While I don’t think it’s a must-visit, Sankei Memorial in Sankeien Garden (please read the second part of my visit there as well) is still a great place to learn more about Japanese culture and history. Sankei Memorial is pretty much a museum that exhibits and showcases the life of Tomitaro “Sankei” Hara, the early 20th century silk trader who founded Sankeien Garden. It gives a great glimpse of Hara’s time through his letters as well as the works of art and other materials that he collected throughout his life.
Inside Sankei Memorial: A Look at the 34th Sankeien Photo Contest Exhibit
If you read through the first part of my Sankeien Garden review (also, please read my Yokohama 2-day itinerary) then you’re probably familiar with this place. This is in the Inner Garden and the area opposite to it is where you’d find the Gomon Gate and the relocated buildings such as the Rinshunkaku.
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Walk a couple of steps from where the previous picture was taken and you’ll arrive at the museum’s entrance. When I was there, I came across this display advertising the results of the Sankeien Photo Contest. As of this writing, this exhibit is still running (it started on the 1st of January) and it’s set to end on the 15th of April.
I’m now at the pavilion leading to the museum’s entrance. I was totally expecting the museum to be a traditional Japanese building but it was surprisingly modern.
I got inside the building and immediately loved the atmosphere here. It was a little warm outside thanks to the sunny weather so the cool AC here was a welcome change. I turned right as I entered from the entrance and then turned right again to get to this location. When I turned around, I then caught sight of this picture of Sankei Hara inside Exhibition Room 1.
Since the picture piqued my interest, I decided to take a peek at the room it was situated in. The room is pretty much a tribute to Sankei Hara featuring his memorabilia as well as pictures of him along with the details of his life (from being born in Sawa Village to his background in Nanga or Southern painting).
To the left of Exhibition Room 1, you’ll come across this calendar of events for Sankeien Garden. As you can see, there are events here for every month in the calendar. Almost all of these events involve flowers which is kind of expected considering this is a garden after all.
Here’s a plaque celebrating the garden getting a Tripadvisor Traveler’s Choice Award in 2020. Now most people might scoff at this award but I tried looking into it and found that it’s actually no joke. In order to get one, a business listed on Tripadvisor would need to not only have consistently great reviews but also be in the top 10% of listings on the platform.
I decided to head back to the entrance and found this path and the room off in the distance to be quite interesting. Apparently the room at the end of this hallway was where the exhibition advertised outside the front entrance was.
Sure enough, the sign here confirmed that this was where the exhibition was being held. More importantly, it was okay to take pictures here! Now if for some reason you do get here before the exhibition ends, make sure that you don’t bring your tripods or selfie sticks. Those are not allowed here and you’re likely going to end up getting kicked out if you’re caught bringing those inside.
So these are the top two winners of the contest and I will say, these photos are absolutely amazing. In first place on the right is a shot taken by Masao Kobayashi that’s titled ‘See You Tomorrow’. As for the second place finisher, I don’t think it’s a slouch either. Titled ‘Spring Mirror’, this shot was taken by Michiko Nakayama and it’s impressive how she managed to come up with such a complicated night shot.
Another second place finisher is the image on the right titled ‘Catching Fish in a Flash’. This was shot by Kiyoshi Hirayama and was probably a scene taken from the Main Pond. On the left is the first of the three third place finishers. This was shot by Shigeru Atsumi and is aptly titled ‘Waiting for Spring’.
Here are the rest of the third place winners of the contest. On the right is Masahide Hosono’s “Old House in the Snow” which really reminds me of that fight scene in Kill Bill Volume 2. As for the picture on the right, it was taken by Toshio Honda and is titled “Even Fallen, Still Beautiful”.
Aside from the first, second, and third place winners, 10 entries were also given honorable mentions. The first of these 10 are the ones pictured above. On the right is an entry titled “Lotus Shower” and it was taken by Ishii Shigeru. The left entry is another midnight shot aptly titled “Mikado: Midnight Guide”.
Here are another pair of honorable mentions. The picture on the right was taken by Ito Hirohisa and is called “School Trip Special”. It features some school girls likely on a field trip to the garden during the fall. On the left is a picture called “Enaga Dango” or Long Tailed Tit Dumpling. It features a family of Japanese long tailed tits (enaga) sitting on a branch looking like they’re dango (Japanese rice dumpling) skewers. The picture was taken by Uchino Tomoko.
“Haru Urara” (the picture on the right) or Springtime was taken by Katayama Sei and features a warbling white eye harvesting nectar from cherry blossoms that was most definitely taken at the height of spring. On the left is another Honorable Mention piece titled “Oike no Yosei” or the Great Pond Fairy by Saito Yoshimasa.
This section showcases another pair of Honorable Mentions. The right picture is called “Lion Dance Welcome” and was shot by Sato Mizuyo and this was likely during one of the festivals celebrated here at Sankeien Garden. Serino Yukari’s “Yugure no majikku” beautifully captures the last rays of the sun on the garden as it sets in the horizon and makes way for the night.
Now we’re on the last two of the honorable mentions for this year and by no means are they the least. The “Elegance of Rinshunkaku” by Tadashi Matsui gives us a glimpse of the former Kishu Tokugawa building at night. Finally, Minegishi Seiichi’s “Lotus Shower Lineup” beautifully captures summer as it is experienced by a small child as she is sprinkled by water from lotus leaves repurposed as shower heads.
I initially thought that was the end of the exhibit until I came across this. So aside from the 10 Honorable Mentions, there were also Effort Awards handed out to 30 other entrants to the contest. Now don’t let the term “Effort Award” fool you. These are still postcard worthy shots that are worth honoring. The first of these (on the right) is called “Tori-fu” or Passing Breeze and it’s a great shot of the Teisha Bridge taken inside the Naniwa-no-Ma of the Rinshunkaku’s second pavilion. As for the picture on the left, it’s titled “Banshu” or late autumn and was shot by Aoki Taeko.
The next picture given the Effort Award this year is called Banfuyu or Late Winter and it was shot by Akagawa Takashi. In my opinion it’s a nice shot that beautifully captures the ethereal beauty of the garden in winter. On the other hand, “View of the Three Story Pagoda from the Garden” by Iijima Akira serves to highlight the presence imposed by the pagoda over the garden’s landscape.
Here is another pair of Effort Awardees. The picture on the right is again a shot of the Main Pond and it’s called Spring is Peaceful by Ikeda Mitsuo. Tomoyoshi Inaya took the picture on the right of a tree supported by yukitsuri in the winter and named it “Ryu ga Gotoku” or Like A Dragon.
“Forever Flower Wreath” is a stunning picture taken by Inoue Kazuyoshi of Kakantei Harbor in the springtime. To the left is a worm’s eye view shot taken by Iwata Hiroshi of one of the lotus leaves in the Lotus Pond after a rain and aptly titled “Shuu” or Sudden Rain.
“Koisuru Koi” by Ueno Masataka is a lovely shot of two koi in the pond with the Rinshunkaku in the background. Another image that features the Rinshunkaku is on the left and titled “Niwa Kesho” or Garden Makeup. Shot by Okumura Youichi, this image is probably the second one in the exhibit taken from the Naniwa no Ma on the Rinshunkaku’s second pavilion. It shows a koto lying on the tatami with a dazzling autumn view of the Teisha Bridge in the background. Not gonna lie, this was probably one of my favorite photos here.
Ogura Kiyotaka’s “Kame Getto!” or “Got a Turtle!” is, as its title implies, an image of a grey heron getting a turtle quite possibly in the Main Pond. Right next to the image is another picture that received the Effort Award called “Pukapuka” or “Floating”. This likely pertains to the migratory ducks in the picture that often call Sankeien Garden and its ponds home during the winter season (December 8, 2023 is exactly when the image was taken).
Satoru Kato’s “Misono o Tsunagu” is a lovely image of one of the Garden’s caretakers checking a pine tree with the Three Story Pagoda again towering in the background. Kawakami Ryo’s “Ibuki” or “Breath/Inner Strength” (on the left) is probably the image that connected to me the most. It shows the resilience of a single flower in bloom in an area where it shouldn’t be and that just spoke a lot to me about life.
I’m not sure what house Kawaguchi Tadao’s “An Old House Bathed in Light” was shot in but I will say that I think it’s one of the best examples of the use of natural contrast in an image in this whole exhibit. On the other hand, Koyanagawa Masayoshi’s “Fune Atama no Koe de” or “The Boatman’s Voice” is a fun look at the migratory birds that usually make the boat in the middle of the Main Pond their home.
Kondo Yu’s “Waga-ko no Seicho” highlights how Sankeien Garden isn’t just for adults. It’s also a great place for children to learn more about (and grow into their) history, nature, and culture. “Utsoroi” or Transition by Sakurayama Hideo is another image of the Teisha Bridge from the Rinshunkaku. I think what sets it apart though is that it does a really good job of contrasting the deciduous and evergreen trees outside to make it look as if there’s a transitioning of the seasons.
“Quiet Flow at the End of Autumn” by Sano Yoichiro is another entry that I really think is nice. It honestly reminds me of the pictures on the National Geographic back issues that I used to read when I was younger. Shimamura Ichiro’s “Light Shines on the Cicada Plum” might be one of the entries that I think makes great use of bokeh.
I think Shimamura Sumi’s “Mai” or “Dance” perfectly captures the ethereal quality of the fall season. The leaves suspended in the air after being blown by a breeze also kind of represents a lot of people and maybe this is why it got an Effort Award from the judges? Red spider lilies are some of my favorite flowers and it’s nice that it’s also featured here in Sugiyama Keikichi’s “Karasuageha no Kyumitsu” or “Swallowtail Butterfly Drinking Nectar”.
It was at this point that I noticed that I’d been through more than 30 of the entries in the exhibit and each and every one looked absolutely great. “Higasa no Shita de Yasumi” or “Resting Under a Parasol” is a beautiful picture of a lotus flower under a leaf that was taken by Sukegawa Masahiro in July of 2024. On the left is a whimsical entry titled “Ochiba wa Nekko wo Sutairisuto” or “Fallen Leaves are Stylists at Heart” by Suzuki Mitsuko.
Takano Shizuo’s “Ume Kaoru Koro” or “When The Plum Blossoms Bloom” seriously reminds me of Edo Period paintings that typically feature this tree and its flowers. As for the other image in this picture, it’s a shot taken by Narabashi Yukiyasu of someone resting by one of the doors to the Rinshunkaku’s first pavilion (the one facing the Gomon Gate) and is titled “A Moment of Rest” or “Kyusoku no Hitotoki”.
“Totsuzen no Fusetsu” or “Sudden Storm” by Matsuyama Susumu is, in my opinion, the most dramatic photo here in the exhibit. Serving as a nice contrast to this drama is the laidback “Shinryoku Moe” or “Fresh Greenery” by Honbashi Shingo which is a top view shot of the Choshukaku in the Inner Garden.
Speaking of the Inner Garden, Yoshikawa Atsushi’s “Naien no Keikoku” (Valley of the Inner Garden) captures the beauty of the area during the fall season. Rounding out the Effort Award is an entry called “Sakura no Motode wa i Chizu!” (Cheese! Under the Cherry Blossoms) by Yoshidome Mari that I think perfectly captures how Sankeien Garden appeals to everyone.
Also included in the exhibit were winning entries from previous contests. Perhaps the most impressive of these is this one called “Sunset (Three-Story Pagoda)” by Kataoka Kentaro which got a 7th Recommend Work commendation during the 1997 edition of the contest. For some reason this work really fills me with nostalgia even though this is the first time I’ve really ever been here.
This visit to Sankei Memorial was truly a memorable experience. If you haven’t noticed yet, I thoroughly enjoyed the 34th Sankeien Photo Contest Exhibit. As someone who enjoys photography, the entries here were all so inspiring. If there’s one issue I’d point out it’s the fact that the exhibit did feel kind of short. Overall though, I’d say this was a detour that ended up being worth it.
