The Japanese Friendship Garden is a Japanese stroll garden in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

, known as Rohō-en () in Japanese. The garden encompasses and includes a tea garden and tea house. It is a joint project of the sister cities Phoenix and

Himeji 260px, Himeji City Hall is a city located in Hyōgo Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 525,682 in 227,099 households and a population density of 980 persons per km2. The total area of the city is ...

. In 2004 it was named by the City of Phoenix as one of the Phoenix Points of Pride.

Etymology

Rohō-en () is a combination of three

kanji are logographic Chinese characters, adapted from Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script, used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are ...

: ''ro'' ( 鷺) means

heron Herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 75 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genus ''Botaurus'' are referred to as bi ...

, a symbol of Himeji City. ( Himeji Castle, or the White Heron Castle, is a 300-year-old medieval castle in Himeji.) ''Hō'' ( 鳳) refers to the mythical phoenix ''

Fenghuang ''Fenghuang'' () are mythological birds featuring in traditions throughout the Sinosphere. ''Fenghuang'' are understood to reign over all other birds: males and females were originally termed ''feng'' and ''huang'' respectively, but a gender ...

''. ''En'' ( 園) means garden, a public garden.

History

Himeji,

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, became a Phoenix Sister City in November 1976 and is one of Phoenix's twelve Sister Cities around the globe. Phoenix and Himeji participate in business, governmental, cultural and educational exchanges that promote international goodwill and understanding. The Garden is the shared cultural vision of the cities of Phoenix and Himeji. The Japanese Friendship Garden is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in partnership with the City of Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department and its Sister City of Himeji, Japan. Landscape architects from Himeji have made 60 trips to Phoenix and City of Phoenix delegations made five trips to Himeji since 1987. Overall, more than 50 architects from Himeji contributed to the project. The construction cost is estimated at $3.8 million by bond funds and $1.0 million by private donations. The first phase of the garden opened in November 1996. The rest of it opened to the public in 2002.

Sister Garden relationship

In April 2017, Rohō-en signed a sister garden affiliation with Kōko-en, in Himeji. The two gardens will actively promote each other's garden from now on.

Features

The garden features more than 1,500 tons of hand picked rock, stone footbridges, lanterns and more than 50 varieties of plants. It includes streams, a 12-foot waterfall, and a Koi pond with over 300 Koi fish. One of the main attractions at the Japanese Friendship Garden is the Japanese Tea House. 3.5 total acres with a koi pond that is 5/8 of an acre. The Garden showcases more than 50 varieties of plants including two varieties of bamboo. The designers chose plant species that can withstand the rigors of a desert environment while still reflecting the serenity of a Japanese Garden. 1,500 tons of rock handpicked from quarries near Jerome, Superior, Congress and Florence line the stream beds, walking paths, lake shore and main lake waterfall.

References

External links