You will for sure want to attend the 11 March GM in person! There will be beautiful pictures of her garden, Barakura, to accompany her presentation, and a live demonstration on how to arrange a container garden, just in time for Spring. It is not too late to switch from zoom to in-person if your schedule permits, or to invite your friends. This will be another great opportunity to meet with fellow CWAJ members in a relaxed setting.
Profile
Kay founded her fashion brand “Rosy Life” in 1972 and began to create garments crafted with fine lace and motifs. When traveling to the UK in search of materials for the brand, the Yamada Family were fascinated by the philosophy of creation from gardens inspired by William Morris, leading them to decide to build an English-style garden in Japan. In pursuit of the authentic English gardening culture, they enlisted the support of many experts from the horticultural industry in the UK, including John Brookes (the former chairman of The Society of Garden + Landscape Designers). In 1990, they opened Barakura English Garden in Tateshina, Nagano for the creative pursuit of fashion design and gardening. Kay has exhibited at the Chelsea Flower Show, with her award-winning show garden in 2002 “Reflection on a Tateshina Meadow” representing a colony of Hemerocallis in Tateshina to introduce Japanese landscape as a healing garden. She further won medals in 2003 and 2009. She introduced several garden plants to Japan, such as old roses, golden acacia, dahlias, and garden cyclamen. Since 2010, she has been involved in selecting recommended varieties of garden plants exhibited in the annual flower trade show, Flower Trial Japan. Kay is also well known for her writing and editing of several books and has had regular TV appearances for English style garden shows in Japan. She lectures on English-style container planting and garden design in her gardening schools and nationwide gardening events. For her acting as a bridge between Japan and the UK in horticulture, she was honoured with a Japan-British Society award from H.I.H Princess Akiko of Mikasa in 2014. Kay has designed 6 public English-style gardens across Japan, one of which is Mitsuke English Garden (Mitsuke City, Niigata) where she supervises a volunteer group of over 200 members and runs workshops for the local children to teach the joy of gardening. Their contribution to the beautification and development of the local community of Mitsuke City was honoured with the Britain-in-Bloom Gold Community Award in 2024, marking the first time the award had been presented outside the UK. Fantastic news that Kay has just been awarded the highly pretigious honor of the Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). She is just the 5th Japanese woman to achieve this remarkable feat.
Hybrid Meeting Details
The meeting will be both in person and online.
ONLINE (Zoom) from 14:00 to 15:30 JST
IN PERSON at the Stellar Works Restaurant and Bar from 14:00 to 15:30. Doors will open at 13:30.
Stellar Works Restaurant and Bar
1 Chome−2−3 青山ビル /Aoyama Building 2F
Kita-Aoyama, Minato, Tokyo 107-0061
Station and Exit: Aoyama-Itchome station EXIT 0 (Zero)
Accessible by Ginza, Hanzomon and Oedo subway lines
*Light refreshments such as coffee, tea, and sweets will be provided
COST:
|
In Person Tickets for Members
|
3500 yen |
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In Person Tickets for Non-members and Guests
|
4000 yen |
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Online Tickets for Members, Non-members,
and Guests
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Free |
* In person ticket fees are limited to 50, and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Members may invite one guest.
* In person ticket fees not refundable after March 5, 2026
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HOW TO REGISTER FOR THIS EVENT
Complete registration and payment on the Wild Apricot system. For in-person participants, your registration is not confirmed until you complete payment.
*If you encounter any difficulties with the online payment process, please do not hesitate to contact us for assistance at cwaj_dba@cwaj.org.
IN PERSON Attendance (RSVP by March 9, 2026)
ONLINE Attendance (RSVP by March 10, 2026)
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General Meeting Team
Director: Shigeko Nagaoka
General Meeting Managers: Joan Rodgers Doi and Rina Jiang
General Meeting Program Coordinator: Monami Mogi and Ruth McCreery
Contact: generalmeetingmanagers@cwaj.org
