Tsukimi (月見) or O-tsukimi (お月見) is a holiday that celebrates the beauty of the Harvest Moon. Influenced by the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, this special night has become a unique Japanese custom of holding moon-viewing parties featuring special food and beautiful decorations for thousands of years.

Note: Japan House will NOT be open to the public during Tsukimi and there are no public restrooms in the Arboretum. All activities will take place outside so please plan accordingly. The matcha cafe will be open at 6:30pm.

Each year at Japan House, we offer the opportunity for guests to view a tea ceremony and to celebrate the full moon together in the beauty of the gardens.

At 6pm, floral artist and Ikenobo ikebana teacher Reiko Takahashi will be making a special ikebana arrangement called "tatehana" as an offering to the Moon. Professor Emeritus Kimiko Gunji will perform a special tea ceremony in the Japan House Gardens to honor the Harvest Moon for all to watch.

Japan House interns will be floating lanterns to illuminate the ponds and guests are welcome to stroll through the area for this solemn occasion. In the south driveway, Japan House will have a pop-up matcha cafe offering joyo manju and iced sencha (green tea) for sale at 6:30pm. Pre-orders are welcome online and limited quantities are available for walk-up purchases. The cafe will open once the tea ceremony is complete and an offering is made to the moon. The joyo manju is gluten-free, nut-free, and vegan!

Sponsor a floating lantern! Guests are welcome to make a donation and share the name of a loved one to have their memory be commemorated during opening remarks at Tsukimi. Note: the floating lanterns are not for sale and can not be kept or taken.

As this event will be taking place after dark (the Arboretum officially closes at sunset), please note that all guests must leave the grounds no later than 10pm. Guests are asked to be respectful of the grounds and of each other. Please abide by Arboretum rules - absolutely no smoking, fire, or fireworks are permitted. There are garbage bins by the south parking lot F-32 - we kindly ask that guests use those or take their trash with them.

Remember that no matter where you are, we are all looking up at the same moon. We hope you enjoy Tsukimi!

About the Artists

Kimiko Gunji is Professor Emeritus of Japanese Arts & Culture in the School of Art & Design, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and taught from 1979-2011. She was also Director of Japan House at the University of Illinois from 1998-2011. She is a Full Professor of the Ikenobo School of Ikebana for Japanese flower arranging and Chapter President of the Illinois Prairie Ikenobo Ikebana Group. She holds the tea name, or chamei, Souki, from the Urasenke School of Tea and serves as President of the Chado Urasenke Urbana-Champaign Association. She also holds a teaching certificate of nihon buyo (Japanese classical dance). Gunji has received numerous awards for her teachings as well as for her contributions to promote Japanese arts and culture. Among them were the University of Illinois Campus Award of Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, the Illinois Arts Council Fellowship in the Field of Ethnic and Folk Arts, and the Commendation from the Foreign Ministry in Japan for her contribution to promote and strengthen the ties of friendship and goodwill between the United States and Japan. The most distinguished award she received is the Order of the Rising Sun from the Japanese Government, which was bestowed by the Japanese Emperor. Having taught for fifty years, she currently teaches Japanese traditional arts to local students as well as to the community members at Japan House at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She also gives lectures/demonstrations on Japanese arts and culture at various colleges and universities as well as many different organizations. Her wagashi (traditional Japanese sweets) book, The Art of Wagashi, was published in April 2019. Recently, her second book Wagashi: Season by Season was published in May 2024.

Reiko Takahashi is President of the Illinois Prairie Chapter of Ikenobo Ikebana Society of America and a member of the Ikebana International Chicago Chapter. As a native of Japan living in the United States, Reiko developed an interest in being a cultural bridge between the two countries. To be more knowledgeable about the art and culture of Japan, Reiko chose to study Japanese floral design, or ikebana, one of the most representative aspects of traditional Japanese art. She has studied ikebana since 2001 under Professor Emeritus Kimiko Gunji at the College of Art and Design, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She holds the certificate of Sokakan – the rank of second grade, full professor – from the Ikenobo Ikebana Society of Floral Art in Kyoto, Japan. She is currently enrolled in the Ikenobo Central Training Institute working on an advanced diploma. Through Floral Ashirai, Reiko unites her love of art and nature together with her unique design skills to create beautiful artwork with flowers.