All show garden designers express their delight at winning a Gold medal at Chelsea, but few exhibit such unrestrained jubilation as Japanese designer Kazuyuki Ishihara, as he literally jumps for joy on medals day. Instantly recognisable for his broad smile, dapper suits and designer glasses, his happiness is infectious whenever he and his team celebrate another top accolade.
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Kazuyuki made his first appearance at Chelsea 20 years ago, with a show garden called Gen, or Source, for which he won a Silver Gilt medal. Since then he has exhibited a further 14 times, notching up 12 coveted Gold medals and four Best in Show awards. HM Queen Elizabeth II – who Kazuyuki met at Chelsea many times – is said to have called him “the green magician”.
HM Queen Elizabeth II – who Kazuyuki met at Chelsea many times – is said to have called him “the green magician”
All his gardens are created with utmost precision and even the back – unseen by visitors – is as immaculately finished as the visible areas, with never a leaf out of place. Quintessentially Japanese in style, his gardens are exquisite and serene. Acers always feature, along with irises, calming water, artfully placed stone and a preponderance of moss. Kazuyuki recalls how the judges took some convincing with regard to the virtues of moss as an acceptable garden feature in the early days, but now it seems we have all been won over.
Chelsea means the world to Kazuyuki and it is one of the absolute highlights of his year. “I always get anxious; no matter how many times I exhibit. The Gold medal is the prize.” Although stressful, he finds the judging process invaluable. “The judges point out what might be wrong with my garden and I learn to improve next time. It becomes the driving force for gardening. Exhibiting in another country is difficult. It is essential to travel over with my own team of trusted craftsmen but I can’t bring the Japanese plants that I would usually use; I have to source plants in the UK. A huge amount of money has to be raised each year but nevertheless, Chelsea is a dream I keep on dreaming.”
"I always get anxious; no matter how many times I exhibit."
Kazuyuki’s passion for the natural world began in childhood. He was born in Nagasaki in 1958, a second-generation atomic bomb survivor, growing up just three miles from the hypocentre, where his father created terraced rice fields to help feed the surviving members of the Ishihara family. “We were self-sufficient in fruit and vegetables, and all the places where I played as a child were either landscapes or gardens,” he says. “My father’s love of flowers was an influence too.” A deep appreciation for the power of plants, particularly their ability to create a sense of rebirth, clearly took root in him and, at the age of 22, he chose to study at Ikenobo, the prestigious school of Ikebana flower arranging.
"All the places where I played as a child were either landscapes or gardens."
Two years later, he started a small flower business, using locally grown cut flowers. Mixed fortunes followed, including serious floods in Nagasaki that washed away not only the flower fields but his delivery bike and car, but by the time he got married, aged 29, he was able to open his own flower shop and eventually a whole chain of stores. When the economic tide turned and he was forced to sell up, he turned to garden design. “Being born in Nagasaki has undoubtedly shaped me. I felt that it was my mission to become a gardener and to create gardens of peace around the world,” he says.
He has built up a loyal team. “I’ve spent my life with them, not just gardening. There have been some hard times and some fun times, but whatever, it is they who inspire me to pass on my skills to the next generation.” And the Ishihara legacy continues, as three of his children work in garden landscaping.
"Being born in Nagasaki has undoubtedly shaped me. I felt that it was my mission to become a gardener and to create gardens of peace around the world."
Kazuyuki now divides his time between Tokyo and the city of his birth. In the latter he has created Mihara, a legacy garden that sums up his design philosophy. “Unfortunately, the population of Nagasaki is shrinking by some 10,000 every year,” he says. “I want to help revitalise this city and try to create jobs through the power of gardens.” He describes Mihara as a life’s work, something he’s put his heart and soul into, with the aim of attracting as many visitors as possible to experience Japanese garden design on home turf. In many senses, Kazuyuki regards himself as a green ambassador. “Shaped by my experience as a second-generation atomic bomb survivor, I’d like to help create a society where there are more flowers, more greenery and – through that – more smiling faces,” he says.
At the busiest pedestrian intersection in the world, Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo, he is proud to have created a public garden with bonsai trees in the style of a tsubo-niwa (a small traditional Japanese garden) that will be seen by millions. “Up to 500,000 people pass through every day and many pause to take photographs.” Here, as in other projects, his hope is that even people who aren’t usually interested in gardens will be moved to take notice.
USEFUL INFORMATION
At the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2024, look out for Kazuyuki Ishihara’s Sanctuary garden, MOROTO no IE, which he has designed to blend the beauty of nature with happy family life and features a waterfall and a building camouflaged with green walls.