Final Report of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition CommissionLouisiana Purchase Exposition Commission
History
Final Report of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Commission
Louisiana Purchase Exposition Commission
Louisiana Purchase Exposition (1904 : Saint Louis, Mo.)
Besides the above areas in the various departments, a garden of a
genuine Japanese style covered an extensive space of ground, in which
stood the Government building. Attached to it was a reception hall and
several artistic mansions. Displays of Japanese garden and floricultural
arts were exhibited in the garden. In the reception hall were exhibited
various data showing the growth and present status of the Red Cross
Society of Japan. Altogether, the dimension of space taken by Japan for
the garden aggregated approximately 148,361 square feet. Artistically
distributed within the precincts of the garden were the reception hall,
the office building, the Formosa tea house, the Kinkaku tea house, and
several cottages and a bazaar. Hills and waterfalls, ponds and bridges
were presented in miniature scale. In the verdant lawns flowers of
different colors were all harmonized into an artistic unit in unique
landscape gardening. Beautifully trained dwarf trees, centuries old,
were brought from Japan for the special purpose of ornamenting the
garden. There were also the drooping wisteria and gay peony, the scented
lily and blushing maple.
The building materials for the reception hall, the office building, and
resting cottages were brought from Japan. The reception hall was built
entirely by native carpenters, after the style of a daimyo's goten
(palace of feudal lord) of some six hundred years ago. The architectural
style of the building was what is termed Heike, a style prevailing at
the time when a military family called Heike held a paramount power. The
artistically curved roofs, projecting one upon another, were a modest
representation of architectural accomplishment already attained in Japan
several centuries ago. Hanging on the inner wall of the hall was the
portrait of Her Majesty the Empress of Japan, and occupying a section of
the room were the exhibits of the Red Cross Society of Japan, in which
the Empress takes a keen interest. The resting cottage was modeled after
a cottage in a shogun's (military magistrate) garden, two or three
centuries ago. Close to the south bank of the lake was a small
reproduction of Kinkaku Temple. Close to the right of the front gate of
the garden stood the Formosa mansion, a fair representation of
characteristic native dwellings. The Kinkaku Temple was built under the
auspices of the Japan Tea Traders' Association, and the Formosa mansion
by the initiative of the Formosa government.
MEXICO.
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