Thinking of Chomei-ji 長命寺 in Omihachiman: seasonal display, Grand Rapids

For the past several years the Christmas and New Year's exhibition at Meijer Gardens has included some of the landmark houses and businesses around the city of Grand Rapids. But also there are famous buildings from the sister-cities that G.R. has in Ghana, Italy, Japan, Mexico, and Poland.

miniature of Chomei-ji 長命寺 in Omi-Hachiman city, Shiga-ken (2019 Grand Rapids)

All of the buildings are made from pieces of plants; for example, the toadstools at the base of this pagoda. An image search for "omihachiman chomeiji" turns up many pictures of the actual building that can be visited in Shiga prefecture, close to the southeast shore of  Lake Biwa. There is also some information about the significance of Chomei (long life)-ji (temple) on Wikipedia-Japanese, https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/長命寺

For Omi-Hachiman city in English on Wikipedia, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ōmihachiman.

Early December 2019 snow, Japanese pond and path at Meijer Garden

Scenes from the beginning of December in Grand Rapids 49525 at www.meijergardens.org
(click on the photo for larger view)

panorama with tea house in middle distance, waterfalls at the opposite shore

tea house to the right and early ice starting to form in the middle distance on the pond of the Japanese-style garden

visitors to the Japanese-style garden are greeted with this stonework

waterfall flows and helps to keep the pond oxygenated during the ice season

sculpture by Zhang Huan borders the pond pathway

part of the covered boat landing and tea house across the water

gently arched bridge in middle distance, tea house in foreground

peninsula (misaki, cape) with stone lantern at waterline

gazebo on the peninsula looks toward tea house (right) and hilltop

dry (rock) garden in Zen style, islands in a sea of pebble waves

hilltop viewing point shows the walkway of many turns in the distance

application for 2020 exchange of high schoolers

cross-posting from Japan Center for Michigan Universitis (Hikone in Shiga prefecture)


JCMU is excited to announce that program information and application materials are now available for the 2020 “Michigan-Shiga High School Exchange”!



This 2-way exchange program is available for Michigan high school students currently in grades 9-11. Paper applications have a postmark deadline of March 13, 2020.



To get the word out, please pass along the below e-mail template to relevant students, instructors, high schools, and community organizations/groups:





(Subject Line: MI high schoolers: Explore Japan next summer 🗾)



Applications for the 2020 Michigan-Shiga High School Exchange are now open. Are you ready to travel the world? Join us in Shiga, Japan next summer on this two-part exchange program.



Program Details

Shiga portion: June 24–July 11

Michigan portion: Sep 3–19

App Deadline: March 13



Experience School Life in Japan

Live with a Japanese host family and attend school with your host sibling.



Discover Shiga

Explore Michigan’s Sister State. Shiga is one of the most historic areas of Japan. Visit ancient temples, shrines, castles, natural hot springs, and more.



Share Michigan

A month after you return, your Japanese sibling will travel to the U.S. and live with you. While here, they will attend your classes and experience life in Michigan.



Learn More

For more information including eligibility, program fees, and how to apply, visit the 2020 Michigan-Shiga High School Exchange webpage. If you have any questions, contact program administrators by phone (517-355-4654) or e-mail (hs@jcmu.org).

Japanese Garden after the leaves fall, late November

The early afternoon was sunny in the run-up to the Thanksgiving week 2019 in Grand Rapids.
The visitors who came to the Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park were rewarded with this view atop the viewing point at the Japanese Garden. (3 images stitched into panorama).

looking north from viewpoint above the Japanese Teahouse in the middle distance

The monthly Sunday afternoon visits to the Japanese Teahouse run from May to October normally. So by now the access paths and the building itself is closed off until 2020.

Visiting the Japanese Tea House at Meijer Gardens

pond side of the tea house showing transitional space: inside to outside

During the mild weather from May to October there is normally a Sunday afternoon each month from 1 to 4 during which visitors can tour the building and grounds. Here are a few scenes from September 2019, a few weeks before the fall colors were well developed.

Poems from Japan (in English) at Meijer Garden - cherry blossom cove

Although difficult to read under certain lighting conditions, or because of boulder texture and height above the ground (some are a bit low; some are a bit high), still it is nice to discover the verses here and there in and around the Japanese garden. One of the webpages describes the 2015 project with the artist who selected the translations and hand-carved the rocky material to leave a lasting message to visitors now and for many generations from now.

https://www.meijergardens.org/explore/for-the-garden/
This webpage also gives a link to a PDF of individual photos of the poem carvings.

Here is a photo of the bronze list of poets and their translators.

click image for full-size view of poem sources in the Japanese-size garden