The Botanist
This post is not about Kenya Hara, but it starts with one of his recent projects.
Hara is one of Japan's top product designers, made famous by his work for MUJI and books like Designing Design.
I was browsing Hara's "low-altitude, high-resolution tour" blog, which focuses on Japan’s lesser-known natural features and cultural resources, looking for things to do in Shikoku.
He recommended the Tomitaro Makino Memorial Museum and Botanical Garden, describing it as "a pleasant blend of architecture, plants, and local climate" and "a peaceful place, with something that penetrates deep into the heart."
Both of these statements came true when I visited.
This modern museum and garden honor the achievements of Japanese botanist Tomitaro Makino, pictured above.
Makino has been called "Father of Japanese Botany" and was one of the first to work extensively on classifying Japanese plants using the taxonomy system developed by Linnaeus.
His research resulted in documenting 50,000 specimens, many of which are represented in his compendium book Makino's Illustrated Flora of Japan.
Despite having dropped out of grammar school, Makino eventually attained a Doctor of Science degree, and his birthday is remembered as Botany Day in Japan.
His memorial museum's architecture by Hiroshi Naito presents a modern framing for the experience - from the entry pavilion, to the wooden walkways, to the exhibition galleries. Everything is spare, made from natural materials and focused on the subject.
Naito's architecture is distinctive and well-known in Japan and includes one of my favorites - the Toraya wagashi shop in Tokyo Midtown.
Back to the gardens. They are extensive and well-kept, and serve not only as a place to stroll and remember the famous botanist but as an actual field-laboratory for the research institute that bears his name and still operates there.
Beyond the physical space, the museum and gardens keep Makino's spirit alive by mounting rotating exhibitions and publishing.
The exhibition objects are beautifully presented, often with a focus on botanical illustrations from Makino's field journals. Hand-drawn scientific plant drawings of this quality are rare and have a special power to inspire interest.
The publishing arm of the museum puts out frequent materials related to museum programming and exhibitions, and also slower moving works related to Makino and botany. The museum bookshop is stocked with these, keeping Makino's name and ideas in circulation.
Among the permanent exhibits, there is an autograph copy of sheet music for the “Plant Collecting March” which Makino appears to have composed himself. The lyrics read, "With a trowel in my hand and a specimen satchel on my shoulder, I am having a good time gathering today, and the gentle flowers of the various plants I've picked will soon bear the fruit of knowledge."
Makino was a quite a character. A highly accomplished scientist, and also a man in love with his work and life. This place remembers him well.
If you want to know more about Makino or the museum and gardens that bear his name, here are a few links to get you started ...
https://tei-ku.com/en/place/makino/
https://www.makino.or.jp/multilingual/?lang=en
http://www.naitoaa.co.jp/090701/works/koh/works.html
https://www.muji.com/jp/ja/store/cmdty/detail/9784909098375
Tomitaro Makino
牧野 富太郎
April 24, 1862 – January 18, 1957
