The Tojo Memorial Garden

The Tojo Memorial Garden, on the campus of the Rochester Institute of Technology, in Rochester, NY, is a small garden within the Infinity Quad, directly behind the Image Permanence Institute building.

A quiet and secluded location, the garden is a wonderful place in which students often sit and relax. Built in 1975, the garden memorializes Yasuji Tojo, a student who was tragically killed in a car accident in 1964. The garden was established at a time when much of the RIT campus had yet to be built. The idea of a living memorial was established and the garden has been residing at RIT ever since.

Given that this garden is almost 50 years old, it is in remarkably good shape. Several restorations have occurred of the years, but the garden has retained much of its original design with many of the plantings reaching maturity. The layout of the garden creates a sense of this being a hidden place where one can escape from the stresses of the outer world and enjoy the peace and serenity of the secluded location.

The garden has many of the elements one expects to find in a Japanese garden - a small koi pond and waterfall, several lanterns, a cherry tree, intricately placed stone, and a variety of plantings to help create a sense of natural harmony and serenity.

An unexpected  discovery for me, the garden was well worth the side trip on a visit to Rochester.

Mahayana Temple

I recently discovered that there was a Buddhist temple within an hour driving distance of my home. The Mahayan Temple is a retreat of the Eastern States Buddhist Temple of America, the oldest such Buddhist temple on the eastern United States and founded by Annie Ying. It's construction began during the late 1960s and opened to the public in 1971. 

Currently, the temple sits on 166.5 acres of land and includes several ponds, an extensive vegetable garden, and numerous structures, including the Grand Buddha Hall, the Guan Yin Hall, the 500 Arhat Hall, the Seven Storied Jade Pagoda, the Earth Spirit Bodhisattva Hall, a three-unit temple dedicated to the spirits of the land, and an obelisk marking the burial site of members of the Ying family.

 

Website: https://en.mahayana.us/

In addition, there is a structure on the property known as the Joy Cottage. This building is essentially a rentable space with five bedrooms, a full kitchen and living area. It looks really nice and was built around 2019. Architecturally, it looks different than most of the other structures on the temple grounds, more Japanese (or perhaps historically Tang Dynasty Chinese?). The rear of the structure contains a Zen garden with stepping stones, a Buddha sculpture, and some landscape features with medium and large types of gravel/stones.

Overall, the grounds of the temple make for a pleasant walk, similar to a stroll garden. However, it should be noted that many of the structures are in need of serious repairs. As a garden, the scenery is beautiful, but plantings need much work. As I have noted elsewhere in this blog, creating a garden (or temple) requires long term upkeep and regular maintenance. Perhaps the temple will benefit from a future benefactor who can financially contribute to the process, ensuring that the temple, and its grounds, continue to provide the joy that comes from visiting retreats and gardens.

Lasdon Park & Arboretum Chinese Pavilion

Located in Westchester county, New York, the Lansdon Park & Arboretum is a small arboretum that contains a Chinese friendship pavilion. A sister city relationship established in 1997 with Jinzhou, China was the impetus for the building of a Chinese garden, a 4 acre site along a pond near the western end of the park.

The pavilion reflects a classical Chinese design and was built by a team of 80 artisans in China using traditional construction methods. The pavilion was then disassembled and shipped to the arboretum where it took a month to reconstruct.

Originally planned as a centerpiece to a larger Chinese garden, the garden area today is defined by a pond, a surrounding lawn, and a bamboo forest as a backdrop. There are also flowering cherry, dogwood, and willow trees nearby.

The pavilion and two large entry gates have been challenged by extreme climate over the years, and as a result, the Parks Department has had to regularly (every 5 years) restore the paint and wooden features of the structure. During this visit, the entry gates and pavilion were noticeably in need of some restoration.

Website: https://www.lasdonpark.org/tour-the-park-2/

There is a separate parking area at the park for the Chinese Pavilion trail. The trail to the pavilion follows along an interesting historic tree trail. Arriving at the main gate to the Chinese garden, one begins to notice the emergence of a large bamboo forest on either side of the trail.

A second entry gate exists at the north-western edge of the lake.

Overall, the Chinese Friendship Pavilion and the surrounding garden and pond area was a very peaceful and serene place to visit - a wonderful location for a picnic. 

I look forward to seeing another restoration and will most definitely visit again in the future.