On the campus of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, is the Nitobe Memorial Garden, considered by some to be one of the most authentic Japanese gardens outside Japan. The garden is named in honor of Nitobe Inazo, a Japanese educator and diplomat (author of “Bushido: The Soul of Japan”) who worked to create bridges of international understanding and cooperation.
A quote attributed to Nitobe Inazo (from Wikipedia): “If there is anything to do, there is certainly a best way to do it, and the best way is both the most economical and the most graceful.”
The garden, gracefully set on an economical 2.5 acres, was designed over 50 years ago by Professor Kannosuke Mori of Japan, who also oversaw construction. The mix of northwest and east Asian native plants easily harmonizes throughout the landscape; Pacific north west native sword ferns, Oregon grape and mosses intermingle with Japanese maples, cherries and iris. A traditional Tea House was constructed in Japan, taken apart, and rebuilt by Japanese craftsman on site. Careful attention was paid to symbolism and the placement of rocks at strategic points around the garden – a turtle-shaped island represents longevity and a particular lantern is lit by the sun each year on the day Nitobe died. Goldfish and carp were brought in from Japan, too, but birds dined on the goldfish. The carp survived though, and I caught only a brief a glimpse of them – big, lumbering shapes swimming in a pack near the lake’s edge.
I arrived between rain showers on an overcast day that lent softness to a landscape where the traditional features of a Japanese garden are set under a towering canopy of fir and cedar, native trees retained from the forest already on the site.
The character below is actually from a Chinese calligraphic scroll inside the university’s Asian Centre, just across from the Nitobe Memorial Garden. The scroll is a poem, “Gazing at Taishen”, by Chinese poet Tu Fu.
The stunning calligraphy, which caught me up short, is by Fan Zeng, a brilliant painter, calligrapher and poet. The poem’s first lines read:
“How is one to describe this king of mountains?
Throughout the whole of Chi and Lu, one never loses sight of its greenness.
In it, the creator has concentrated all that is numinous and beautiful…”
It was a fitting prelude to a stroll through the garden – as if I’d been transported far west, beyond Japan, into the heart of the oriental soul, to soak in its essence. From there I would make the small hop across the waters from China to Japan, immersing myself in a living, breathing landscape – an embodiment of Japanese culture.
Restraint.
No riot of colorful flowers, but instead, a harmonious composition of elements that gently works its magic on your consciousness, drawing your attention to shape, form, texture, and all the lovely details you might miss in a more riotous garden design.
Traditional stone lanterns, some very old, were brought from Japan, as well as an old Chinese stone pagoda sculpture, above. The tall Nitobe lantern, below, includes oriental zodiac symbols – you can see the horse, sheep, monkey and rooster here. This is the lantern that reportedly lights up when the sun hits it at 4 PM on the day Nitobe died, but I wonder about clouds and trees getting in the way. You can see the size of this latern in the 4th image above – it’s behind two trees to the left of the path.
The garden is meant to be appreciated slowly;
vistas open up and disappear as you trace winding paths, round corners, ascend gentle bridges and pause to reflect, as this man did.
Bamboo poles and with graceful hoop stays serve as gentle reminders to keep to the paths.
The Tea House was closed but a seat outside the building afforded a resting place.
More bamboo, artfully tied together with weathered rope, enclosed the seating area. All very wabi-sabi!
The Asian Centre next door includes elements of Japanese architecture that complement the Nitobe Memorial Garden.
“I am in Japan,” the Crown Prince (now Emperor) of Japan is said to have remarked as he toured the garden.
No doubt the Nitobe is an authentic Japanese tea and stroll garden. For me, a more fitting description of this graceful landscape might be that it nestles one Pacific Ocean coastal culture into the landscape of another, with nary a leaf or symbol – or soul, out of place.
Above, delicate branches of Japanese maple waft across a sturdy old northwestern Douglas fir.
bluebrightly 
Beautiful Lynn! I must admit I haven’t been there yet – looks like I need to rmemedy that.
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Maybe with a trip to the Museum of Anthropology? In spring or fall? That might be perfect.
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What an incredible series of photos ~ wonderful opening shot. Such serene colors and descriptions of this beautiful place…and the placement of the B&W shots is brilliant in both sharpness and contrast (both in the shooting but also the placement in this post). Nitobe Memorial Gardens…another destination, thank you!
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Thank you for your comment about the black and whites amongst the color images. It stretches the brain to think about which photos would look better in color, which in black and white, or slightly tinted. You must be a stone’s throw away from pretty nice Japanese gardens your self.
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True, I have to search some of these out…this one you have shot is just amazing.
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Beautiful!
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Thank you, Kate.
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Gorgeous verdant scenes and divine details! : )))
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Thanks Anne – I hope you are and your little guy are well!
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Love the symbolism in that last image very much, though it’s all serenely beautiful.
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I’m glad you noticed – I’m sure lots of people don’t read that far! 🙂
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In some ways the lack of brilliant sunshine has focused the attention on different aspects of this Japanese garden . The textures and reflections are lovely here Lynn – from the scratchy rope frayed ends to the smooth bamboo .
Having mentioned about lack of sunshine though … I’d love to see that lantern light up at 4pm 🙂
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Lack of sun is something you quickly learn to work with in the Pacific northwest – it happens so often! But yes, it would be pretty cool to see the light strike the lantern, and supposedly it shines on a cleft rock just beyond…
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Whoo! Next time I need to go to Nitobe, too. Wowsers.
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And there are more gardens up there, too…wouldn’t this one look stunning with an inch or two of fresh snow?
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It would. Love to see that. Not in a hurry for snow, tho.
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I like way you’ve examined the gardens from what must be every possible angle. Each picture is clean, carefully composed …and quite lovely.
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I think I’m getting a bit better at composition. Having the EVF on the Lumix is certainly better than trying to frame photos with just the LCD, which I was doing for a few years with a Sony Nex. Thank you.
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Your photographs have the presence of being there. Wonderful shots – thank you!
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That’s nice to hear – I do try for that sense of being there, though not so much consciously as instinctively. I think it’s because essentially, what I really want to do is share the experience.
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What a glorious place! Who knew there were so many shades of green, and all in the same place at the same time? Great eye for both the big picture and the detail, as I’ve come to expect from you…
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Green? Green you say? Yes, we’ve got green, green forever. I tell you, sometimes I find I’m reducing the saturation of just the green, because it is so intense around here! 🙂 Thank you so very much for that about big picture and details – I do like both. I love playing with scale sometimes for similar reasons (though I wasn’t doing that here) – what’s huge can look tiny or vice versa, and scale can be an interesting way of challenging the notions of detail/tiny/close and big picture/wide scope.
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What a beautiful place and so wonderfully captured! I love seeing all this green. That very first image just blew me away!
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In deed, it’s very green. Good to hear! You have the gold, I got the green! 😉
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Absolutely beautiful Lynn! So peaceful and serene!
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It was, and the weather kept it that way!
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It is absolutely stunning as seen through your images, Lynn, with your attention to detail. I have missed this on visits to Vancouver, sadly.
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Maybe next time, eh? 😉 Thanks Lynne!
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What a wonderfully atmospheric piece, Lynn. That close up bench shot jumps out at me, and some of your bamboo close ups 🙂
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Atmospheric is the word! Isn’t the bench a wonderful design? I was drawn to the ingenious use of timber so I bent down to get it head on. Thanks Jo!
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Lynn, a truly beautiful post full of sensitive and artistic images of what seems a lush and subtle garden. I absolutely love that first image of the bridge across water – an image in which to lose oneself and let go of one’s breath. Ahhhh.
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And ahhh, thank you for your own garden, which never fails to delight each time I see photos of it.
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Beautiful post , Lynne.! This surely is a garden to enjoy slowly, a wonderful, peaceful place to be. Gosh, the first green image ist beyond anything I have seen. We have a Japanese Garden in Bonn, but nothing like this.
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The most atmosphere in Vancouver lends itself to green and green and green again. Yes, it slows you down, which is a gift. THanks!
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Lynn, this series is sublime. The gorgeousness of the garden is amazing.
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Love all the different shades of green! Looks like a gorgeous place to visit!
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