The Origin of Mizunomori
The lost lotus patch lives on
Until 2016, a roughly 13-hectare patch of lotuses appeared like clockwork every summer in Lake Biwa immediately adjacent to Kusatsu Aquatic Botanical Garden Mizunomori. This lotus patch was the inspiration for the 1996 creation of the botanical garden, and for the first two decades of Mizunomori’s existence, visitors would come to see both the natural lotuses on the lake and the cultivated lotuses in the garden. Unfortunately, that all changed in 2016 when, for the first time in half a century, the lotus patch failed to regenerate, possibly due to changes in the immediate environment. The disappearance of the lotus patch resulted in a dramatic drop in visitors for several years.
The response to this unforeseen event was the launch of the Hasu Ippai (Lots of Lotus) Project in 2017. One hundred lotus flowers are planted in 90-liter pots in April every year. This involves cutting the last 30 centimeters off the root of an existing lotus plant, washing, disinfecting, and then replanting it. Local volunteers, as well as children from nearby kindergartens and elementary schools, help the Mizunomori staff. The flowers from the project can be seen in June and July around the fountain in the Community Square and in the lotus pond just outside the main Atrium greenhouse. Those around the fountain are labeled with the names of the people who transplanted them, so that they can see for themselves that their particular lotus flowered successfully. The Hasu Ippai Project is Mizunomori’s way of keeping alive the memory of the Lake Biwa lotus patch.
