Thursday, August 06, 2009

Family Pagoda

We finally put up the Ehara Pagoda today. My grandfather used to make these in his home in Kauai. He had wooden molds that he would put mixed concrete into. They would dry into these beautiful pagodas. I can remember, as a kid, driving around Kauai and seeing these in the front yards of homes. And I would always think to myself, "My grandpa made that."

Before he passed on, he spent a few months with us here in California to teach my dad how to make them. I remember them discussing how much sand, cement, and rock to use. And how to stamp it down into the molds. It is a very long process to make just one, and I can remember going into the garage with them to watch how they would make the pagodas.

This pagoda was actually made by my dad and grandpa. It was in my aunt's house in San Francisco, but she decided that one of us girls should have it, so it's at our home right now. The bottom part looks a little newer, cause it is. LOL We couldn't get the base off of the rocks in her yard, cause they cemented it down. So we just took one of the bases he had in the garage.

3 comments:

Tommie said...

this looks just like the one we have here in a shrine! nice work!

Kristen said...

that's neat you have a piece of your family heritage in your backyard and that it reminds you of your grandpa.

Melanie E said...

That's cool, Tommie! He actually made one for the Pagoda Restaurant in Honalulu too. They have a ton of different ones there. :) And it is neat to have a piece of family heritage in my backyard. I am so excited!