Murin-an Periodical
This is the information program of Murin-an Garden.
It provides information on Japanese gardens, invitations to events that help foster the garden and seasonal highlights.
The name of this periodical is Sara-Sara News.
What does “sara-sara” mean? In Japanese, this word is used to evoke a gentle rustle or murmuring sound in nature. We have adopted it from a passage in a poem by Yamagata Aritomo, Murin-an’s original owner. It reads
At the end of a water stream/That murmurs gently as it travels hidden beneath the shade of trees/I see a fish leap
We chose this publication’s title to reflect our hope that, like the ceaseless flow of the murmuring brook flowing around Murin-an, the encounters here will produce a current toward nurturing Japanese gardens for the future.
Gardener’s View
Kyoto in February, when the cold is fiercer than any other time of year. It’s not just the chill that comes in the morning and night; even the cold of daytime takes a toll on the body. When snow falls, we wait for it to melt, and when the weather is clear, then we prune the garden’s needle-leaved trees under a perfectly blue sky. Murin-an has many needle-leaved trees, such as yew plum pines, firs, cedars and cypresses, that are mainly planted along its perimeter. Original owner Yamagata Aritomo specifically ordered 50 fir trees planted, and since we know from documentary sources what discriminating tastes he had when it came to trees, our management approach takes his wishes into account. Although the numbers of these trees have diminished today, the ones that have continued growing are now big trees over 10m high. For the needle-leaved trees planted inside the garden, we alternate between using clippers and saws to maintain each tree’s original natural form. The arrival of spring and the season of sprouting buds is just around the corner. Let’s meet at Murin-an, where day by day the look of the garden is changing from winter to spring.
Greet the New Year with a Visit to Murin-an: Our Café is Open Too
