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Little Tokyo Gardens
Seriyu-en (Garden of the Clear Stream) - Takeo Uesugi, 1979 (also known as the James Irvine Garden) - 244 South San Pedro Street, behind the Japanese American Community and Cultural Center -
Background information here -
Seiryu-en is not to be viewed from the outside, like Riyoan-ji, the famed karasansui (rock and sand) garden in Kyoto. Instead of designing a shakkei or "borrowed scenery" garden, in which the background in incorporated into the garden's design, Uesugi planted redwoods and other trees along the edge of Seiryu-en to screen the surrounding buildings, isolate the garden and intensify the sense of enclosure while suggesting that a forest extends beyond. Indeed, Seiryu-en is a shuyu or stroll garden, combining long and compressed vistas, with places to stop, pause and reflect along a winding path of decomposed granite, beaten earth and asymmetrically aligned stepping stones.
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