Long before he rose through the ranks in 1905, Nimitz met Admiral Togo, a hero of the Japanese – Russian War, at a garden party hosted by the Japanese emporer in Tokyo (where Nimitz was stationed at the time as a Midshipman). As the Admiral was leaving, the marines invited him to join them for a drink, and the Admiral, the “Nelson of the East,” accepted their invitation.
It must have impacted Nimitz, as years later he would contribute funds to the restoration of Admiral Togo’s ship. In turn, Japan honored Nimitz by presenting this Garden of Peace, a replica of Admiral Togo’s garden, to the museum. It’s quite beautiful, and it serves as an excellent place to pause and try and reconcile oneself to all of the information presented at the museum.
