The Gosford Edogawa Commemorative Garden: Tensions between a Secular Gosford City Council and the Religious Dimensions of the Site
Issue: Vol 13 No. 1 (2018) Special Issue: Spiritual Tourism
Journal: Fieldwork in Religion
Subject Areas: Religious Studies Linguistics
DOI: 10.1558/firn.37253
Abstract:
This article will demonstrate that the visual and experiential religious elements visible in the components of the Gosford Edogawa Commemorative Garden (New South Wales, Australia) have been shifted outside of the realm of "understanding" that is promoted by the Sister City Agreement that established the garden. Understanding within this article refers to how the experiential aspects of the garden depends on each individual, their own interpretation of the garden, and their own knowledge. The invisibility of the religiosity of the garden results in a mediation of how individuals in Gosford, and visitors, interact with the space. These interpretations through a secular body such as the Gosford City Council, who seemingly do not promote the garden as a sacred landscape, offer an investigation into those who interpret the environment depending on their own knowledge. Through discourses on understanding, that are the result of specific language used to describe and explain the garden, the otherwise prominent religious elements have been silenced.
Author: Cassanda Hastie
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