Overview
Tora-San-Park is a small Japanese-inspired public garden at Broßmannplatz in Floridsdorf, Vienna. Opened in 2009, it commemorates both the partnership between the Viennese district of Floridsdorf and Katsushika in Tokyo, and the filming of the Japanese comedy Tora-san Goes to Vienna in the district in 1989. The garden’s principal composition uses white gravel, dark stones, Japanese maples and restrained planting to create a compact dry landscape within a larger urban green space.
History
Floridsdorf and Katsushika established their district partnership in 1987. The garden was created twenty-two years later as a permanent expression of this relationship and as a memorial to the cultural connection generated by the Tora-san film series.
The park takes its name from Tora-san, the travelling salesman portrayed by actor Kiyoshi Atsumi in the long-running Japanese film series Otoko wa Tsurai yo. The series comprised 48 films made between 1968 and 1996. The 1989 film set in Vienna was the only instalment principally filmed outside Japan, with several scenes shot at a traditional wine tavern in Strebersdorf, part of Floridsdorf.
Tora-San-Park was formally opened on 28 September 2009 in the presence of representatives of the City of Vienna, the Japanese Embassy and Katsushika. The inauguration included a Shinto purification ceremony using salt, rice, water and sake. The opening also coincided with the 140th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Austria and Japan.
Design features
The central Japanese composition is a compact karesansui-inspired garden. An expanse of pale gravel represents water, while several dark boulders and low planted areas suggest islands or mountain forms. Japanese maples provide strong seasonal colour, particularly during autumn, while ferns, shrubs and ground-cover planting soften the edges of the mineral landscape.
A memorial stone bearing an image of Tora-san connects the garden directly with the film and its leading character. The Japanese section is integrated into a conventional municipal park with lawns, mature trees, paths and seating rather than enclosed as a separate historical-style garden.
The City of Vienna describes the Japanese garden itself as covering approximately 400 square metres. Nodaigarden lists a larger figure of 3,000 square metres, which may refer to a broader surrounding park area rather than the concentrated Japanese composition.
Garden elements
Stones
Current status
The garden remains maintained by Wiener Stadtgärten as an openly accessible municipal park. Its gravel landscape, maples and Tora-san memorial continue to represent the relationship between Floridsdorf and Katsushika.