Preserving Legacy | Part II. Cherry Blossom Conservation Workshop

Presented by the Japan Information & Culture Center, Embassy of Japan & the United States National Arboretum

Join us at the U.S. National Arboretum for an on-the-ground workshop on Japanese tree conservation practices. This event will be led by Master Gardener FUJIMOTO Kurato and assistant Hans Friedl. Participants will have the unique opportunity to engage with traditional tools and learn specialized techniques used to preserve legacy cherry blossom trees.

Following the workshop, guests will be guided to the Exhibits Gallery within the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum for a curated tour of . This annual exhibition features works by landscape architect and Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission award-winning artist Ron Henderson.

Fujimoto and Henderson have long collaborated on legacy tree conservation projects using hōzue, an indigenous Japanese horticultural technique. Their work has received honor awards from the Providence Preservation Society and the American Society of Landscape Architects for conservation efforts at Roger Williams Park (Providence, RI), the U.S. National Arboretum (Washington, DC), and Dumbarton Oaks (Washington, DC).

Following the program, Henderson and Fujimoto will host a Q&A session on their work and joint conservation practices.

Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission Creative Artist Fellow

Ron Henderson is a Professor of Landscape Architecture + Urbanism at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago and the inaugural Director of Research for the Alphawood Arboretum at IIT. He is the founding principal of LIRIO Landscape Architecture, with projects in North America, Asia, and Europe. Henderson is also the author of 30 Trees (Birkhäuser, 2023) and The Gardens of Suzhou (University of Pennsylvania Press).

FUJIMOTO Kurato is a master gardener based in Kanazawa (Ishikawa Prefecture) on the snowy west coast of Japan. He has 25 years of experience, including working under the master gardener Araya in Kanazawa for 6 years. He has been working on tree maintenance at Kenrokuen Garden, one of Japan's three great daimyo gardens, in Kanazawa for more 20 years. He also leads tree maintenance and gardening on various projects throughout Kanazawa. He is a master in yukitsuri (rope-tenting) and hōzue (brace/crutch) design and maintenance.

This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required for capacity purposes.

Please arrive with adequate time to park and navigate to the lobby of the Visitors' Center. Guides will lead attendees to the workshop site at 1:00 p.m.If you arrive after 1:00 p.m., please consult with the receptionist for directions.

Host or Publisher Japan Information & Culture Center, Embassy of Japan