DISCOVER THE STORY
OF LAFCADIO HEARN THROUGH
11 UNIQUE GARDEN AREAS
These Authentic Japanese Gardens are set in the beautiful seaside town of Tramore, County Waterford, Ireland. These stunning gardens reflect the life and extensive wanderings of Patrick Lafcadio Hearn (Koizumi Yakumo), who grew up in Ireland, and whose life journey embraced several parts of the world. The gardens pay homage to the fame he attained in Japan through his incomparable literary descriptions of the people, customs and culture of that country.
Follow Lafcadio Hearn’s life journey, first through the Victorian Garden, then to the American and Greek gardens, until you eventually arrive in the Japanese gardens which feature many Japanese plants and Japanese architectural features. The Lafcadio Hearn Japanese Gardens are a haven of beauty and tranquility for all who visit.
Children are introduced to these magical gardens through a special children’s discovery trail, secret pathways, woodlands and Lafcadio Hearn’s fairytales and folklore.
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GARDENS NOW OPEN –
10.00am – 6.00pm Every Day
(last entry in 5.00pm)
Adults = €6 Children U-15 = €3. PAY ON GATE.
These gardens are a Not-For-Profit Social/Community Enterprise run by Lafcadio Hearn Japanese Gardens CLG and supported by Pobal and Department of Social Protection Community Employment Programme. They are also assisted by many local volunteers.
THE GARDENS – A LIVING BIOGRAPHY
These gardens are a living biography of the Greek/Irish writer Patrick Lafcadio Hearn, who was born in 1850 and died in 1904. They take you through the life journey of a remarkable man who first came to fame in America as Lafcadio Hearn. Later, in Japan, he became a revered teacher and writer under his adopted Japanese name Koizumi Yakumo. Hearn was the son of an Irish father and Greek mother. He was brought up in Ireland but until recently he has been barely remembered here. In 1869, aged nineteen, he left Ireland for America in unhappy family circumstances. Hearn was to spend almost 20 years in the US, before finally settling in Japan, where he married, fathered four children and died at the early age of 54.
These gardens offer his life story to you; not through the medium of print, but through the landscapes and rock formations that reflect the cultures and mythologies of the places he lived. Here, through a series of garden scenes, his life story is brought into vivid focus. You will learn in the Victorian Garden of his childhood, and in the American Prairie Garden of his long sojourn in that land. The Greek Garden pays tribute to his birthplace, and the many Japanese features
are inspired by the stories and legends of Japan that so fascinated Hearn.