EAP 1600 Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens

The Morikami Museum and Japanese Garden is a beautiful place that keeps the Japanese culture alive and open for any person who wants to learn about it. They are located in West Palm Beach in a street with their same name “Morikami.” It is an amazing place to visit with family and friends. It also brings the opportunity to relax and have contact with a great and beautiful natural environment. The land where this museum wis currently located was once owned by a young Japanese named Jo Sakai. He wanted to form a pioneering group of farmers where today is Boca Raton. His group was called “Yamato” that means “Japan” in ancient language, but it did not succeed, so everyone started moving out to other states.  But, one man stayed, George Morikami. He donated his part of the land to Palm Beach County to preserve it as a Japanese park and the memory of the Yamato Colony. In 1993, the museum reopened with six gardens inspired by famous Japanese Gardens, a variety of bonsai, a museum with old art and Japanese anime, and a house with different rooms where each one represent one aspect of the Japanese’ life today. It has also a theater and a tearoom for Tea ceremonies. The names of the gardens are Shinden Garden, Paradise Garden, Early Rock Garden, Karesansui Late Orck Garden, Hiraniwa Flat Garden, and Modern Romantic Garden. These gardens are magnificent; there is bamboo for everywhere, the water is so clean, the environment itself is peaceful, the rock and sand art is indescribable. They are contantly showing a video about the history of the museum in their theater. The Tea ceremony is an ancient ceremony in which it is required to follow several steps in order to do it with respect and honor. A woman there explained every step in the tea ceremony to us; how guests have to appreciate all the decoration that the host did in his/her house before the host comes into the room, when it is appropiate to speak, the proper way to eat and drink, how it is required to let the host know that you do not want any more tea, and when and how you have to depart. She also explained us that the type of Kimono you can wear when attending a tea ceremony, depends on your age, social status, marital status and political status. Morikami museum and Japanese Gardens is an amazing place to visit any time of the year, especially if you like nature.
References

The Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens. n.d. June 2012 <http://www.morikami.org/gardens/gardens/>.