Japanese Culture Events and Tours
Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research provides a context for Cranbrook's Japanese Garden through educational programs that explore the culture and arts of Japan. These have included chanoyu tea ceremonies, lectures by contemporary Japanese garden designers, a lecture about the relationship between Frank Lloyd Wright and Japan, and wagashi, shodo, and ikebana demonstrations.
Obon (お盆 )
THIRD ANNUAL JAPANESE BON FESTIVAL AT CRANBROOK
#MIBON2025
August 10, 2025
Come as you are this summer and join Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research and the members of the Great Lakes Taiko Center for our Third Annual Japanese Bon Festival at Cranbrook. Whether you call Japan or the United States home, whether you have participated in a traditional Japanese Bon Festival or not, all are welcome to join this community celebration of Japanese taiko drumming, music, song, and dance. There will also be bonsai and ikebana on display, family-friendly activities, vendors, and delicious snacks for sale!
OBON (お盆 )
SECOND JAPANESE BON FESTIVAL #MIBON2024
Sunday, August 11, 2024
Come as you are this summer—or wear your favorite festive clothing, like a Japanese yukata kimono or happi jacket—and join Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research and the members of the Great Lakes Taiko Center for the second Japanese Bon Festival at Cranbrook. Whether you call Japan or the United States home, whether you have participated in a traditional Japanese Bon Festival or not, all are welcome to join this community celebration of Japanese taiko drumming, music, song, and dance. The festival at Cranbrook will take place in a grassy meadow on the shores of Kingswood Lake, just south of the Cranbrook Japanese Garden
Obon (お盆 )
JAPANESE BON FESTIVAL AT CRANBROOK
#MIBON2023
August 13, 2023
Come as you are this summer—or wear your favorite festive clothing, like a Japanese yukata kimono or happi jacket—and join Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research and the members of the Great Lakes Taiko Center for a Japanese Bon Festival at Cranbrook. Whether you call Japan or the United States home, whether you have participated in a traditional Japanese Bon Festival or not, all are welcome to join this community celebration of Japanese taiko drumming, music, song, and dance. The festival at Cranbrook will take place in a grassy meadow on the shores of Kingswood Lake, just south of the Cranbrook Japanese Garden
A DAY AWAY WITH SADAFUMI UCHIYAMA: PORTLAND'S CHINESE AND JAPANESE GARDENS
Saturday, April 13th, 2024 | 9:00am - 7:15pm
Join Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research in Portland as we explore two world-class gardens: Lan Su Chinese Garden and the Portland Japanese Garden. Our guide for the day will be Sadafumi Uchiyama, who for the past six years has been working with the Center to design and plan the rejuvenation of the Cranbrook Japanese Garden. Sada, as he is known to us at Cranbrook, will not only guide us through the Portland Japanese Garden, where he recently retired as the Chief Curator and Director of the International Japanese Garden Training Center, but also offer his reflections on Portland’s Chinese Garden, comparing these two time-honored Asian garden traditions. As memorable food and drink are integral to all Center experiences, it goes without saying that the trip will include a Saturday brunch that is sure to please the foodies in the group.
茶の湯 / CHANOYU:
THE JAPANESE WAY OF TEA CELEBRATED IN THE
FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT SMITH HOUSE
Saturday, October 7, 2023
Join Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research as we explore Japanese tea culture, celebrating the ongoing revitalization of the Cranbrook Japanese Garden and the long connections among Frank Lloyd Wright, the Smith family, and Japan. Four intimate Japanese tea ceremonies will be held in the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Smith House, presented by Tea Master Tomoyo Koehler and Michigan-based Omote Senke practitioners. Following the demonstration, the tea practitioners, in elegant kimono, will prepare and then serve the ceremonial tea and traditional Japanese sweets.
EDIBLE LANDSCAPES DINNER: A CULTURAL EXPERIENCE INSPIRED BY THE CRANBROOK JAPANESE GARDEN
October 23, 2022
For the sixth Edible Landscapes Dinner in the Cranbrook House Library, the Center is partnering with Chef Suzuki and Ken Nagao of Sharaku, Michigan’s most authentic Japanese restaurant, and Forte Belanger. Together, Sharaku and Forte Belanger will craft a dining experience that combines authentic Japanese sunomono and sushi with appetizers, an entrée, and dessert that reflect Japanese cuisine through the lens of California in the early twentieth century. It will be a menu that portrays the evolution of the Cranbrook Japanese Garden, a magical place that also reflects the spirit of Japan through an American lens.
和菓子 | 生け花 | 書道 | 茶の湯
WAGASHI, IKEBANA, SHODO, AND CHANOYU:
FOUR TRADITIONAL JAPANESE ARTS DEMONSTRATIONS
March, April, and May 2020
Explore four traditional Japanese arts, celebrating the ongoing revitalization of the Cranbrook Japanese Garden—and the long connection between Frank Lloyd Wright and Japan.
IKEBANA / 生け花:
THE ART OF JAPANESE FLORAL ARRANGEMENT
October 7, 8, and 9, 2022
In this special exhibition in the magnificent rooms of Cranbrook House, the members of Ikebana International Detroit Chapter 85, present a display of nearly thirty arrangements by some of Michigan’s most respected ikebana artists. The exhibition, which includes ikebana demonstrations and tours of both the Cranbrook Japanese Garden and Cranbrook House, celebrates the legacy of the Japanese Garden and its ongoing rejuvenation by Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research.
CRANBROOK'S JAPANESE GARDEN: A VISION FOR THE FUTURE
クランブルック日本庭園: 未来のビジョン
Sunday, October 13, 2019 | 3:00pm
Free Lecture, Reception, and Japanese Garden Tours
Master Plan Summary by Sadafumi Uchiyama, Garden Curator, Portland Japanese Garden
JAPANESE TEA GARDENS AND TEA HOUSES: FROM JAPAN TO FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT AND TODAY
Saturday, August 25, 2018
Celebrate the history of Japanese tea culture, the ongoing revitalization of Cranbrook's Japanese Garden and the connection between Frank Lloyd Wright, the Smiths, and Japan.
JAPANESE GARDEN LECTURE SERIES
Tuesday, May 1, 2018 | 7:00pm
Tuesday, May 15, 2018 | 7:00pm
Thursday, May 17, 2018 | 7:00pm
Tuesday, May 22, 2018 | 7:00pm
This lecture series will feature a presentation of the 2018 Historic Landscape Study of Cranbrook’s Japanese Garden as well as an opportunity to hear from three of the most respected Japanese garden designers working in North America.
HEADER PHOTO CREDIT
Chanoyu Tea Ceremony in Frank Lloyd Wright Smith House, August 2018.