KYOTO — The government is planning to send landscape architects to repair Japanese gardens overseas amid a lack of such expertise in other countries, hoping to spur foreign interest in Japanese culture.
The first group of landscape architects will visit a few gardens and train locals in Europe and the United States from fiscal 2017 starting April. There are over 500 Japanese gardens abroad in more than 100 countries, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
Many of the Japanese gardens are located on museum premises and in parks. Japanese embassies have received requests for help to restore features such as stone lanterns and prune branches.
A private survey last year covering around 3,000 foreigners in 20 countries and regions showed Japanese gardens ranked fourth among the most popular things to experience when visiting Japan’s countryside, after hot springs, nature and cherry blossoms.
“Japanese gardens overseas are places to disseminate Japanese culture,” a tourism ministry official said. “We hope many foreigners will become more interested in them by providing support for proper garden management.”
==Kyodo
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