De Sabla, Eugene Teahouse and Tea Garden San Mateo / Hillsborough, California

Transcription

1 De Sabla, Eugene Teahouse and Tea Garden San Mateo / Hillsborough, California! Courtesy of creative commons license The Eugene de Sabla, Teahouse and Tea Garden in San Mateo/ Hillsborough, California built circa 1887, is historically significant as an early expression of the influence of Japanese culture on the development of Californian design at the beginning of the 20th century. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places on July 30, 1992 by Achille and Joan Paladini present owners. The garden is the work of the famous Asian landscape designer and Japanese born Baron Makota Hagiwara ( ) who was the designer of the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. The de Sabla Tea House and Garden is the only other known extant example of his work and the only private Japanese tea garden that survives from the many that existed on the grand estates of San Francisco and Hillsborough. A marvel of serenity, it was originally conceived and constructed by Henry Pike Bowie who was married to Agnes Howard who by the way was listed in the Forbes top 400. An enthusiast of Japanese culture and simplistic design Bowie employed Makota Hagiwara for it's construction in the late

2 1800's. Many Japanese gardeners and artisans were brought over from Japan for it's construction and participated in the design and development of the Tea House and Tea Garden. Upon Bowie moving to Japan in the early 1900's the Garden and Tea House eventually became part of the El Cerrito estate owned by Eugene de Sabla, who was a major industrialist in the west and co-founded the Pacific Gas and Electric Company. It has been noted that many extravagant parties took place on the estate that included movie celebrities and politicians and the like of the time. The de Sabla Tea House and Garden is located on the north side of De Sabla Road which was the original entrance to the grand estate. The Tea House is constructed in Japanese farmhouse style with wooden shingle double roof, tokonoma and veranda. Rokyu style tea houses are intended to be in the style of a simple farm building. The reflection pool setting of the tea house closely resembles the setting of the Katsura Detached Palace in Kyoto, Japan. Across the front of the tea house facing the garden are two large shoji style doors with delicate wooden shoji style transom panels which extend across the front of the building and part way into the building at either corner. The shoji doors leading to the garden would never be open during the tea ceremony, as stated in early tea books. In the northwest corner of the building is the tokonoma, or alcove for display of the scroll, incense and flower arrangement. The present home is attached on either side by one and two-story additions carefully added by Japanese artisans in 1947.! Courtesy of creative commons license

3 The tea house is centered in the roji (garden) with a winding path leading to the tea house. The garden is a shin, or elaborate style of hill garden. A shin style hill contains several essential elements, all of which are represented in the de Sabla Garden. These elements are the sacred island, the guardian stone, the stone of worship, the principle tree, the tree of the setting sun, the view perfecting tree, the tree of solitude, the tree of distancing pine, the cascade screening tree, the keystones at important viewing stations, and the stone lanterns and bridges. It is also important that a tea garden contain a dewy path leading to the tea garden and a tsukabai (stone wash basin for purification before the tea ceremony). Japanese gardens have traditionally displayed different aspects of Japanese cultural history, with Buddhist, Taoist and Shinto influences, at first duplicating Chinese garden styles but later becoming more of a Japanese aesthetic the tea gardens seemed to have become popular in Japan by the 16-17th centuries. The de Sabla Garden is named Higurashi-En, "Garden Worthy of a Days Contemplation." Between 1870 and 1920, the wealthy elite of San Francisco transformed the grassland and farms of the San Francisco peninsula into a series of large majestic estates with meticulously landscaped gardens. However during mid-century much of this landscape was eventually subdivided for the new suburbs under construction. When the surrounding land and mansion of the El Cerrito estate which included the Tea Garden and Tea House were sold to local builder and developer David B. Bohannon, (also friend of the Paladini's) by then owner Mrs. Carter (of Carter's Little Liver Pills,) she demanded the site of the Japanese garden not be developed, thus the revered site was saved. The Charles F. Crocker Japanese garden also designed by Makota in Hillsborough was eventually demolished leaving the de Sabla Tea Garden as the only private garden remaining that he designed. A Crocker family member pursued in buying this property when put up for sale in John McLaren, the famed horticulturist friend of Bowie, acquired and planted many of the now mature trees on the De Sabla estate, the only Himalayan Spruce in the United States proudly adorns the entrance to the estate. The story is said that McLaren was playing cards with Bowie, Leland Stanford and Mark Hopkins and put up the rare Spruce as collateral, he lost and Bowie got the tree that now stretches over 100 feet

4 into the sky. The garden has over 500 plant species with many specimen and very rare plants such as the Five Needle Mikado Pine, originally a small Bonsai personally handed to Henry Pike Bowie by the Mikado of Japan over 130 years ago, now planted and mature, is the only specimen in the United States. A Triple Lace Maple from the 1915 Pan Pacific World's Fair hovers over the 100,000 gallon Koi pond year old petrified lava rocks encasing bits of ancient petrified wood now a national treasure in Japan was brought into the garden and now adorns the cascading waterfall. Colorful Koi are sheltered in the shade around "Turtle Island", a symbol of longevity. The 400 year old hand carved sandstone bridge from Japan with the promising inscription "Bridge to Eternal Tranquility" will start you on your "roji" or mountain path as you pass the hand carved solid granite lantern from the Pan Pacific World's fair purchased by de Sabla upon it's closing. Continue on the winding path to the top of the 'mountain' where you can view the entire one acre estate and watch the mesmerizing Koi gently swimming below. As you descend notice the Giant Bamboo grove swaying in the wind. Carefully selected artifacts provide many focal points within the garden. A solid rose granite lantern rises from a bed of Japanese Hyacinth and a 300 year old Buddha is safely hidden in his niche. Nearby is a Paper Wrapped Maple who's bark uncurls like Birch. The entire back drop of the property is sheltered and framed with majestic 100 foot Spanish and Douglas Fur trees along with a Deodar Cedar. The garden that is also listed in the Smithsonian Institute, was featured on the Oprah show several years ago as one of the most beautiful privately owned gardens in the U.S. and was considered by Steven Speilberg for the filming of "Memoirs of a Geisha." The director Rob Marshall, the location manager and several members of the staff visited for several hours in marvel of the garden. Unfortunately due to the narrow streets of Hillsborough it was determined inaccessible. However shortly after it was the site of another movie production supposedly filmed in Japan, many scenes were filmed not only in the garden but in the tea house.

5 ! Courtesy of creative commons The preservation of this magnificent property relies totally on the diligence of Joan Paladini. Purchased in 1988 it is now restored to it's original authenticity.