neighboring building hosts craftsmen who demonstrate how their works are made. When I went, I was treated to exhibitions by a lacquer artist and a wood carver.
There was also a bonsai sale taking place just outside, with some lovely specimens.
Takamatsu produces 80% of the pine bonsai in Japan and a walk around Ritsurin Garden demonstrates that it has ancient roots in this town. Many of the pines in the garden have been trained into various shapes over the centuries and are meticulously and lovingly tended by a crew of gardeners.
This visit, I learned that Ritsurin also has a medicinal garden. One of the “medicines” cultivated now is green tea.
A tea-picking event is held annually and local people are invited to come and pick the tea in the garden. I wonder if that is the tea that is served in the two lovely teahouses that grace Ritsurin.
Free tea tasting was also being offered at the new building near the east entrance by some very sweet young ladies. It was not from the garden though.
As I said, there’s lots happening at Ritsurin from spring through fall. Even when there are no events, the garden is designed so that something is in bloom in every season. So drop in when you need a break and enjoy.
For more on Ritsurin:
http://cathy.ashita-sanuki.jp/e229240.html
http://www.pref.kagawa.jp/ritsurin/gaiyou_e.html
For more info on Takamatsu:
http://wikitravel.org/en/Takamatsu
http://www.city.takamatsu.kagawa.jp/english/
http://tia-takamatsu.jp/
http://www.my-kagawa.jp/eg/
Other Takamatsu bloggers:
http://pat.ashita-sanuki.jp/
http://ogijima.com
My Profile
Cathy Hirano キャシー ヒラノ
I've lived in Japan since 1978. After graduating from a Japanese university with a BA in cultural anthropology in 1983, I worked as a translator in a Japanese consulting engineering firm in Tokyo for several years. My Japanese husband and I moved to Takamatsu in 1987 to raise our two children in a slower-paced environment away from the big city pressures. We've never regretted it. I work as a freelance translator and interpreter and am involved in a lot of community work, including volunteering for Second Hand, a local NGO that supports educational and vocational training initiatives in Cambodia, and for the Takamatsu International Association. I love living in Takamatsu.
Cathy Hirano キャシー ヒラノ
I've lived in Japan since 1978. After graduating from a Japanese university with a BA in cultural anthropology in 1983, I worked as a translator in a Japanese consulting engineering firm in Tokyo for several years. My Japanese husband and I moved to Takamatsu in 1987 to raise our two children in a slower-paced environment away from the big city pressures. We've never regretted it. I work as a freelance translator and interpreter and am involved in a lot of community work, including volunteering for Second Hand, a local NGO that supports educational and vocational training initiatives in Cambodia, and for the Takamatsu International Association. I love living in Takamatsu.
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