Anadolu University
Photo: Zeynel Cebeci / CC BY-SA 4.0. modified.
Overview
The Japanese Garden at Anadolu University is a Japanese-style garden on the Yunus Emre Campus in Eskişehir. Anadolu University’s own 2012 article describes it as a garden built 30 years earlier by Prof. Dr. Yılmaz Büyükerşen, giving an approximate origin date of c. 1982. The garden includes Japanese-style structures, ornamental pools, a Peace Monument and sculptural elements.
History
According to Anadolu University’s 2012 account, the garden was created under Prof. Dr. Yılmaz Büyükerşen and had been carefully preserved for about 30 years by that date. The same source states that it belonged administratively to the university’s Central Guesthouse and was used as a summer cafe-bar area, mainly for academic and administrative staff, while student access required permission from the rectorate.
It should not be confused with the larger Sazova Japanese Garden in Eskişehir, which opened in 2010 and was designed by Prof. Masao Fukuhara.
In 2024, Anadolu University announced that the Japanese Garden had been renovated and reopened with a ceremony and student festival. The rector’s statement described it as a previously underused area of the campus that had been repaired and made available again for students.
Design features
The garden contains Japanese-style huts, a Peace Monument with multilingual “peace in the world” wording, sculptures, ornamental pools and landscaped planting. Anadolu University’s 2012 description records seven ornamental pools: one large pool, four small pools and two medium pools in the dining area.
Garden elements
Bridges
Buildings
Waters and islands
Stones
Shinto elements
Current status
Extant Japanese-style campus garden at Anadolu University. It was renovated and reopened for student use in 2024, and functions as a university garden / social and cultural campus space.