When I mentioned that I was heading to San Antonio my slowtravel friend Barb e-mailed me to tell em a bit of her family history. She was born in San Antonio and her family was closely associated with the Japanese Tea Gardens in Brackenridge Park. She said that I should pay a visit if I could.
My session finished at 12:30 yesterday. The sun was shining. The sky was blue. It was 80 degrees. All-in-all a perfect day to visit the park!
In 1915, the city requested a Japanese immigrant and his wife to transform an old rock quarry into a Japanese-styled garden. Mr. Kimi Eizo Jingu agreed to the task. He started with a rock house, which still stands today (although it is under reconstruction and scheduled to reopen in the summer) and is surrounded by winding pebble walkways, stone bridges, a waterfall and tranquil pools.
His work transformed the old rock quarry into a garden filled with lily ponds and lush green vegetation. Together he and his wife raised eight children in that house. In addition to raising a family and creating a beautiful garden they opened the Bamboo Room, where light lunches and tea were sold.
After Mr. Jingu's death in the late 1930s, his family continued to operate the tea garden until 1942, when they were evicted because of anti-Japanese sentiment during World War II. After the way the Jingu family gradually left the San Antonio area.
A Chinese-American family operated the facility until the early 1960s, and it was known as the Chinese Sunken Garden. The imposition of the chinese culture on the japanese likely explains the somewhat schizophrenic nature of the gardens. Is it Japanese or is it Chinese??? Nonetheless, it was a lovely, serene place to spend some time on a lovely San Antonio afternoon.
In 1984, the area was rededicated as the Japanese Tea Garden in a ceremony attended by the Jingu's children and representatives of the Japanese government.
The garden underwent a renovation beginning in May 2007 in which the ponds and waterfall were repaired, along with adding a recirculation system to provide a safe habitat for new Koi and aquatic plants. This phase, which cost $1,587,470, was a public-private partnership with the City of San Antonio, the San Antonio Parks Foundation and the Friends of the Parks.
A grand reopening ceremony was held on March 8, 2008, which was attended by the Lambert family, descendants of Park Commissioner Ray Lambert, as well as numerous members of the Jingu family, including Mabel Jingu Enkoji, who was born in the Jingu House and lived at the garden as a child. It was neat to see the photos of the reopening and see Barb in the pics!
Beautiful gardens!! And how cool to read of Barb's family connection, great story!
Posted by: Anne | March 10, 2010 at 07:15 AM
Love the photos! Thank you for sharing this and Barb's connection to the gardens.
Posted by: Eden | March 11, 2010 at 03:53 AM
Greetings Jerry & thanks for sharing your visit to "our" family's roots! I'm Barb's cousin, Jan (San Diego) & your pics/comments truly portray the beauty of the Tea Garden. ENJOY your weekend!
Posted by: Jan | March 12, 2010 at 02:44 AM
The gardens were beautiful - even in the early spring. I can only imagine how gorgeous they will be when more foiliage is growing and the flowers blooming. If you're in the area you should check them out.
Posted by: JDeQ | March 28, 2010 at 08:16 AM