Brooklyn Botanic Garden Japanese Hill-and-Pond

The Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden at Brooklyn Botanic Garden is the oldest Japanese-inspired garden in an American public garden, designed by Takeo Shiota in 1915 and featuring a pond, a wooden torii gate, a Shinto shrine, and a cascading waterfall.

Shiota's design incorporates the principles of Japanese garden aesthetics: carefully placed rocks, raked gravel, sculpted plantings, and a viewing pavilion positioned to frame specific compositions of water, stone, and vegetation.

The garden's spring cherry blossom display and fall foliage are among the most beautiful seasonal events at any botanical garden in the country. The garden's mature Japanese maples turn brilliant shades of red and gold in autumn.

The garden survived a period of neglect and was comprehensively restored in the 1990s, returning Shiota's original design vision to its full beauty. The restoration included replanting, stone work, and the repair of the garden's water features.

The Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden provides the most contemplative outdoor experience at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, a century-old meditation in stone and water that has been offering New Yorkers a taste of Japanese aesthetic philosophy since 1915.