The balance of positive and negative forces, Yin & Yang, are ever present here. Obvious in the skillful blending of traditional Japanese landscaping with modern Occidental architecture, less so in the way the Japanese concept of "WA"or harmony is used to unite the desires of the human spirit with our more mundane requirements—the exquisite beauty of a Japanese garden with the need for an abundant supply of fresh water.

We invite you to walk, to sit, to contemplate your surroundings in our garden. To do so is to experience absolute tranquility, it is to enrich one's spirit, to achieve a state of grace so elusive in our busy modern world. It is to emulate Lord Buddha who, three thousand years ago, seated in the shade of a tree in silent contemplation of the human condition, achieved spiritual enlightenment.

On behalf of myself, my staff, the Mayor's Advisory committee, and our docents, I invite you to visit and experience the beauty of Suiho En - the garden of water and fragrance.