Lafcadio Hearn Japanese Gardens opens new heritage centre - The Munster Express

Lafcadio Hearn Japanese Gardens opens new heritage centre The Munster Express

Lafcadio Hearn Japanese Gardens in Tramore opened their new Kokoro Heritage Centre and Café on June 8 last. The beautiful indoor space with a balcony overlooking Tramore, was opened by Minister Dara Calleary TD, in the presence of His Excellency Ambassador Miyagawa Manabu, Ambassador of Japan to Ireland.

The Kokoro Centre is the latest step forward in the hard fought Japanese Garden project, which has come to be a cherished space for the people of Waterford and has gained recognition and support directly from the Japanese state.

Agnes Aylward, who had the original vision for the Japanese Gardens, spoke to The Munster Express at the event. When asked what it means to have the Japanese Ambassador in attendance she said, “It’s fantastic because if you saw his full title, he’s the representative of his Imperial Highness, the Emperor of Japan. It’s regarded as a very important role to be the Emperor’s representative so that’s why it’s very important to have him here”.

“Also, he is a very nice man. Like all the previous ambassadors, he’s interested in this project. They have helped us in applying for funding from Japanese funds and I suppose having their imprimatur is good.

“It’s not just us saying here we are, look at our lovely garden, higher voices are involved too.”

Agnes explained that she first became aware of Lafcadio Hearn through another ambassador while working as a civil servant. In time, she would work to create the Japanese Gardens in his honour.

“Lafcadio Hearn is extremely important in Japan. He is the single Western person who really understood Japanese culture. He was a teacher there when he went there first and he learned from his students a lot about the inner life of Japan.

“He wrote about Japan and the way they treated him as fair and equal, whereas a lot of other Westerners were condescending. The Japanese naturally reacted to the warmth with which he wrote about them,” she explained.

“He became very important, and he wrote 13 books during his time there. Some recorded their ghost stories. Some commentators have said he saved their traditions because he recorded them as clusters were changing. We had a similar thing in Ireland there was a folklore tradition in the early 1900s, where they recorded people telling old ghost stories and if they hadn’t done that those things could have been lost.

“In a way Lafcadio Hearn did that to an extent in Japan too. Some Japanese commentators would say that he saved their culture so they do value him very much.”

Despite being credited as a major cultural figure in Japan, Agnes explained that Hearn was something of an unknown in Ireland before the Japanese Gardens highlighted his contribution to Japanese culture.

“Irish people don’t really know him because he left Ireland when he was 19. So, he was never known here. He went to America then; he was 20 years in America and became well known there as a writer."

Speaking at the event, His Excellency Ambassador Miyagawa Manabu, had high praise for the Japanese Gardens, and spoke of the cultural connection between Ireland and Japan.

“Trust and mutual respect united Lafcadio Hearn and his Japanese wife. Kokoro is also the tile of one of the books written by Lafcadio Hearn on the people and culture of Japan around 130 years ago, which introduced Japan to a generation of readers in the world,” he explained.

“We owe a great debt of gratitude to him. I also would like to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude to the people of Tramore, Waterford and Ireland for your dedication to keeping this beautiful garden for so many years.”

Agnes Aylward was conferred with Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays by the Japanese embassy earlier this year.

“As the minister also said,” continued the Ambassador, “Mrs Agnes Aylward was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun gold and silver rays in 2025. I would like to echo Agnes when she modestly remarked that the Order is not only for her but it belongs to all of her friends and colleagues who have joined her efforts.

“Ireland and Japan are far away geographically speaking from each other. But that said, our ancestors’ compassionate minds, Kokoro, brought us closer together.

“I am confident that Lafcadio Japanese Gardens together with these newly created Kokoro heritage centre and café will inspire us and future generations to preserve this shared treasure for many years to come,” the Ambassador added.

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