Young Taiwanese and Japanese with Deputy Director Huang Sheng-Ming (front row, 4th left)

Kosugi Zohen Co., Ltd., founded in 1673, is a world-renowned Japanese company specializing in garden design and construction. The company won the Gold Medal in the Landscape Gardening Category at the 39th WorldSkills Competition in 2007. The Education Division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan collaborated with Kosugi Zohen and selected thirteen international students from Taiwan and three Japanese university students to participate in a Japanese garden training and cultural exchange program. The two-day, one-night program was held in Atami on July 11–12 to give the participants a deeper understanding of the historical development and the aesthetic principles of Japanese gardens.

The core philosophy of Japanese gardens is the harmonious integration of nature and human culture and the key topics covered by the program were garden design concepts, stone arrangement techniques, plant pruning, and spatial composition. It combined hands-on practical training with the guidance of professional master gardeners, interactive discussion sessions, and exchange activities to foster cross-cultural understanding and dialogue between the Taiwanese and Japanese participants.

Mr. Huang Sheng-ming 黃聖明, Deputy Director of the Education Division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan, said that the program enhanced participants’ understanding of traditional Japanese culture and professional horticultural techniques, and also strengthened connections between young people from Taiwan and Japan through direct interaction. The participants all found the program highly rewarding, and the Taiwanese participants said that the program had given them a deeper understanding of Japanese culture, and they hoped there would be more opportunities of this kind in the future.