Snow-Viewing Lantern – Nitobe Memorial Gardens, Vancouver, British Columbia

An important feature in Japanese gardens, lanterns symbolize light dispelling darkness. Often placed at the junction of paths, they indicate choices in life. Lanterns were originally introduced into Japan by China. The first ones were made of metal and primarily used to light doorways to shrines and temples. They were later made of stone for use in gardens, but it wasn’t until they were introduced into Japanese tea gardens by tea-master Sen-no-Rikkyu did they become a major garden element. Japanese tea ceremonies were often held in the evenings and light was needed to guide guests to the tea-room.

The squat and broad-roofed, snow-viewing lantern dates back to the early Edo period (i.e., the 17th century) and is probably so named because of the attractive capture of snowfall on the broad roof. The snow-viewing lantern in the Nitobe Memorial Garden is situated on the Island of Eternity and is thought to represent the "mother figure" in the cycle of life. The island resembles the shape of a turtle, the animal symbol of immortality.