| 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 or an expo, 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.
Jinhae-gu is a district in Changwon City, South Korea. This region is served by the Korean National Railroad, and is famous for its annual cherry blossom festival every spring.
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.
Yamatokōriyama is a city in Nara Prefecture, Japan. As of 30 September 2022, the city has an estimated population of 84,059 and 38,944 households.
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 is 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 located on the South Side of Chicago. The park was designed in 1871 by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, then greatly remodeled in 1893 to serve as the site of the World's Columbian Exposition, making it one of the largest and most historically significant parks in the city.
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 (新宿御苑) is a large park and garden in Shinjuku and Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. It was originally a residence of the Naitō family in the Edo period. Afterward, it became a garden under the management of Japan Imperial Household Agency. It is now a national park under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Environment.
Nara is the capital city of Nara Prefecture, Japan. As of 2022, Nara has an estimated population of 367,353 according to World Population Review, making it the largest city in Nara Prefecture and sixth-largest in the Kansai region of Honshu. Nara is a core city located in the northern part of Nara Prefecture bordering the Kyoto Prefecture.
The Royal Flora Ratchaphruek was an international horticultural exposition held 1 November, 2006 to 31 January, 2007 at Queen Sirikit Botanic Garden in the Thai city Chiang Mai of Chiang Mai Province that drew 3,781,624 visitors. Recognised by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), it was one of the grand celebrations hosted by the Royal Thai Government in honor of King Bhumibol, the world's longest reigning monarch.
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.
The Japanese Friendship Garden, also known as Sankei-en is a twelve-acre Japanese garden located within Balboa Park in San Diego, California. It is an expression of friendship between San Diego and its Japanese sister city Yokohama that binds the two cultures to create a unique experience for visitors from all over the world; over 240,000 people from across the United States and the world visit the garden annually. Representing a new concept in the development of a Japanese garden outside Japan, the Japanese Friendship Garden is designed to present an atmosphere of elegant simplicity (shibui) and quiet beauty. The garden's naturalistic design is guided by the original principles/techniques of the Japanese garden while incorporating elements of the regional San Diego landscape and climate; in terms of features, the garden is well known for its unique placement, sukiya-style buildings, koi ponds, and landscape exhibits. The Japanese Friendship Garden also hosts many local educational programs, activities, festivals, and horticultural classes that focus on the relationship between nature and Japanese culture.
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.
Cherry blossoms play an important role in the city of Seattle, in the U.S. state of Washington. Seattle has more than 1,000 cherry trees donated by Japan as a symbol of friendship. Christine Clarridge of Axios Seattle wrote, "The annual bloom of cherry trees across Seattle symbolizes the end of the dark months and the beginning of spring, drawing residents and swarms of tourists to the city's most popular viewing places." The season's peak varies depending on weather conditions, but generally lasts from January to March.
