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An introduction to the Japanese concept of Kokoro

KOKORO is a Japanese word encompassing multiple meanings including "mind," “heart,” and “spirit.”

Join Prof Kimiko Gunji and Tim Gruner for an introduction to the Japanese concept of Kokoro and spiritual enrichment illustrated by the Japanese Tea Ceremony. Prof Kimiko Gunji, professor emeritus of Japanese arts and culture, and former director of the Japan House at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, will demonstrate the importance of working towards a healthy kokoro and body. Tim Gruner, Curator of the Anderson Japanese Gardens in Rockford, IL will explore the impact that nature, gardens, and architecture can have on our well-being. Thursday afternoon arrival time will allow workshop participants ample free time to explore the local community, natural attractions of the Driftless region and the Taliesin Estate and will include an evening lecture in the Taliesin Hillside Theater with the instructor (included in workshop fee). The weekend is filled with authentic experiences to expand your curiosity, thought and skills. Tea ceremonies in Wright’s living room, calligraphy design sessions in his architectural drafting studio and mindfulness exercises outdoors will enrich your "mind," “heart,” and “spirit.”

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About the Instructors

PROF KIMIKO GUNJI - Professor Emeritus of Japanese Arts & Culture, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Kimiko Gunji is Professor Emeritus of Japanese Arts & Culture in the School of Art & Design, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is a Full Professor at the Ikenobo Ikebana School (Japanese flower arranging) in Japan and Chapter President of the Illinois Prairie Ikenobo Ikebana. She holds the tea name, or Chamei, Souki from the Urasenke Tea School and serves as President of the Urbana-Champaign Association of Chado Urasenke Tankokai, Inc. Prof. Gunji has received numerous awards for her teachings as well as for her contributions to promote Japanese arts and culture. The most distinguished award she received is the Order of the Rising Sun from the Japanese Government, which was bestowed by the Japanese Emperor. Currently she teaches both Japanese traditional arts to local students as well as to the community members at Japan House at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus. She also gives lectures/demonstrations on Japanese arts and culture at various colleges and universities as well as many different organizations.

TIM GRUNER - Anderson Japanese Garden Curator

Driven by a lifelong love of nature to a career in horticulture, Tim graduated from the Kishwaukee College Horticulture Program 1987, followed by a one-year horticulture internship at Chicago Botanic Garden. Since 1989, Tim has worked and studied at Anderson Japanese Gardens under the direction of Mr. Hoichi Kurisu, f Kurisu International, where he is currently Garden Curator. Tim is a frequent contributor to Sukiya Living Magazine and has presented at national and regional conferences for the North American Japanese Garden Association, of which he is a member of the board of directors. In 2001 Tim completed the Kyoto University of Art and Design two-week intensive garden symposium in Kyoto, Japan. In 2016 he completed an intensive tea garden rock setting workshop at the International Japanese Garden Training Center at the Portland Japanese Garden. Tim studies Chanoyu, Japanese Tea Ceremony, to further understand aesthetics, Japanese gardens, the best of human relationships, and nature.

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About Your Stay

This one-of-a-kind weekend experience is designed to allow you to disconnect, immerse and explore. “Taliesin works like a charm on everybody that comes within its atmosphere,” writes Wright to his friend and client Darwin Martin in 1929. To experience Taliesin in its fullest, you will access a variety of historic spaces and the pristine rural landscape of Driftless Wisconsin; complementary housing is included in the workshop experience.

Please note that we are not aiming at being a hotel or resort, but focus on carrying out the timeless elements of the Taliesin Legacy - connecting people, architecture, and the land.

Each of you will be housed in a single room across the Taliesin estate in rustic Taliesin Fellowship dwellings, with shared bathrooms, access to a kitchenette, and living space.

Each workshop includes a welcome reception in the main residence and a tour of the buildings. Classroom instruction will be held in the world-renowned Hillside Drafting Studio, and in other designated space across the Taliesin estate. Lunch and breakfast will be served at the Frank Lloyd Wright Visitor Center, while dinner is a wonderful opportunity to explore the local artisanal community individually or as a group - stay tuned for more details.

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Location

The workshop check-in will begin Thursday afternoon at 3 pm. Please arrive at the Frank Lloyd Wright Visitor Center at 5607 County Rd C Spring Green, WI 53588, and walk into the building. Staff will welcome you upon arrival and usher you to your rooms.

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Rates

Adult (Ages 18+): $1,800 per person Includes breakfast and lunches, workshop instruction, materials, guided tour, guestroom for three nights on the estate, lecture in the Hillside Theater, and welcome reception in the main house

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Testimonials

A Wright Aficionado’s Kokoro Adventure: An Interview with Joan Pantsios

Finding Tranquility at Taliesin: An Interview with Julie Fry

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About Taliesin Preservation

VISION

Taliesin is acknowledged as the embodiment of American architect Frank Lloyd Wright's commitment to the creation of exceptional environments that harmonize architecture, art, culture, and the land.

MISSION

As stewards, Taliesin Preservation's mission is to preserve the cultural, built, and natural environments that comprise the Taliesin property and to conduct public educational and cultural programming that provides a greater understanding of Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture and ideas.