Calgary Chapter's Lethbridge Adventure

Penny Hogan / Photos by Louis Hogan

Thursday, June 7, 2018, was a beautiful, sunny day as members of RTAM Calgary visited the Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden in Lethbridge, Alberta. The Nikka Yuko Garden was established as a “Canadian Garden in the Japanese Style” in 1967, Canada’s Centennial Year. It recognizes contributions made by citizens of Japanese ancestry to the multi-cultural community of Lethbridge and is a symbol of international friendship.

As our group meandered along the winding garden path, our guide explained the features of Japanese garden design. Water, an important design element, is featured in a tumbling waterfall, a gurgling stream and a reflective pond. As the path winds along, carefully pruned trees and shrubs intentionally hide from view the architectural components of the Japanese garden, until the visitor is nearby. Large rocks, positioned by crane, and smaller hand-picked rocks, were carefully chosen during construction, from a nearby mountain pass and are featured in Nikka Yuko. The turtle shaped island represents long life, while the smaller smooth rocks of the ‘karesansui’ dry garden are placed to inspire quiet contemplation. The teahouse, bell tower with bronze Friendship Bell, the gates, bridges, the stone pagoda and stone lanterns were crafted in Kyoto and shipped to Canada.

A highlight of our visit was ‘story tellings’ by Dr. George Takashima, who is a member of the Calgary Chapter. George recounted his personal experiences as a young Japanese Canadian boy living in Vancouver at the outbreak of WW II. George and his parents, along with more than 20,000 Canadians of Japanese ancestry living on Canada’s west coast were removed from their homes by the Canadian government. They were sent to internment camps located in BC interior towns such as Castlegar, Slocan, New Denver and Kaslo. George recounted his boyhood memories of living conditions and schooling during the internment. George went on to describe the integration of the internees and their descendants into Canadian society.

The Garden is a living monument to the contributions of Nikkei - emigrants and their descendants from Japan. Post-war WW II, southern Alberta had the third largest Nikkei population in the country. On October 19, 2017, the Alberta government designated Nikka Yuko

Front Row: L - R: Lillian Kozak, Jan Campbell, Penny Hogan, Sharon Rogerson, Grace Neufeld, Barry Rogerson. Back Row: L - R: Dennis Kozak, Keith Campbell, Louis Hogan, Vic Neufeld. Missing: Missing: Richard Dooley, George Takashima, Peggy Takashima