Day 5 - Japanese Tea Garden, San Antonio, Texas
đź“ŚAPIA Every Day (5) - The San Antonio Japanese Tea Garden, (also known as the Sunken Gardens and at one time, the Chinese Tea Garden) is a captivating historical attraction located in Brackenridge Park, San Antonio, Texas. This remarkable site emerged from an abandoned limestone quarry, transformed into a serene oasis by City Parks Commissioner Ray Lambert starting in 1917. While using prison labor, Lambert alongside engineer W.S. Delery designed the quarry, constructing pathways, stone arch bridges, and even a Japanese pagoda. The garden was initially maintained by Kimi Eizo Jingu, a Japanese-American artist who opened the Bamboo Room in 1926, offering light lunches and tea to visitors. However by 1942, World War II and Japanese incarceration brought anti-Japanese sentiment, leading to the eviction of the Jingu family and a temporary renaming of the garden to the Chinese Tea Garden.
A notable feature of the Japanese Tea Garden is the exquisite replication of a Japanese Torii gate, created by the Mexican-born artist Dionicio Rodriguez in his distinctive style of concrete construction that convincingly imitated wood, called “Faux Bois".” Although the garden has been renamed back to the Japanese Tea Garden, the gate still provides visual evidence of Japanese incarceration and subsequent erasure during World War II when it was renamed to the “Chinese Tea Garden” to prevent vandalism and was stewarded by a Chinese-American family, Ted and Ester Wu until the 1960s. This unique piece of history is characterized by its resilience, surviving vandalism during the war and later being restored to its Japanese heritage in 1984.
Additionally, in 2009, the San Antonio Parks Foundation and the City of San Antonio initiated a substantial restoration project for the historic Jingu house, a building with a rich history within the garden. The $1 million restoration was completed in October 2011, and today, the Jingu house has been repurposed into a restaurant while the rest of the site remains as a public park space and rental venue. It now serves light lunches, reminiscent of the offerings provided by the Jingu family in the 1930s, further adding to the garden's historical and culinary significance. Today, the site is designated a Texas Civil Engineering Landmark, a Registered Texas Historic Landmark, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
PHOTO 1: Jingu Family on bridge in the Tea Garden, Credit: Jingu Family | Texas Public Radio
PHOTO 2: Torii gate featuring “Chinese Tea Garden” designed by Mexican-born artist Dionicio Rodriguez in his concrete imitated-wood style.
PHOTO 3: The garden in 2021, Credit: Matt Conant | Texas Monthly
LEARN MORE:
Texas Public Radio: How World War II Changed History At San Antonio's Japanese Tea Garden
San Antonio Parks Foundation: The Japanese Tea Garden
Texas Monthly: Find Your Moment (or Hours) of Zen at a Japanese Garden
City of San Antonio Parks & Recreation: Japanese Tea Garden
Listing in Texas Historical Commission
Listing in the National Register of Historic Places
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