‘Japanese Lantern’ in Boston, Massachusetts
The Boston Public Garden is one of the most scenic and picturesque locations within the city. Located next to the Common, it offers visitors walking paths, areas for picnicking, and relaxing with the swan boats being an iconic fixture. There are many statues and sculptures scattered throughout the park, but one in particular is unique not only for its origin, but also for the fact that it’s older than the city of Boston itself.
The Japanese Lantern was donated to the city in 1905 by Bunkio Matsuki, the first Japanese person to establish a Japanese art and antique store in Boston located on Boylston Street. He had lived and was educated in Salem, MA by antiquarian Edward S. Morse, who had done a lot of archaeological work in Japan. Matsuki himself also built a home featuring a blend of Japanese and American architectural styles in Salem around 1895.
The lantern sculpture acquired by Matsuki dates to around 1587 and was originally built for Daimyō Toyotomi Hideyoshi and stood for many centuries in Moyoma Garden, which no longer exists. It’s approximately 10½ feet tall and made from heavy iron decorated with ornate carvings and illustrations. Being from the 16th century, it predates the founding of Boston and even the arrival of the Pilgrims in Plymouth by several decades, making it possibly the oldest sculpture on display in the city.
In 1993, the lantern underwent restoration and was placed on a stone base made from a boulder excavated from a quarry in Rockport, MA. Definitely very unique and worth taking a look if you’re ever in the area.
