Celebrate Japan! at Long Hill

The Japan Society of Boston partnered with Long Hill: A Trustees of the Reservation Property, to provide a weekend full of Japanese Culture just in time for AAPI Heritage Month.

Odaiko New England - 10:30 AM on Saturday, May 21, 2022

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Come experience Taiko like never before. On century old grounds surrounded by lush Spring flowers, Odaiko New England will be performing the Japanese art of Kumi-daiko (ensemble drumming). Members of ONE will also be joined by select taiko class students in their debut performance, so please come cheer them on.

Odaiko New England (ONE) was formed in 1994 and is one of the premier taiko groups on the East Coast. By combining Japanese aesthetic sensibility with the American spirit, ONE has forged its own distinctive style and voice.

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Garden Tour with Stephen Schneider - 10:30 AM on Sunday, May 22, 2022

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Join Northeastern Horticulturist Stephen Schneider in an encounter with the spectacular grounds of Long Hill a century in the making, featuring flora brought over from Japan over the many years of the property’s existence. Mr. Schneider will take you through the meadows, orchards, gardens, and winding woodland trails of the property as he reads the history of the landscape and recounts the botanical connection between New England of the late 19th century, and Meiji Era Japan.

Calligraphy by Michiko Imai Event Tent - 11:30AM on Sunday May 22, 2022

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Michiko Imai was born and raised in Nara, Japan. She began her studies of Calligraphy at the tender age of 4 and received a membership to the Tenshin Guild, calligraphy society and her life as a calligrapher began by the age of 25. Michiko progressed to the next level, becoming a member of the Cho-ko Guild, the most prestigious calligraphy society in Japan. During her apprenticeship, she taught calligraphy, and studied the art of Japanese silk scroll making in Japan. She has performed calligraphy at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Prudential Center in Boston, Boston Children’s Museum, Tufts University, Brandeis University, and other universities throughout the United States. Michiko will perform a spring haiku and a zengo (zen word) on large paper and more.

Incense Appreciation by Kiyoko Morita - 1PM on Sunday May 22, 2022

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Kōdō, known as “The way of Incense,” is the Japanese art of incense appreciation, and one of the three Classical Japanese arts of refinement. In this demonstration, Kiyoko Morita will allow visitors to experience the traditional Japanese way of incense.

Flower Arrangement by Keiko Thayer - 2PM on Sunday May 22, 2022

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If Spring is known for one thing, it is flowers. In Japan, the way of the flower is known as Kadō or more commonly as Ikebana. Join Keiko Thayer, Kadō master, as she transforms the bounty of Spring into works of art through a tradition that dates back to the Heian Period of Japanese History.

Tea Ceremony by Professor Allan Palmer - 3PM on Sunday, May 22, 2022

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In Japanese, the word Chadō (or Sadō) indicates the third Classical Japanese Art of Refinement, the Tea Ceremony. Professor Allan Palmer has been performing the tea ceremony in the Boston area for over five decades. Starting in the 1970s, he was admitted to the Urasenke school of tea ceremony in Kyoto, Japan, and is one of the few westerners to have been given a “tea name,” which designates him the ability to teach others in the way of Japanese Tea Ceremony. Join Professor Palmer in the events tent for a quiet and meditative presentation of an art that dates back over a millennium.