Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden

Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden (日加友好日本庭園) is a 3.75 acre garden located near Henderson Lake in Lethbridge, Alberta, designed by Dr. Masami Sugimoto and Dr. Tadashi Kubo of Osaka Prefecture University in Japan. The pavilion, shelter, bridges and gates were built in Kyoto, Japan, by five artisans who later reassembled them in the garden. It was opened July 14, 1967, during the Canadian Centennial celebrations.

History
In the early 1960s, Lethbridgian Reverend Yutetsu Kawamura, a minister of Buddhist churches in Alberta, and Cleo Mowers, editor and publisher of the Lethbridge Herald, were independently considering the possibility of a Japanese garden being built in Lethbridge. Kurt Steiner, the manager of the Lethbridge Travel and Convention Bureau, eventually brought the two together and a steering committee was formed.

The steering committee, headed by Rev. Kawamura, brought a proposal to the Lethbridge City Council that was subsequently approved on 6 January 1964. The committee proposed a Japanese Garden Committee be appointed to oversee the garden's construction. By the following summer, the committee was granted official society status and later became the Lethbridge & District Japanese Garden Society.

Initially, Dr. Tadashi Kubo, landscape architect from the University of Osaka, provided design expertise, but he later handed the responsibility to his assistant Masami Sugimoto, who attended the groundbreaking ceremony. He provided consultation on maintenance and improvements presently. The original basis for the design was created by Ayako Hitomi, a student of Dr. Kubo at the time.

After 21 months of construction, the garden publicly opened for the first time on 3 July 1966. The grand opening was held the following year, on 14 July 1967 during Canada's centennial celebrations. Japan's Prince and Princess Takamatsu attended the grand opening celebration.

The name Nikka Yuko means Japan-Canada friendship, and was chosen to symbolize the enduring friendship between the two nations and to acknowledge the contributions of Japanese Canadians to Southern Alberta.

Features
Core design concepts utilized in the garden include Wabi-sabi, (beauty in age/simplicity), Shakkei, (borrowed view), and Miegakure, (hide and reveal).

Water, (and in the case of a karesansui, its simulated form in sand), comprise some of the major features of Nikka Yuko, as in most Japanese landscape gardens.

Trees used are primarily conifers, with a barrier of evergreens to break the wind and create a perceived separation from the outside world. Many of the plants are pruned in the Niwaki style, exposing the branch structure and emulating trees found in extreme conditions, or ones later in their life cycle.

Stones and rocks are used liberally, either in representation of their natural form, or symbolically to suggest other aspects of a setting such as mountains, waterfalls or islands set in seas or oceans.

Man-made structures such as the Pavilion and Bell Tower also play a significant part in the garden's design, as man made objects are meant to contrast the garden's landscape.

Structures

 * Wishing well, symbolic of freshwater wells used to collect water for Tea ceremonies.
 * Pavilion, Sukiya-zukuri style, constructed entirely from Taiwanese Hinoki wood, as opposed to Japanese Hinoki.
 * Chashitsu, or "tea room" with a tatami mat floor, used for Tea Ceremony presentations.
 * Mizuya, or "water room" used for storing utensils required for the Tea Ceremony.
 * Dry-rock garden, inspired by the dry-rock garden at Ryōan-ji temple in Kyoto.
 * Azumaya
 * Stone lanterns, purely decorative structures, introduced to Japanese Gardens to provide light for Tea ceremonies held at night.
 * Wooden bridges
 * Bell Tower
 * Bonshō Style Bell, created as a symbol of friendship between Japan and Canada.
 * Moon bridge

Landscaping

 * Mountain
 * Waterfall
 * Streams
 * Ponds
 * Islands
 * Flat "Prairie Garden", with peony wall.

Governance
The Garden is owned by the City of Lethbridge and is operated by the Lethbridge & District Japanese Garden Society through a fee-for-service agreement. The Lethbridge & District Japanese Garden Society, which was established 20 May 1965 is responsible for the management and administration of the garden. Its board of directors consists of 13 volunteers elected for a three-year term. Additionally, the garden is staffed by a full-time executive director, operations manager, marketing manager, education and programming manager, two supervisory staff, two gardening staff, two maintenance staff, a pruning technician, a head host/hostess and up to twelve interpretive guides. The current executive director since 2015 is Michelle Day.