| Garden of the Phoenix | |
|---|---|
 The Garden of the Phoenix in Chicago's Jackson Park, with a view of the Museum of Science and Industry | |
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| Type | Japanese garden |
| Location | Jackson Park, South Side, Chicago, United States |
| Coordinates | 41°47′11″N87°34′58″W / 41.7864°N 87.5828°W |
| Created | 1893 |
| Operated by | Garden of the Phoenix Foundation |
Garden of the Phoenix is a Japanese garden on the grounds of Jackson Park in Chicago. Originally created in 1893, its current name dates to 2013.
Jackson Park's Garden of the Phoenix was established on March 31, 1893, when the Ho-o-den or "Phoenix Pavilion" was dedicated on the north end of the Wooded Island for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. [1] The design of the pavilion was based on the Hō-ō-dō (鳳凰堂) or "Phoenix Hall" of the Byōdō Temple (平等院) in Uji, Japan.
The phoenix emblem was a reference to Chicago rising like the mythical firebird from the ashes of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. After the 1893 Fair, most of the Fair structures were burned or torn down, but the garden and the Phoenix Pavilion remained intact.
In 1933 the government of Japan constructed a traditional tea house at the Century of Progress World's Fair and also created a garden on Wooded Island's northeast side and refurbished the Ho-O Den. [2] After WWII the pavilion and tea house were destroyed by fire and the garden was abandoned. After the city of Osaka became one of Chicago's sister cities, one the goals of the Sister Cities program became to revive the Japanese Garden in Jackson Park. With the collective efforts of the City of Osaka and the Chicago Park District, the gardens were restored and named "Osaka Garden" in 1993 in honor of that city's help and friendship. [3] The gardens were renamed Garden of the Phoenix in 2013. [2]
In 2012 and 2013, over 170 cherry trees were planted by the Chicago Park District with support from the Garden of the Phoenix Foundation and the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Chicago (JCCC シカゴ日本商工会議所). [4] [5] [6] The trees were planted to commemorate JCCC’s 50th anniversary and the 120th anniversary of the gift of the Ho-o-den (Phoenix Pavilion) by the Japanese government to the City of Chicago following the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. [6] The sakura trees first bloomed in 2019. [7] Each spring, the cherry blossoms enter a peak bloom period of 6 to 10 days in late April or early May. In 2023, a spring thunderstorm damaged most of the blossoms shortly after initial bloom. [8] In 2024 erratic weather and fluctuation of temperatures caused many buds not to fully bloom. [9]
There is a koi pond within the garden. The stones within the park carry an old legend which says they are laid in a zigzag because evil spirits can only move in a straight line, so if you cross the stones, any evil spirits will just fall into the water.
The Kasuga Lantern is one of the lamps that survived from 1893. It takes its name from the Kasuga Shrine in Nara, Japan. The deer panel is one of the four traditional symbols, the others were a stag, the sun, and the moon, most of which are damaged.
The garden contains American and Japanese plants, and its theme is the peaceful harmony of Japan–United States relations. The garden is meant to resemble natural scenery but at a small scale, with representation of mountains, islands and lakes. [10]
A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition, is a large global exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specific site for a period of time, typically between three and six months.
Nara Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. As of 2020, Nara Prefecture has a population of 1,321,805 and has a geographic area of 3,691 square kilometres (1,425 sq mi). Nara Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Osaka Prefecture to the northwest, Wakayama Prefecture to the southwest, and Mie Prefecture to the east.
Uji is a city on the southern outskirts of the city of Kyoto, in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan.
The cherry blossom, or sakura, is the flower of trees in Prunus subgenus Cerasus. Sakura usually refers to flowers of ornamental cherry trees, such as cultivars of Prunus serrulata, not trees grown for their fruit. Cherry blossoms have been described as having a vanilla-like smell, which is mainly attributed to coumarin.
Ikoma is a city in the northwestern end of Nara Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. It was founded on November 1, 1971. As of September 1, 2023, the city has an estimated population of 117,259, with 51,478 households. It has a population density of 2,300 persons per km², and it has the third largest population in the prefecture. The total area is 53.18 km². The city is known as one of the most affluent suburbs of the Greater Osaka Metropolitan Area (Keihanshin), with a high rate of college graduates, professionals, and company directors amongst its residents. As a result, the city has developed as a satellite city of Osaka, with some 54% of its residents commuting across prefectural borders to Osaka. Kansai Science City is partially located in Ikoma, which is also home to the Nara Institute of Science and Technology. The city is also famous for chasen.
Hanami is the Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the transient beauty of flowers; flowers in this case almost always refer to those of the cherry or, less frequently, plum trees. From the end of March to early May, cherry trees bloom all over Japan, and around the second week of January on the island of Okinawa. The blossom forecast "cherry blossom front" is announced each year by the Japan Meteorological Agency and watched carefully by those planning hanami, as the blossoms only last a week or two.
Jackson Park is a 551.5-acre (223.2 ha) urban park on the shore of Lake Michigan on the South Side of Chicago. Straddling the Hyde Park, Woodlawn, and South Shore neighborhoods, the park was designed in 1871 by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux and remodeled in 1893 to serve as the site of the World's Columbian Exposition. It is one of the largest and most historically significant parks in the city, and many of the park's features are mementos of the fair—including the Garden of the Phoenix, the Statue of TheRepublic, and the Museum of Science and Industry.
Japanese gardens are traditional gardens whose designs are accompanied by Japanese aesthetics and philosophical ideas, avoid artificial ornamentation, and highlight the natural landscape. Plants and worn, aged materials are generally used by Japanese garden designers to suggest a natural landscape, and to express the fragility of existence as well as time's unstoppable advance. Ancient Japanese art inspired past garden designers. Water is an important feature of many gardens, as are rocks and often gravel. Despite there being many attractive Japanese flowering plants, herbaceous flowers generally play much less of a role in Japanese gardens than in the West, though seasonally flowering shrubs and trees are important, all the more dramatic because of the contrast with the usual predominant green. Evergreen plants are "the bones of the garden" in Japan. Though a natural-seeming appearance is the aim, Japanese gardeners often shape their plants, including trees, with great rigour.
Hakone Gardens is an 18-acre (7.3 ha) traditional Japanese garden in Saratoga, California, United States. A recipient of the Save America's Treasures Award by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, it is recognized as one of the oldest Japanese-style residential gardens in the Western Hemisphere. Notable features include a bamboo garden, a Zen garden, a strolling garden, tea houses, and the Cultural Exchange Center, which is an authentic reproduction of a 19th-century Kyoto tea merchant's house and shop.
The Japanese Friendship Garden is a walled section of Kelley Park in San Jose, California, United States. Dedicated in October 1965, it is patterned after Japan's famous Korakuen Garden in Okayama and spans six acres. Its three main ponds were stocked with koi sent from Okayama in 1966. The ponds are at different elevations in the park, and are inter-connected by streams.
The National Cherry Blossom Festival is a spring celebration in Washington, D.C., commemorating the March 27, 1912, gift of Japanese cherry trees from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo City to the city of Washington, D.C. Ozaki gave the trees to enhance the growing friendship between the United States and Japan and also celebrate the continued close relationship between the two nations. Large and colorful helium balloons, floats, marching bands from across the country, music and showmanship are parts of the Festival's parade and other events.
Kairaku-en is a Japanese garden located in Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. Along with Kenroku-en and Koraku-en, it is considered one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan.
Shinjuku Gyo-en or Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden is a large public garden in Shinjuku and Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. It was originally a residence of the Naitō family in the Edo period. It later became a garden under the management of Japan Imperial Household Agency. It is now a national garden under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Environment.
Nara Park is a public park located in the city of Nara, Japan, at the foot of Mount Wakakusa. Established in 1880, it is one of the oldest parks in Japan. Administratively, the park is under the control of Nara Prefecture. The park is one of the "Places of Scenic Beauty" designated by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). Over 1,200 wild sika deer freely roaming around in the park are also under designation of MEXT, classified as natural treasure. While the official size of the park is about 502 hectares, the area including the grounds of Tōdai-ji, Kōfuku-ji, Kasuga Grand Shrine and Nara National Museum, which are either on the edge or surrounded by Nara Park, is as large as 660 hectares.
The Japanese Friendship Garden is a Japanese stroll garden in Phoenix, Arizona, known as Rohō-en (鷺鳳園) in Japanese. The garden encompasses 3.5 acres (14,000 m2) and includes a tea garden and tea house. It is a joint project of the sister cities Phoenix and Himeji.
Osaka Castle Park is a public urban park and historical site situated at Osaka-Jō in Chūō-ku, Osaka, Japan. It lies on the south of the Ōkawa and occupies a large area in the center of the city of Osaka. This park is the second largest park in the city.
Mount Yoshino is the general name for the mountain ridge that stretches from the south bank of the Yoshino River in the town of Yoshino central Nara Prefecture, Japan, to the Ōmine Mountains, stretching for about eight kilometers from north-to-south, or the broader name of the area dotted with shrines and temples, centered around Kinpusen-ji Temple. It has long been known as a famous flower spot, especially for its cherry blossoms and is a popular tourist destination. It was designated a National Place of Scenic Beauty and National Historic Site in 1924 and became part of Yoshino-Kumano National Park in 1936. In 2004, Mount Yoshino was designated as part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site under the name Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range. In 1990, it was selected as one of Japan's 100 Best Cherry Blossom Spots.
The Japanese Friendship Garden is a Japanese garden in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. It is an expression of friendship between San Diego and its sister city Yokohama.
The cherry blossom front is the advance of the cherry blossoms across Japan. The Japan Meteorological Agency records the opening and full bloom of the blossoms from Kyūshū in late March to Hokkaidō in the middle of May. The advancing front is also the subject of regular reports by the major news agencies. The cherry blossom is of great public interest in Japan due to its symbolism and the custom of flower viewing known as hanami.
In the present day, ornamental cherry blossom trees are distributed and cultivated worldwide. While flowering cherry trees were historically present in Europe, North America, and China, the practice of cultivating ornamental cherry trees was centered in Japan, and many of the cultivars planted worldwide, such as that of Prunus × yedoensis, have been developed from Japanese hybrids.
