The Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens is a center for Japanese arts and

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

located west of

Delray Beach Delray Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population of Delray Beach as of April 1, 2020 was 66,846 according to the 2020 United States Census. Located 52 miles (83 kilometers) north of Miami, Delray Beach is in the ...

Palm Beach County Palm Beach County is a county located in the southeastern part of Florida and lies directly north of Broward County and Miami-Dade County. The county had a population of 1,492,191 as of the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous county ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, United States. The campus includes two museum buildings, the Roji-en Japanese Gardens: Garden of the Drops of Dew, a bonsai garden, library, gift shop, and a Japanese restaurant, called the Cornell Cafe, which has been featured on the Food Network and Vizcaya Television. Rotating exhibits are displayed in both buildings, and demonstrations, including tea ceremonies and classes, are held in the main building. Traditional Japanese festivals are celebrated several times a year. The park and museum are named after George Morikami, a native of Miyazu, Japan, who donated his farm to Palm Beach County to be used as a park. George Morikami was the only member of the

Yamato Colony, Florida The Yamato Colony was an attempt to create a community of Japanese farmers in what is now Boca Raton, Florida, early in the 20th century. With encouragement from Florida authorities, young Japanese men were recruited to farm in the colony. There w ...

to stay in Delray Beach after World War II. He originally proposed donating the land to the City of Delray Beach which declined. The Museum was opened in 1977, in a building that is now named the Yamato-kan. The principal museum building opened in 1993. Construction of the Roji-en gardens began in 1993. The Morikami Park, which includes the museum, is . There is one picnic pavilion and six smaller picnic shelters and a playground. It is the location of the Challenger Astronaut Memorial and the Yamato Pioneer Memorial. The Morikami Museum and Gardens host a number of Japanese-influenced festivals each year, including

Oshogatsu The is an annual festival with its own customs. Since 1873, the official Japanese New Year has been celebrated according to the Gregorian calendar, on January 1 of each year, . However, some traditional events of the Japanese New Year are par ...

(New Year's) in January, Hatsume Fair Festival in April, and Lantern Festival, (based on the Japanese

Obon or just is fusion of the ancient Japanese belief in ancestral spirits and a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the spirits of one's ancestors. This Buddhist– Confucian custom has evolved into a family reunion holiday during which people ret ...

festival) in October. These festivals draw visitors from around the state, and feature both food and art vendors. The Lantern Festival also features an annual drum performance and an interactive dance routine. Visitors release their lanterns into the central lake after sunset.

Museum

The original museum building, Yamato-kan, is designed as a Japanese villa. It features a dry landscape garden and a permanent exhibit on the history of the Yamato Colony in Boca Raton, and a hands-on exhibit, "Japan Through the Eyes of a Child". The main museum building houses three exhibits, a 225-seat theater, a tea house, classrooms, a research library, a store, and the Cornell Cafe. There are more than 7,000 artifacts that make up Morikami's collection.

Gardens

The Roji-en Japanese Gardens were designed to complement the museum. The six gardens making up Roji-en are inspired by famous garden styles throughout Japan's history. They were designed by

Hoichi Kurisu is a noted designer of Japanese gardens, active in the United States. Kurisu studied landscape design and construction under Kenzo Ogata in Tokyo, Japan. He then was Landscape director for the Garden Society of Japan (Nihon Teien Kyokai) (1968 ...

and completed in 2001. The six historical gardens are as follows: Shinden Garden, Paradise Garden, Early Rock Garden, Karesansui Garden, Hiraniwa Garden, and Modern Romantic Garden. The Shinden Garden is inspired by the gardens of the

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese ...

of the 9th–12th centuries. During this time Japanese nobility used Chinese garden designs that featured lakes and islands; this style of garden was usually viewed by boat. The Paradise Garden comes from the Kamakura and

Muromachi period The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate (''Muromachi bakufu'' or ''Ashikaga bakufu''), which was officially established in 1338 by t ...

s. The gardens were designed as temples to the

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...

and represented Buddhist Heaven. The Early Rock Garden is also from the Muromachi period. This style of gardens was influenced by Chinese landscape art and the early concept of Zen. The Muromachi period Karesansui gardens are in true Zen style. These gardens were designed not to be walked through, but instead to be viewed from temples and reflected on. The "dry landscape" styles was almost empty of plants, instead having rocks and gravel. The

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characte ...

was known for the Hiraniwa Flat Garden style. These gardens were hybrids of the late rock garden and tea garden. This garden style is known for its accents, such as pagodas, lanterns, and stepping stones. The last historical garden featured at Morikami is the Modern Romantic Garden. This garden originated during the

Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

. Naturalism and Western influences were what spurred the creation of this garden style.

Gallery

File:Morikami Rock Garden.jpg, Rock garden File:Morikami Bonzai Garden.jpg, Bonzai trees File:Morikami Museum Bridge.jpg, Japanese bridge File:Morikami Museum Center.jpg, Center entrance File:Morikami Tea House.jpg, Tea House File:Morikami Museum View of Grounds.jpg, Grounds File:Morikami Museum View of Grounds Lakeview.jpg, Lake from bonsai garden File:Morikami Museum View of Grounds Center.jpg, Garden entrance File:Morikami Museum View of Grounds (Rock Garden).jpg, Rock garden File:Morikami Museum View of Grounds Bonzai.jpg, Grounds File:Morikami Museum View of Grounds (Waterfall).jpg, Waterfall

References

External links

* {{authority control 1977 establishments in Florida Asian art museums in the United States Art museums established in 1977 Art museums and galleries in Florida Botanical gardens in Florida Delray Beach, Florida Ethnic museums in Florida Gardens in Florida Japanese-American culture in Florida Japanese gardens in the United States Museums in Palm Beach County, Florida Museums of Japanese culture abroad in the United States

Museum

Gardens

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading

External links