The second biennial conference of the North American Japanese Garden Association (NAJGA) will be held October 16-18, 2014, at the Chicago Botanic Garden.
The theme of this year’s conference is “New Pathways: The Role of the Japanese Garden for Society and Self.”
Hoichi Kurisu will be the keynote speaker at the second biennial conference of the North American Japanese Garden Association. He will also offer workshops during the three-day conference.
Keynote speaker is Hoichi Kurisu who studied landscape design and construction under Kenzo Ogata in Tokyo, Japan. Kurisu was appointed Landscape Director for the Garden Society of Japan (Nihon Teien Kyokai 1968–1972), during which time he supervised construction of the Portland Japanese Garden.
In 1972 he founded Kurisu International, Inc., which has since designed and built a number of gardens including the Anderson Japanese Gardens in Rockford, Illinois, Roji-en Japanese Garden at the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens in Delray Beach, Florida, the Japanese garden at the Dubuque Arboretum and Botanical Gardens in Iowa, and the a Japanese garden for Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital, in Lebanon, Oregon, which was the winner of a 2006 Healthcare Environment Award for Landscape Design.
The Morikami Museum in Delray Beach, Florida, is visible from Yamato across a large pond. Roji-en, a collection of Japanese gardens by Hoichi Kurisu is across the bridge and to the left
Kurisu firmly believes that encounters with nature are essential to mental, physical, and spiritual equilibrium. Each of his designs addresses a unique social purpose and reinforces the quality of humanity. By harmonizing light and shade, water and rock, and space with the senses, the Japanese gardens of Hoichi Kurisu restore peace of mind, physical health, and strong and compassionate communities.
His firm presently is at work constructing a new nine-acre Japanese garden in Grand Rapids, Michigan, at the Frederik Meijer Sculpture Garden. The Richard and Helen DeVos Japanese Garden is scheduled to open in June 2015.
An extensive list of workshops covers the basic tracks of horticulture, business culture and human culture with topics such as: Keeping koi healthy, Updating traditional light in the Japanese garden, the new civic garden movement in Japan, Planning for long-term maintenance and renewal, Art of the thatched roof for Japanese garden structures, Art of bamboo, Significance of sukiya style in the Japanese garden, Frank Lloyd Wright and the influence of Japan, Archaeology of the Japanese gardens at Manzanar, Tea in the garden, The Adachi Museum’s operational philosophy, and Using technology to enhance the visitor experience, among other offerings.
The conference also offers pre- and post- conference extended sessions and tours.
The deadline for early registration is July 1. For more information and to register, please refer to the NAJGA web site events page: http://www.najga.org/EVENTS
U.S. Japanese Gardens 