Toshinan: The Japanese House at Birmingham Botanical

The original tea pavilion in the Japanese Gardens at Birmingham Botanical Gardens (BBG) was built for the New York World’s Fair in 1965 and donated to the BBG by the Japanese Trade Association in 1967. Exposure, use, insects and storms took their toll, ultimately rendering the building – which was built as a temporary exhibit – unusable. It was dismantled in 1992, although much of the lumber was saved and recycled, in a classic Japanese tradition called mitate.

In 1992 the City of Birmingham appropriated $380,000 for construction of a new tea house. In 1993 a grant from the World Commemorative Association of Osaka for Expo ‘70 in the amount of $165,000 was received to complete the tea , pavilion and the wall around the dry landscape garden. The new tea house, Toshinan, was designed and constructed by Kazunori Tago, with two plasterers, two roofers, two carpenters and a student, all from Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture, Japan. Materials were prepared, assembled and taken apart in Japan, then shipped to Birmingham for reassembly by Tago’s team. Toshinan is designed in the rustic Sukiya style, originated by the great tea master Sen no Rikyu, although Mr. Tago notes that it is not meant to be simply a copy. Even ancient styles should continue to develop, and new structures should be a fulfillment, not a rehash. That is why this modern version lacks the traditional sword rack. Mr. Tago is a senior miyadaiku, or master builder, and is considered one of the premier designers of tea houses and temples in Japan. Douglas Moore*, a Birmingham builder with a keen interest in traditional Japanese building techniques, is credited as the impetus behind Toshinan. His friendship with Tago-san, and tireless behind-the- scenes work with the city of Birmingham, the non-profit Friends of Birmingham Botanical Gardens, and the Society of Alabama (which he founded), helped to make this enchanting structure a reality.

The tea house in the Japanese Gardens is similar in size to some of the ones Rikyu designed in the late 1500’s. With its 4½ tatami mat tea room and an attached 3 mat , or wet kitchen, it is approximately 150 square feet in area. The supporting structure is hand-planed, unfinished wood; the exposed columns are of Japanese cedar or sugi (Cryptomeria japonica) with decorative pieces of sugi, hinoki, (Chamaecyparis Toshinan: The Japanese Tea House at Birmingham Botanical Gardens obtusa), cherry, sakura (Prunus sp,), and camphor (Cinnamomum sp.), and the roof structure is of sugi and pine. The smooth-barked beam in the ceiling nearest the entrance is a Japanese variety of magnolia. The walls are finished with clay, applied like plaster over a wooden lath and embossed in several places with the forms of leaves. This is Mr. Tago’s way to honor the craftsmen who helped to build the tea house. The roof is covered with over 6,000 hand-formed copper shingles, and the roof line is capped with ceramic tiles. Mr. Tago did something with this roof he had not done in previous tea houses: he very slightly curved the roof so that the tiles would show to better effect. Wooden trim pieces and ceiling structures were all shaped, fitted and finished by hand, using exotic, exquisite, and often expensive woods. Some of these wood pieces are from trees carefully cultivated for this purpose, for example to develop a gnarly, deeply etched and

* Mr. Moore also designed and built the adjacent Japanese Cultural Pavilion, which was dedicated to his memory in 2012. uneven surface. Some sanding was done literally by hand, using loose sand and water. On the cherry crown molding, the bark was removed, then reapplied to the milled boards. Other decorative materials are made from pine, magnolia, and ancient bamboo. The shoji screens and windows are of rice or mulberry paper. The ceilings are also finely detailed and varied, including sugi in a basket weave called ajiro. The ceiling over the hibachi is woven from Japanese maiden grass, or susuki (Micanthus sinensis).

Toshinan also features a traditional tokonoma, or alcove, also elegantly finished with fine wood. During the it is used to display a hanging scroll and a simple flower arrangement, which help set the tone or theme for that particular occasion. The somewhat unusual layout of the tea room, with the tokonoma opposite the nijiri-guchi is designed so that the little doorway serves as a frame for the garden view outside. Toshinan is modeled after a famous tea house named Jo-an, built by Rikyu student Oda Uraku in 1618 and later moved to its current site at Urakuen Garden in Inuyama. It is intended to be warm, comfortable and accepting.

Tago also designed and built the waiting hut, or machi-ai, a separate structure within the tea garden. This small hut with a roof provides a place for guests to await the start of a ceremony, or another part of a longer ceremony (while the tea master prepares). It is constructed of similar materials as Toshinan.

The name Toshinan means “a place where those gathered can light a wick (of understanding) in each other’s hearts.” It was bestowed by the Abbott Matsumoto Daien from the Kiyomizu Buddhist Temple in Kyoto and revealed by Mr. Tago in the dedication ceremony called Fukurashiki. The name appears on the plaque attached to the roof gable. The carved calligraphy was done by Abbott Matsumoto Daien. The

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Toshinan: The Japanese Tea House at Birmingham Botanical Gardens dedication was timed to coincide with an exhibit of Japanese woodblock prints, once owned by Van Gogh, and the gift of 200 prints by the Utagawa School to the City of Birmingham. The exhibition was arranged by Mr. Tago and the Birmingham Museum of Art.

The tea house is used only for the tea ceremony, which can last for up to four hours. The ceremony is highly choreographed and includes the serving of two kinds of tea and at least one light meal. It is a form of meditation, and Cha-no-do, The Way of Tea, is a way of life in itself. Mr. Tago inspected Toshinan in May 2008 and was pleased to find that it was aging nicely, assuming the colors and textures he had imagined for it. The Japanese term for this process is wabi-sabi. Tago visited Birmingham again in May 2009, when he participated in a brief tea ceremony to rededicate Toshinan and celebrate its fifteenth anniversary. He again re-emphasized that Toshinan is meant to be a place where people meet each other, share tea or a meal, and openly reveal and share themselves with friends, old and new. He encouraged its regular visitation by the people of Birmingham and Alabama. He noted that Toshinan also means a lighthouse, a beacon that illuminates or enlightens those drawn to it.

Also featured in the tea garden is a traditional suikinkutsu, a gift from Tago-san in 2009 and installed using funds from the Lucille Beeson Charitable Trust. A suikinkutsu is a large, bell-shaped ceramic jar, which is installed beneath the ground immediately in front of the tsukubai. Its name is translated as “water-harp (or koto) cave.” When one washes his or her hands as a purification for the tea ceremony, the water spills out onto the gravel and drains into the hole in top of the suikinkutsu, falling into the shallow pool of water at its bottom. The result is a subtle, melodious sound, which does indeed resemble water dripping in a cave. Tago’s gift was dedicated at a Hatsune-shiki or “First Sound” ceremony on 10 October 2010 (at 10:00a.m.) in conjunction with a tea ceremony in memory of the first anniversary of Doug Moore’s death. Present were Doug’s wife Susan and son Michael, Bob Wendorf and Fred Spicer, and local tea ceremony instructor Ritsuko Asano and her students. Uncommon even in Japan, our suikinkutsu is thought to be the only one in a public garden in the US.

Kazunori Tago: Miyadaiku Kazunori Tago is an architect who has worked more than 25 years to acquire his skills as a designer and builder of traditional Japanese structures, focusing primarily on Shinto shrines, temples and tea houses. He completed his apprenticeship within a company led by his father, a high-ranking master of the Tago System, a traditional school of Japanese construction and design. Following his apprenticeship he participated in national Olympic-like tournaments of technical skills for three years, beginning in 1973. Mr. Tago headed the construction of three new Buddhist temples in the 1980’s as well as participating in the restoration of the famous three-storied

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Toshinan: The Japanese Tea House at Birmingham Botanical Gardens pagoda at Kiyomizu Temple, one of Kyoto’s most splendid and well-known Buddhist temples. In 1989 he assumed his role as the sixth master of the Tago System and took the formal name of Tago Kazunori Minamotono Terukazu. The Tago family has been builders since 1826 and are particularly known for reintroducing the sashigane, a highly efficient, traditional carpenter’s square.

His expertise and knowledge of traditional Japanese architecture have earned Tago-san the title of senior miyadaiku, a 1,200 year old term meaning master builder. He is also founder and Chairman of the Society for the Preservation of Palace and Shrine Carpentry, a group dedicated to preserving traditional building styles and teaching them to others. From his home in Maebashi, about 150 miles north of Tokyo, he serves as Representative Director and President of Dainichi Construction Co., Ltd. Mr. Tago is a great friend of the Japanese Gardens at Birmingham Botanical Gardens, and he sees Toshinan as an enduring symbol of Japanese culture and the friendship that exists between the people of Japan and America, especially Alabama.

Timeline of Toshinan • Fall 1991: Birmingham citizens Doug and Susan Moore meet Kazunori Tago in Atlanta, GA • October 1992: Miyadaiku Kazunori Tago agrees to build in BBG Japanese Gardens • July 1993: Furakurashi (“Calming of the Dragon”) ceremony marks groundbreaking; it is attended by Japanese Consul General Anami from Atlanta, Birmingham Mayor and a delegation from Maebashi, Japan • October 1993: Birmingham delegation including Governor Wallace visits Maebashi; Lily Eagleson serves as interpreter • October 1993: Tago and team of Japanese artisans begin reassembly of Toshinan in Birmingham • October 1994: Dedication of Japanese Cultural Center, including Toshinan; Japanese prints are displayed and given to Birmingham children; Consul General and Mayors of Birmingham and Maebashi attend • September 1994: Tago is named honorary citizen of Birmingham by Mayor Richard Arrington • May 1997: Tago receives Samuel Ullman Award from Japan America Society of Alabama; Tago gives rare scroll by Sen no Rikyu to City of Birmingham • October 1998: Maebashi Mayor Yasoji Hagiwara signs official Friendship Agreement in Birmingham; Japanese Consul General for Southeast Yasuo Saito is also present • June 1999: City of Maebashi hosts tea ceremony in Toshinan • May 2008: Tago attends 15th anniversary celebration of Toshinan at BBG

rev. Sept 2012

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