Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens
4000 Morikami Park Rd.
Delray Beach, FL 33446
Delray Beach, FL 33446
561-495-0233
AT A
GLANCE: Morikami Museum and Japanese
Gardens
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Date of Visit:
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Saturday, May 6,2017
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Parking
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Plentiful, onsite
parking
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Amount of time needed
to peruse exhibits:
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90 – 120 minutes
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Amount of time needed
for gift shop
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45 – 60 minutes
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The “must have”
souvenir
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For children: Carp bag or windsock
For adults: chopstick holders
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Online shopping
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Kid friendly shopping
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Yes
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Kid friendly
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Yes
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Dress code
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Casual, but not
tacky.
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Be sure to…..
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Buy fish food and feed
the Koi (fancy carp)
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Nearby/other
establishments to visit
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Nothing
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Walkability, general
downtown area / amount of traffic
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Morikami Museum and
Japanese Gardens are walkable. The
path around the Gardens is wheelchair accessible.
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Safety, in terms of
type and number of crimes committed in general area
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Generally safe, but
keep in mind that it’s up to you to protect your possessions. Stow valuables out of sight and lock your
car.
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A
long time ago in the early 1900s, Florida was experiencing a time of attempted
prosperity because it seemed as if everybody wanted a piece of the action. The wealthy founder of Standard Oil wanted to
build a railroad from the Northeastern U.S. to sunny Florida with a dream to
build hotels near the tracks to house well-to-do northerners who came south for
some warmth and sunshine. We’ve heard of
Henry Flagler before; even a brief review of Florida’s history mentions his
name. How does this tie in with this
week’s blog? Because Flagler greatly
influenced the subject of this week’s blog:
Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens.
Henry
Flagler realized that he needed an infrastructure if he were to accomplish his
dream. People were needed to run hotels
and restaurants and to supply the food that was needed to do both. Around 1908, Flagler’s land holding company encouraged
farmers to come to Florida to supply food. Yamato, Japan was the home base of some of
these farmers who moved from Japan to Florida.
The Yamato Colony was one of the groups, named after the birthplace of these men. They began a
pineapple farm, and were on their way to becoming wealthy from its
proceeds. Except, it didn’t happen that
way. A nasty disease, pineapple blight, attacked their
crops in those early years, which then wiped out any hopes of profit. As if that wasn’t enough of a stumbling
block, Cuba had recently started pineapple farming and was able to sell
their fruit at lower rates than the Yamato Colony. The Colony threw in the towel, and either
returned to Japan or relocated elsewhere in the U.S.
Garden photos: https://goo.gl/OEcMnx
Gift shop photos: https://goo.gl/yK5SPt
A
few decades later brought the U.S’s entrance into World War II. Since Japan was one of the enemies,
Japanese-Americans were herded into containment centers. All, that is, except for the lone Japanese
farmer who still held land where the Yamato Colony had once been. He was allowed to stay, since he still raised
crops needed by the armed forces.
However, the land was seized by the government and turned into an Army
Air Corps training station. This story
has a happy ending, though. After the
war, the U.S. government compensated the land owners whose properties were
seized, and George Morikami, that lone Japanese holdout, was able to purchase
his original farm. At his death, Morikami
donated the land that houses the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens to Palm
Beach County, Florida to preserve and honor the memory of the original Yamato
Colony. The beautiful land that we visit
today is the result of hard work and dedication of Palm Beach County.
A
walk through the Morikami Japanese Gardens does wonders for calming one’s
soul. Bridges and paths are created in
true Japanese style with the intent to slow one down to contemplate nature. This is not a garden to rush through, since
the experience of moving through the lush greenery makes up part of the overall
encounter. I experienced this myself,
and found it interesting that my pace at the end of the garden path was so much
slower than my pace going in. The garden
allowed me to see everything, yet nothing in great detail. This is the difference between a Japanese
garden and a botanical garden. A
botanical garden strives to have perfect specimens representing individual
species. A Japanese garden is more of a
consumptive experience. A stroll through
this Japanese garden created an almost perfect harmony of smell, sound, and
shadow. To be in the Morikami Gardens
was to be one with nature.
Now
that we have the backstory of Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens, let take a
look at how this unique place could be branded.
Branding is the personality,
or vibe, of a place and consists of many layers of history and personality. One way I like to get things started is to spout out three words that describe
the area in need of branding. We did
this exercise after our visit and came up with two versions:
Pineapples Zen
Prosperity Educational
Peaceful Tranquil
One
of us appears more pragmatic than the other, but neither of the two lists is
incorrect. Sometimes the same
thing appears differently to each in their own way. Your list may resemble one of ours, or may be
unique.
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| Feed the koi |
In
relation to gift shops, the branding list and the shop’s merchandise need to be
in harmony with each other. A trip to
the gift shop should enhance the visitor’s experience in the garden. The Morikami gift shop provides an excellent
example of this synchronization. Reenter
the main building after a calm meander through the gardens, and that same vibe
follows and flows through the gift shop.
Exquisite and colorful kimonos are designed to catch the eye, yet
radiate stillness of self. Intricately
woven jackets are displayed next to the kimonos followed by plain-featured and
functional purses. It wouldn’t be
difficult to imagine wearing such a handsome ensemble.
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| I would like to wear one of these as I stroll my flower gardens. |
Like
the gardens, the gift shop allows one to see everything all at once. It’s by slowing down that you begin to see
the wondrous pieces that make up the whole of the shop. Here’s what I mean: enter the gift shop with unfocused eyes and
you run the risk of being overwhelmed (“Snappled”). Think of the Morikami gift shop as a series
of small shops, rather than one large shop. Focus on the display that is directly in
front of you to feel the quiet connection to the gardens. Rain chains hang from the ceiling in tranquil stillness. Wind chimes hang from the ceiling a bit further
on, so as to not mix the quietness with the music of the wind. Of course if the wind has a lot to say,
consider the wind chimes that contain a gong.
Garden photos: https://goo.gl/OEcMnx
Gift shop photos: https://goo.gl/OEcMnx
Enter
the actual gift shop from the lobby and stop at one of the prominent
merchandise displays presenting rice bowls, similar to those that are used in
Japanese tea ceremonies. Chopsticks and
chopstick holders are next to the rice bowl.
Turn around for books with titles on the intricacies of the tea ceremony
and ikebana (Japanese flower arranging).
Move along to the dozen or so types of tea leaves. See the interesting display of tea pots next
to the tea display. A bonsai section
follows, with instruction books and tools.
My favorite part is next: the
jewelry behind the locked glass. Even
the necklaces and bracelets are grouped by style and color: big and chunky statement necklaces share a
space with other modern and chunky black pieces. I marvel at the care that went into setting
up the merchandise displays so it has an organic flow from one
display to the next, much like the structure of the gardens. Once again, slow down and look at the
different sections of the gift shop as if they were their own shop. Study the differences between the modern and
traditional jewelry. Appreciate the
colorful, yet simple, handbags displayed with them. If these statement pieces are too much, move
along to the pedestrian jewelry displayed out in the open on the counter with
the cash register.
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| Functional and kicky handbags |
The
Morikami gift shop is great for small children, but keep them within arm’s
reach. The gift shop carries a great
deal of items for sale in a small place, and children may get stepped on. There were four people shopping when I
visited, and the shop felt small. That’s
why it’s important to slow down and appreciate things as separate shops. At first, see everything but see nothing,
just like the gardens.
In
reference back to the list of branding words, the second list (Zen,
educational, tranquil) fits both the gardens and the gift shop like a
glove. Thank goodness they didn’t go
with pineapples, prosperity, and peaceful.
I really don’t think I would like a shop full of gold coins and fruit.
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| The line outside of the Cornell Cafe |
Lunch
should sound appealing by this time, and fortunately you won’t have to go far. I recommend the Cornell Café, which is
located in the back half of the main building. Note that the Café is
only open for four hours, 11 am – 3 pm.
There will always be a line waiting to get in, so eat as soon as you
arrive at Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens, or tour the gardens and gift
shop first, and then have lunch. Noon
and 1:00 pm are the Café’s busiest times, so do what you can to avoid this
time. If this is your first time at a
Japanese restaurant, I recommend the box lunch.
I imagined a lunch pail with a bologna sandwich and an apple. Not so, here.
The “box” refers to a rectangular tray with eight or nine compartments. Each compartment contains a sample of some of
the dishes on the menu: sushi, eggplant,
salmon, etcetera. The food may look
strange, or different, but the taste is superb.
Were you considering buying a set of chopsticks and chopstick
holders? I’ve got good news for
you. The place setting contains
chopsticks. Go ahead and try. Don’t worry about looking awkward or foolish,
because everyone else is doing the same thing.
Live on the edge, you wild thing.
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| The Cornell Cafe is on the other side of this wall |
I
felt a sense of sadness when it came time for us to leave Morikami Museum and
Japanese Gardens. I had achieved a
feeling of oneness with myself, and a calm, gentle vibe and didn’t want to lose
it. I silently thanked Henry Flagler,
the Yamato Colony, and George Morikami for their part in bringing this Japanese
garden to the public.
Garden photos: https://goo.gl/OEcMnx
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May 11, 2017
Dear Gentle Blog Followers,
Next
week's blog is my last before I take a summer sabbatical. I'm taking
the time to redesign my blog and add some functionality to it, such as
interactive maps and suggestions for a day trip.
I'll start posting again in mid-September.
I'll start posting again in mid-September.
In the meantime, I hope you re-visit
some of my earlier blogs. Keep in touch and feel free to send your
thoughts and comments to me: bfirman.mcmanus@gmail.com.
I appreciate you.
B
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