The Japanese Garden

Every year Brisbane Girls Grammar School has welcomed students from Seirinkan. In the early years, these students came for twelve months but more recently the visit has been short term only. In return, many of our students over the years have also had the opportunity to go to Tsushima city, live with a Japanese family and attend the school. At that time, the Japanese Cultural Group existed to strongly support the exchange program. This group consisted of a band of mothers who helped with finding and supporting host families and other organisation to ensure the visit to Brisbane Girls Grammar School was a happy and productive experience for students visiting from Japan. The generous and extraordinary gesture of gifting our school a Japanese garden gave pause for us to consider our relationship between our two schools and to understand the common values and educational goals. Like Brisbane Girls Grammar School, Seirinkan High School has as its intent to encourage students to share the world as a family and to nurture a spirit of altruism and service with a view to contributing positively to our global and local society. Both schools aim to develop well rounded and autonomous citizens with high academic goals. In her speech that August at the opening of the garden, Principal Dr Judith Hancock commended Mr Hirayama on his foresight and international outlook in initiating an educational and cultural bond between the two schools, long before it became fashionable for Japanese schools to have Australian links. She also spoke about the “abundant goodwill and understanding on both sides”, and the hope that the” harmony and friendship” would continue into the future. Other sister school relationships across the world in countries of corresponding to our language learning programs have been established since our pivotal and historical undertaking with Hirayama Gakuen. This Japanese garden remains testament to our ongoing intent to encourage and guide our students to share the world in understanding.

Shaded by a large, now mature Lillypilly tree and surrounded by flowering shrubs and grasses, it provides a moment of beauty, reflection, and peace.