Architecture, Carpentry, and Landscaping

Gardens

New England boasts of several fine examples of Japanese gardens and architecture that are open to the public. Among them are:

Mansfield Freeman Center for East Asian Studies
At the Mansfield Freeman Center for East Asian Studies at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT, for example, the Shoyoan Room and adjoining garden provide visitors the opportunity to experience Japanese aesthetics and explore the cultural values these spaces embody. The garden, known as the Freeman Family Japanese Garden, falls within the tradition of the viewing garden, one intended for contemplative viewing either from within an adjoining room or from a veranda or bench just outside.

A classic example of this tradition is the famous rock garden at Ryoanji in Kyoto. Central to the design of such gardens is the aesthetic of the "dry landscape" (karesansui), which is immediately apparent at the Freeman Garden in the gravel river winding its way between low, green hills. Although it is primarily for viewing, this garden also contains elements linking it to the tradition of the Japanese tea garden or roji, which is designed to move the visitor from the concerns of everyday life to the quiet and contemplative atmosphere of the tea ritual. Tea ceremonies are occasionally performed in the Shoyoan Room, which was built in 1987 by master carpenter Hiroshi Takagaki.

Peabody Essex Museum
The Oriental Garden at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA, contains many fine examples of trees, shrubs, and ground covers from Japan and China. As a complement to the Museum's outstanding collection of Japanese art and artifacts, the garden provide space for both strolling and contemplation.

The Museum of Fine Arts
The Museum of Fine Arts has a Japanese garden called "Tenshin-en" (the Garden of the Heart of Heaven).  It was named in honor of one of the museum's first curators of the Department of Asiatic Art (1906-1913), Kakuzo Okakura, who was known as Tenshin. Designed by Kinsaku Nakane of Kyoto, this garden is also in the "dry landscape" style and brings together elements and traditions drawn from Japan, the Museum, and New England. It contains more than 70 species of plants, including cherries (sakura), Japanese maple (momiji), and pines (matsu), all of which are signature plants of a Japanese garden and which evoke the changing seasons. Azaleas of many colors and variety provide continuous bloom during the spring and summer and combine with haircap moss to form a soft and verdant ground cover.

Landscaping & Architecture

In addition, the following New England companies specialize in Japanese architecture, landscaping, and gardens.

Bamboo Fencer
179 Boylston Street, Jamaica Plain, MA  02130
Tel. 617-524-6137
Fax. 617-524-6100
E-mail: Dave@bamboofencer.com
www.bamboofencer.com

Specializing in bamboo fences, gates, garden accessories, wall coverings, shades, etc.

Eastern Reflections Landscapes
863 Concord Avenue, Belmont, MA 02178
Tel./Fax. 617-489-6234

Specializing in Japanese gardens, waterfalls, and ponds, design through construction.

Harvey Industries, Inc.
33 Commonwealth Avenue, Woburn, MA 01801
Tel. 781-935-7990
www.harveyind.com

Quality American housing and building materials for the Japanese market.

Hataraku Te (Hands in Motion)
Ethan Fierro
9 Laurel Hill Drive, Montague, MA 01351
Tel./Fax. 413-367-0063
www.ethanfierro.com

Japanese-inspired creations, specializing in Custom Dwellings, Tea Houses, Meditation Huts, Furo, Stone Lamps, Basins, Furniture, Shoji, Tubs, Vases.

Kanda Associates Architects, Inc.
9 Montague Street, Cambridge, MA 02139
Tel. 617-492-2696
Fax. 617-492-5201
E-mail: kanda@mit.edu

Architectural and urban design firm specializing in residential, educational, and town design in the United States and Japan.

New England Bamboo Company
5 Granite Street, Rockport, MA  01960
Tel. 978-546-3581
Fax. 978-546-1075
www.newengbamboo.com

Largest retail and wholesale bamboo nursery in the Northeast. Greenhouse and showroom in Rockport open for wholesale only. Call for retail sales appointments.

New England Bonsai Gardens
914 South Main Street (Rte 126)
Bellingham, MA 02019
Tel. 508-883-2842
www.nebonsai.com

Largest bonsai nursery in New England also carries high quality granite lanterns and garden sculptures, hand-carved in the traditional style.

Stone's Throw Gardens
574 Ketchum Hill Road, Craftsbury, VT 05826
Tel./Fax. 802-586-2805
E-mail: foatman@together.net

Specializing in garden design, including Japanese-style garden design.

William Grindereng, Architect
286 Congress Street, Boston, MA 02210
Tel. 617-426-3838
Fax. 617-426-5633

Contemporary and Japanese architecture; residential, commercial, institutional.

Zen Associates, Inc.
Stanmar Office Park, 124 Boston Post Road
Sudbury, MA 01776
Tel. 978-443-6222
Fax. 978-443-0368
www.zenassociates.com

Landscape architecture, interior/exterior, estate design.