Location in Lethbridge
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Established | 1967 |
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Location | Henderson Park, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada |
Coordinates | 49°41′22″N 112°48′30″W / 49.68945°N 112.80839°W |
Type | Tsukiyama (Hill Garden) |
Director | Michelle Day |
Website | Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden |
Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden is a 4-acre (16,000 m2) garden near Henderson Lake in Lethbridge, Alberta, designed by Dr. Tadashi Kubo of Osaka Prefecture University in Japan. The pavilion, shelter, bridges and gates were built in Kyoto, Japan, by five artisans who later reassembled them in the garden. It was opened July 14th 1967, during the Canadian Centennial.
In the early 1960s, Lethbridgian Reverend Yutetsu Kawamura, a minister of Buddhist churches in Alberta, and Cleo Mowers, editor and publisher of the Lethbridge Herald independently considering the possibility of a Japanese garden being built in Lethbridge. Kurt Steiner, the manager of the Lethbridge Travel and Convention Bureau, eventually brought the two together and a steering committee was formed.
The steering committee, headed by Rev. Kawamura, brought a proposal to the Lethbridge City Council that was subsequently approved on 6 January 1964. The committee proposed a Japanese Garden Committee be appointed to oversee the garden's construction. By the following summer, the committee was granted official society status and later became the Lethbridge & District Japanese Garden Society.
Initially, Dr. Tadashi Kubo, landscape architect from the University of Osaka, provided design expertise, but he later handed the responsibility to his assistant Masami Sugimoto, who attended the groundbreaking ceremony. He provided consultation on maintenance and improvements presently. The original basis for the design was created by Ayako Hitomi, a student of Dr. Kubo at the time.
After 21 months of construction, the garden publicly opened for the first time on 3 July 1966. The grand opening was held the following year, on 14 July 1967 during Canada's centennial celebrations. Japan’s Prince and Princess Takamatsu attended the grand opening celebration.
Core design concepts utilized in the garden include Wabi-sabi, (beauty in age/simplicity), Shakkei, (borrowed view), and Miegakure, (hide and reveal).