Japanese Memorial Garden Project
The Japanese Memorial Garden restored to honor Coachella Valley’s Japanese pioneers.
A new addition to our permanent Museum exhibits is the refurbished Japanese Memorial Garden. It can be considered an exhibit as it represents an important historic event in the Coachella Valley. Japanese immigrants have played an important role in establishing farms and businesses in the east valley from the early 1900s to the present. Their descendants chose to remember Japanese pioneer families by placing the original Memorial garden on the grounds of the Museum in 1985. Thirty-six years later, the garden needed a complete renovation.
Master Gardener, Glenn Koyama (foreground), and his assistant, Manuel Martinez (background), working on the garden restoration project
In 2021, with the help of generous donors, the Board of Trustees embarked on this project. Keiji Uesugi of Takeo, Uesugi & Associates provided the current design, and Master Gardener, Glenn Koyama, and his assistant, Manuel Martinez, did the actual construction. In three months, the garden was completed.
Master Gardener, Glenn Koyama (left), and Keiji Uesugi of Takeo, Uesugi & Associates (right) at the 2022 Rededication Ceremony
A Rededication and Blessing ceremony was held on March 27, 2022, with Reverend Alfred Tsuyuki presiding and 300 visitors in attendance. It is to be noted that Reverend Tsuyuki also officiated at the original Blessing ceremony in 1985. Visitors and honored guests were entertained by Koto player, +Atsuko Hewitt, and the Taiko Drummers of Taikomix from Riverside. Local students presented Haiku poetry dedicated to the garden, and families learned origami folding and Ikebana flower arranging.
Reverend Alfred Tsuyuki presiding over the Rededication and Blessing Ceremony
Cherry Ishimatsu and Art Westerfield at the Rededication Ceremony
Koto player, +Atsuko Hewitt, performing during the Rededication Ceremony
The shade of the Crepe Myrtle trees and the flowing water in the nearby wash basin provide a pleasant resting area for Museum visitors during our hot months.
CVHM Docents, Kevin Fleming (far left) and Susan Golden (second from left), with visitors from the Alzheimer’s Association, resting in the shade in the restored Japanese Memorial Garden.
