9 August 2014 ~ Japanese Tea Garden Part II

Listening to: Goat ~ Hide From The Sun

This is a Peace Lantern presented by the Japanese Consular to commemorate the signed peace treaty between the US and Japan in 1951. It is made of bronze and weights 9000 pounds! I'm unclear if that includes the base or purely the lantern portion, but that is one heavy flashlight!

This Zen Garden was designed in 1953. Zen monks designed and created dry landscape scenes using stones to symbolize mountains, hills, islands or waterfalls and gravel or sand to symbolize the sea, lakes, rivers or streams.

These tranquil gardens had a religious or mythological meaning, designed to aid the monks in their search for enlightenment.

The koi pond is always mesmerizing with so many shades of green and shapes and reflections. And yes, once in a while a koi would appear.