Boston Flora

Tag: Sendai

  • Saturday, April 15 – Saturday, April 29, 2017 – Japan

    Travel with the Pacific Horticulture Society north and west of Tokyo on this in-depth 2017 tour of Japan to visit some of its most beautiful and less traveled countryside including World Heritage sites, designated National Treasures, a variety of temples large and small, historic shrines, and varied Japanese gardens. You’ll have the opportunity to stay in Japanese style accommodations, relax in an onsen (hot springs) if you like, and dine on the very best of Japanese cuisine.

    The summer palace complex, shrines, and mausoleum of the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu who first united all of Japan is a beloved treasure for all Japanese who strive to visit it once in their lifetime. Situated the pine forests of Nikkan hour north of Tokyo, it features dozens of buildings, and includes the famous three monkey sculpture: hear-no-evil, speak-no-evil, and see-no evil. Along the way you’ll visit the village of Omiya, famous for its bonsai nurseries and museum. Your trip continues through Kairakun and then north to Sendai where one of Japan’s famous five-story pagodas is located at the Rinnoji Temple and garden.

    Another highlight is a visit to Matsushima Bay, with its 250 pine-covered islands, considered by many one of the top three scenic sites in Japan. You’ll tour the bay by boat where every view offers a spectacular view. Hiraizumi is home to Choson-ji, one of Japan’s most significant temple complexes, housing the golden Amida Hall, Japan’s first designated National Treasure. From there you visit Tono, the birthplace of some of Japan’s oldest and most fascinating folklore legends.

    Next you head south and then west. Yamadera boasts one of the most impressive displays of cherry blossoms along the river and through town (always subject to the yearly weather pattern). Its temple complex was founded over 1,000 years with temple halls spread throughout rich pine forests.

    You’ll visit Nigata famous for its sake, seafood, and hot springs—and several famous gardens. You’ll stay in Tsukioka Onsen, pictured below, one of the area’s most famous hot spring resorts renowned for its mineral enriched waters that promote “eternal youth, longevity, and beauty.”

    From Nigata you’ll enjoy a fast ride on the bullet train back to Tokyo for your return trip home or join us for a Kyoto extension. In Kyoto you’ll visit its most famous temples, pavilions, and palaces and experience cultural experiences such as the Japanese Tea Ceremony and a multi-course dinner with a private Geisha meeting and performance (subject to confirmation).

    Greg Graves, former PHS board member will escort this tour. Note: Our 2016 Japan tours have sold out quickly; if interested click http://www.sterlingtoursltd.com/Japan2017.html to read a detailed itinerary and discuss your interest with our Tour Company partner, Sterling Tours, Ltd.

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  • Sunday, March 18, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm – The Story of the Japanese Temple Bell in the Back Bay Fens

    Don’t miss this moving and poignant tale presented by Lola Heiler-Stillman on Sunday, March 18, from 1 – 2:30 pm at the Shattuck Visitor Center. All are invited to come hear the fascinating history of a treasured cultural artifact: the Japanese Temple Bell, the last of its kind in America. Heiler-Stillman’s quest to learn the secrets of the bell began early in her docent training. On one of the earlier walks she took with the Conservancy’s Director of External Relations Jeanine Knox last April, the two paused by the bell, and realized how little was known about the history of the ornate artifact. “I found it kind of frustrating that there wasn’t that much information,” she said. “What are [we] doing with a Japanese bell for Pete’s sake?”

    With the memory of the previous month’s devastating tsunami fresh in her mind, Heiler-Stillman decided to pursue an independent study of the instrument after reading on the Bell’s plaque that it was from Sendai. “Anything like that really burns itself on your brain,” said Heiler-Stillman.

    With Knox’s encouragement, Heiler-Stillman began her research. It was the beginning of an arduous undertaking. “The story is there, but every time I talked to people about it, it would just lead to more and more questions,” she says.

    To date, she has spent more than 600 hours poring over historical records in the Boston Arts Commission’s archives, conducting interviews with the men who served aboard the USS Boston, the ship that brought the bell from Japan to America, and speaking with craftsmen who, over the years, have restored the bell to its current condition.

    Heiler-Stillman, a social worker who studied anthropology as an undergraduate, has always been fascinated by how different cultures interact. The bell proved a particularly rich object for study.

    Forged in 1675, the 450-pound bell rang for centuries in religious ceremonies at the Manpuku-ji temple in Sendai. During World War II, the Japanese government compelled its citizens to donate metals to be smelted down and turned into artillery, and the bells were granted no exception. As a result, nearly 95% of all of the temple bells in Japan were lost. During the American invasion of Japan, Navy soldiers found 500 bells ready to be repurposed into weapons of war and took several back to America. Capt. Marion Kelley of the USS Boston brought this particular bell back in 1946.Over the next decades, all but one of the bells were returned to their original homes in Japan as diplomatic gestures. When the US State Department contacted Sendai in 1953 to arrange the bell’s return, a group called the Temple Believers offered to allow the bell to remain in Boston as a gift. “They were donating it in the spirit of peace and friendship between the two cities,” says Heiler-Stillman.

    Heiler-Stillman’s lecture will delve even deeper into the moving history of the bell. Free, but seating is limited, so reservations are recommended.  Call 617-522-2700, or visit www.emeraldnecklace.org/japanesebell.  Pastel below by high school student Solomzi Colbert, created especially for this event.