The Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco, California, is a popular feature of Golden Gate Park, originally built as part of a sprawling World’s Fair, the California Midwinter International Exposition of 1894.
The oldest public Japanese garden in the United States, this complex of many paths, ponds and a teahouse features plants and trees pruned and arranged in a Japanese style. The garden’s 3 acres contain sculptures and structures influenced by Buddhist and Shinto religious beliefs, as well as many elements of water and rocks to create a calming landscape designed to slow people down.
The Japanese Tea Garden began as the Japanese Village and Tea Garden at the 1894 World’s Fair. It was built by Australian-born George Turner Marsh, who hired Japanese craftsmen to construct the site. Makoto Hagiwara, a Japanese immigrant, and gardener, was then hired to manage the garden. He personally oversaw the modification of the temporary Japanese Village Fair exhibit to the permanent Japanese Tea Garden and was an official caretaker of the garden for most of the time between 1895 and 1925. He imported from Japan many plants, birds, and the now famous koi fish, and he more than tripled the size of the garden.
As a place of sacred ritual, a Japanese tea garden is highly representative of both Japanese culture and religious philosophy through the respected art forms of landscaping and architecture. Japanese aesthetics have been largely influenced by the geographic location of Japan, with an emphasis on isolation and the importance of water. Both Buddhist and Shinto religions can be seen in the design of the Japanese Tea Garden.
According to en.wikipedia.org. Source of photos: internet
