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Ceremony House

Ceremony House

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Ceremony House

Name: Ceremony House
Rating: 2

Recommended by 25 hikers

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Location: South Limburg, Flanders, Belgium

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Best Hikes to Ceremony House

4.0

(4)

hikers

1. Yatsuhashi – Viewpoint Over the Demer loop from Hasselt

5.00km

01:16

10m

Easy hike. Great for any fitness level. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Easy

3.8

(4)

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2. Bench with a view – Between the ponds loop from Wolske

23.5km

05:58

50m

Expert hike. Very good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Expert

4.4

(9)

hikers

3. Bridge Over the Stiemerbeek – Kaatsbeek Walking Path loop from Oud-Termien

23.6km

05:59

50m

Expert hike. Very good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Expert

Tips

Katrien

October 1, 2022

The ceremony house in the Japanese Garden was christened Korokan (鴻鵬館) upon opening, meaning a place of rest and shelter for travelers. All the materials used in the ceremonial house are of natural origin: natural stone, wood, bamboo, clay and paper. Clay tiles and pure (red) copper roof slates were used for the roofing.

The entrance hall is the only room with traditionally a paved floor and may be entered with shoes. The tea ceremony room is Western style where you can sit on benches instead of the traditional Japanese style where you sit on your knees on the tatami.

The reception area and the living area are both covered with tatami (畳), the traditional floor covering of Japan. The living space is an open space, this is not only because the Japanese preferred this in the warm and humid climate of Japan. Much more important is the search for a continuous relationship of the individual with his environment. The use of the sliding doors makes this possible and creates an interior space that fully integrates into the surrounding garden and landscape. The openness allows to live every experience of nature in the house itself. The Japanese garden concept assumes that the garden should be admired from the living space with the distant landscape as a background. Entrance, veranda and living space merge completely into the garden, as it were.

From the Japanese house, the sky is often hidden from the viewer behind the paper-covered sliding doors and the far-rising eaves. The garden and the landscape can only be admired in a wide horizontal frame. This horizontal experience contrasts with the western experience based on verticality. Westerners align themselves with one God who encompasses the universe. The main goal in our life is to reach the (high) heaven: infinity lies before us in vertical space. In the Eastern religions one does not so much desire to reach heaven. They emphasize the horizon or infinity. The universe is for them a circle that has no beginning and no end.

The wide overhanging eaves are of course there to protect people from the rain, but are mainly intended as protection against the sun. The protruding roof edges prevent the sun from heating up the interior spaces and the roof edge ensures that only reflected light penetrates the house and no hard shadows are created.

Not only constant visual contact with the outside world is essential in Japanese traditional architecture. Other sensory experiences are at least as important. The wind has free play through the open space and numerous openings in the roof and under the floor. As a result, the resident always experiences the sound of the wind. The sound of the rain is also not isolated by all kinds of technical facilities. All kinds of facilities are even consciously planned to amplify this sound. The specific construction of the outer walls and the use of the extremely thin paper in the shoji sliding walls do not stop any penetrating noise. The leaves of the trees, damaged by the wind, are visible on these walls, while the song of the birds can be heard in the interior space. The interior seems to be completely absorbed in its natural environment.

Source: visithasselt.be/nl/japanse-tuin/het-ceremoniehuis

Translated by Google •

Julia Nikolaeva

May 1, 2024

Hasselt has been home to a beautiful piece of Japan for twenty years: an idealized piece of nature, a miniaturization of reality. Reconstructed as the Japanese have been doing for centuries. The tea garden in Hasselt is the largest Japanese garden in Europe. Here you will find beautiful cherry blossoms, red maples, bamboo and lush wisteria. The garden is an authentic symbol of inner peace and natural beauty.

Translated by Google •

Jeff S

May 6, 2024

You can also see it from the koi pond...

Translated by Google •

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Details

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Elevation 70 m

Weather

Today

Thursday 30 October

14°C

8°C

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Max wind speed: 16.0 km/h

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Location: South Limburg, Flanders, Belgium

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Ceremony House

1. Yatsuhashi – Viewpoint Over the Demer loop from Hasselt

2. Bench with a view – Between the ponds loop from Wolske

3. Bridge Over the Stiemerbeek – Kaatsbeek Walking Path loop from Oud-Termien

Other Popular Places to Check Out

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