Japanese garden to be dedicated

Design and installation part of General Education class

by Daniel J. Fitzgibbons, Chronicle staff

Reviewing drawings of the new Japanese garden at Durfee Conservatory are (clockwise from bottom left) sophomore Alexandra Weltman, Music professor John Jenkins, Paula Induni, graduate student and teacher of "The Lively Arts," and John Tristan, director of Durfee. (Stan Sherer photo)

Japanese garden developed by undergraduates in "The Lively Arts" General Education course will be dedicated this weekend at Durfee Conservatory.

     Chancellor John V. Lombardi will formally open the new Arts in Small Spaces Japanese garden, a four-semester project that engaged 920 undergraduates in studying the aesthetics of Japanese garden design and working with Conway artist Thomas Matsuda and Durfee Conservatory director John Tristan to create and install the garden.

     Arts in Small Spaces is a student-centered celebration of the work of William S. Clark and the 125th anniversary of academic partnership with Hokkaido University. The project's name reflects the widespread Japanese custom of creating gardens in the limited spaces available in homes, apartments and shops.

     John and Miriam Jenkins of the Department of Music and Dance developed the idea for the project during his appointment in 2000-01 as visiting foreign professor at Hokkaido University, where he assisted with implementation of a new general education curriculum.

     The project, according to Jenkins, was inspired by Tristan's work in the conservatory with School of Nursing faculty on horticultural therapy, and Matsuda's installation piece "Searching for Buddha in the Mountains" in the Tippo Courtyard of the Du Bois Library. Jenkins, Tristan and Matsuda planned the Arts in Small Spaces project as a means of involving all of the students in "The Lively Arts" in learning more about the people and culture of Japan - a part of the world unfamiliar to most of them.

     Student participation is Japanese garden design at Durfee has historical precedent, according to Tristan. In "A History of the Durfee Conservatory," Tristan reports that in 1872-73 Japanese exchange students Geamon Youchi, Saitaro Naito and Tenataro Yamao used plants of their native land to create the first garden outside the plant house.

     During the dedication ceremony on April 13 at 2:30 p.m., Masuo Nishibayasi, Japan's consul general in Boston, will honor the opportunities provided for today's students by the University's historic academic partnership with Hokkaido University.

     "We believe that we have a good thing going, and plan to continue our cross-campus collaboration," said Jenkins. "Already the Arts in Small Spaces Japanese garden has become a popular feature for the many visitors to Durfee Conservatory. Plans to extend the project's duration have evolved from the tremendous interest and enthusiasm of the students, staff and faculty involved."

     Arts in Small Spaces is sponsored by the Fine Arts Center, Department of Music and Dance, and the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences with assistance from personnel from Physical Plant's Landscape Services unit.