Japanese Gateway & Landscape

Chokushi-Mon

Chokushi-Mon (Gateway of the Imperial Messenger) is a four-fifths actual size replica of the Karamon of Nishi Hongan-ji in Kyoto.

It was created for the Japan-British Exhibition held in London in 1910, and after the exhibition closed, it was dismantled and reconstructed in the Gardens. It is the finest example of a traditional Japanese building in Europe. Built in the (late sixteenth century architectural style of the Momoyama (or Japanese rococo) period, Chokushi-Mon has finely carved woodwork, depicting stylised flowers and animals. The most intricately carved panels portray an ancient Chinese legend depicting the devotion of a pupil to his master.

The 1995 Restoration

Despite some detailed repair work in 1936 and 1957, carried out by the Japanese wood-carver, Kumajiro Torii, who settled in Britain after the Japan-British Exhibition, by 1988 Chokushi-Mon was badly dilapidated.

Careful examination showed that a full restoration was essential. This took over a year to achieve and was completed in November 1995. Using a combination of traditional Japanese skills and newly-developed techniques, Chokushi-Mon glows in all its former glory. As part of the process, the lead-covered cedar bark shingles that previously formed the roof were replaced with more traditional copper plates.

Haiku stone

Even Sparrows
Freed from all fear of man
England in Spring

In 1979, a granite block inscribed with a haiku (translated above) by Takahama Kyoshi (1874-1959), one of the century's greatest haiku poets, was presented to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew by his fifth daughter and her poetry group. The poem was inspired by a visit that the poet made to Kew in 1936. Haikus are lyric poems made up of 17 Japanese characters or sounds, which express emotion by reflecting the moods of the seasons. Flowering cherries, including Prunus "Okumiyako" and Prunus "Taihaku", planted close to the Haiku stone, represent the beauty of the Japanese countryside.

Japanese landscape

Centred around Chokushi-Mon and covering an area of approximately 5,000 square metres, the Japanese landscape consists of three garden areas, designed to give an impression of some of the many different aspects of Japanese gardens. As a whole, the landscape is a "dry stone" kaiyu shiki (stroll around) garden, created in the style of the Momoyama period (late sixteenth century) when the original gateway was built.

The main entrance to the landscape leads into a "Garden of Peace". Reminiscent of a tea garden (roji), this area has a calming, tranquil atmosphere with traditional stone paths (nobedan and tobi-ishi) placed between stone lanterns and a dripping water basin (tsukubai).

Occupying the slope on the southern side of Chokushi-Mon is a "Garden of Activity", symbolising the majestic natural scenery of waterfalls, hills and the sea. Gravel and rocks express the vigorous movement of water flowing and falling.

The "Garden of Harmony" to the north-east of the area links the Gardens of Peace and Activity. The western slope represents the mountainous regions of Japan, using carefully positioned stones and rock outcrops interplanted with shrubs. The landscape features a wide range of plants of Japanese origin, many of which are well-known in European and North-American horticulture.

Hinoki (Chamaecyparis obtusa)

This conifer, native to Japan, is sacred to the Shinto Faith. Its evenly-grained, beautifully marked wood is valued for high-quality building work and carving, and has been used here for the construction of Chokushi-Mon. It is one of the trees of Kiso, five valuable timber species that were protected under a conservation scheme in the forests of Japan in the eighteenth century. A specimen of hinoki was planted in the Japanese landscape by their Imperial Highnesses the Prince Akihito and Princess Michiko (now Emperor and Empress) when they visited Kew in 1976.

Bamboos

Bamboos frequently feature in Japanese gardens and landscapes as ornamental plants, grown not only for their graceful form and foliage, but also for the rustling sound they create as their leaves respond to the slightest breeze. They are represented in this landscape by a dwarf fern-leaf bamboo, Arundinaria pygmaea var. disticha.

Bamboos also take many other forms within gardens; their strong woody stems provide materials for building and fencing, and are used by craftspeople to create many beautiful objects such as fans, umbrellas, flutes, and the brushes and dippers used in the tea ceremony.

Kurume azaleas

These evergreen azaleas probably arose as hybrids of Rhododendron species native to the volcanic mountains on Kyushu, the southernmost of Japan's islands. When the famous plant collector, E. H. Wilson, visited the area in 1918, the breeding of Kurume azaleas had already been underway for several centuries. He considered them "the loveliest of all azaleas" with flower colours "so pure and exquisite and of every hue and shade from white, pink and salmon to scarlet, crimson and the richest of magenta". Of the 50 cultivars Wilson introduced to the USA through the Arnold Arboretum, two ("Hinode Giri" and "Kure-no-yuki") are grown in Kew's Japanese landscape.

Continue the tour

Back up to: Western Zone

Carry on to: South Western Zone

See also

Kew's History & Heritage: Japanese Gateway