Nitobe Memorial Garden facts for kids
The Nitobe Memorial Garden is a beautiful traditional Japanese garden. It covers about 2.5 acres (one hectare) of land. You can find it at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. It's part of the bigger UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research.
This special garden honors a Japanese man named Nitobe Inazō. He lived from 1862 to 1933. Nitobe Inazō was a writer, a teacher, and someone who worked to build good relationships between countries. He wanted to be "a bridge across the Pacific Ocean." He passed away in Victoria, British Columbia.
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Garden Design and Hidden Secrets
A professor at the University of British Columbia has studied this garden for over fifteen years. They believe the garden holds many amazing secrets. These include hidden meanings from Japanese ideas and old stories.
For example, there are "shadow bridges" that you can only see at certain times of the year. Also, one special lantern in the garden lights up perfectly. This happens at the exact date and time that Nitobe Inazō passed away each year. The garden is located behind the university's Asian Centre. This center was built using steel from Japan's exhibit at Osaka Expo.
What You Can See in the Garden
The Nitobe Memorial Garden has many interesting things to explore.
Japanese Tea House
One main feature is a real Japanese tea house called Ichibō-an. It is surrounded by a special path called a roji tea garden. This path has a bench where you can wait before entering the tea house.
Special Lanterns
The garden also has several different kinds of lanterns. One is a "snow viewing lantern." Another very important one is the Nitobe Lantern. This lantern has special carvings. You can see zodiac signs, chrysanthemums (a type of flower), and a dog. The dog represents Nitobe's birth sign. The lantern also has an inscription that says, "I.M., Inazo Nitobe, 1861–1933, Apostle of Goodwill Among Nations, Erected by his friends."
The Garden Pond
Another cool part of the garden is its pond. This pond is home to a small natural world. It has fish swimming in it. You can also see water skimming insects moving across the surface.
