Maison Guimet
Photo: Jean-Pierre Dalbéra / CC BY 2.0, modified.
Overview
The Japanese Garden of the Maison Guimet is located behind the Hôtel d’Heidelbach, now part of the Musée national des arts asiatiques – Guimet. The official Guimet site describes the Maison Guimet as containing a Japanese-inspired landscaped garden with a tea pavilion built by Japanese artisans, used for authentic tea ceremonies.
History
The Hôtel d’Heidelbach became associated with the Guimet Museum as the site of the Panthéon bouddhique, displaying Buddhist works collected by Émile Guimet, especially during his 1876 journey to Japan. The Japanese garden behind the building was first laid out during renovation work in 1991, when a 450 m² garden was created behind the Buddhist Pantheon galleries. This earlier garden was known for bamboo, stone paving, small wooden bridges and a pond.
In 2001, the garden received an authentic Japanese tea pavilion, donated by Japan and designed by architect Masao Nakamura. The pavilion was built by Japanese craftsmen and became the setting for tea ceremonies organised by the museum.
The garden was later redesigned / renewed in 2017–2018 by Franco-Japanese architect Agnès Latour-Kurashige together with art historian Jean-Sébastien Cluzel. Recent Guimet material describes the garden as a landscaped Japanese-inspired setting around the tea pavilion rather than simply as the older Panthéon bouddhique garden.
Design features
The garden is a compact Japanese-inspired museum garden of about 450 m², organised around a tea pavilion. Earlier descriptions mention bamboo, stone slabs, small wooden bridges and a pond; current Guimet descriptions emphasise the tea pavilion and the garden’s role as a setting for Japanese tea practice. Its main character is therefore that of a modern museum tea-garden / contemplative courtyard rather than a public strolling garden.
Garden elements
Bridges
Buildings
Enclosures
Waters and islands
Stones
Other elements
Current status
Extant Japanese-inspired garden at the Maison Guimet, the Hôtel d’Heidelbach annex of the Guimet Museum. It contains an authentic Japanese tea pavilion and is used for visits, tea ceremonies and museum events, subject to the Maison Guimet’s opening arrangements.