Garden and museum
Built by hand,one stone at a time.
Most of DOMO's tables are in the garden. The shrine and the museum are a few steps further. All of it is open to you while you are here.
The garden 庭
Spring
Cherry and crabapple over the stone tables.
Musubido 結び堂
A hall fortying knots.
To the left as you step out of the dining room stands a small hall of stone, timber and thatch. Musubi means to tie, or to bind: a wish, a promise, a rope knotted with paper prayers. People leave their own. Go in quietly, stay as long as you like.
The museum 民芸館
A farmhousefrom the north.
To the right is the museum: a collection of tools, masks, textiles and folk art that evokes a country farmhouse in northern Japan, where Gaku Homma grew up. These are working objects, not treasures, and that is why they matter. Children are welcome with an adult beside them.
Nippon Kan 日本館
The dojonext door.
Homma Sensei, a direct student of aikido's founder Morihei Ueshiba, came to Denver in 1976 and opened Nippon Kan in 1978. DOMO followed in 1996 as a way to keep the dojo and its visiting students fed and funded. The students still train through the wall while you eat.
