Dick Austin, President Friends of the Gardens at Lake Merritt; Dennis Makishima, founder aesthetic pruning classes; Reverend Taniguichi; Bill Castellon, President Friends of the Japanese Garden; and Jay van Arsdale, artist.

Reverend Taniguchi sounded a bell chime, fluttered flower petals and  encouraged people to know this garden as a place of peace.

The voice of Reverend Zuikei Taniguchi, minister of the  Buddhist Temple of Alameda, sang out as he intoned a blessing during a brief ceremony to dedicate the newly finished fence and gates at the Japanese Garden in Oakland.

The event on Saturday July 6, 2012  marked  a celebration of the volunteers who worked on the 5 year long project and the funding sources who contributed financially.Some 25 people were present.

The Fence and Gate project was conceived by Dick Austin, President of  The Friends of the Gardens at Lake Merritt. Mr. Austin was instrumental in getting a $30,000 grant from the Creative Fund in San Francisco, and $14,000 in other grants from The Macphearson East Bay Performing Arts Fund at the East Bay Community Foundation, the Lake Merritt Breakfast Club Charitable Foundation and a sizable contribution from a private donor; the monies allowed the project to be completed within 5 years.

There are 3 new gates built in the traditional Japanese style and 250 linear feet of new fencing.  Jay Van Arsdale of Oakland, daiku, a wood working artist and instructor at Laney college, is the artist who designed and built the gates together with his group of volunteers from Merritt and Laney College classes.

Audrey Jones Taylor, Director of Oakland Parks and Recreation, was present to acknowledge the contributions of all the volunteers and to underscore  the city’s support of their efforts to beautify the gardens.