Venetia Stanley-Smith, A Herbalist in Japan
Obituary for Venetia A few days ago, a news came to me, Venetia Stanley-Smith passed away in 2023. I saw the picture of her in silver hair accompanied by her husband in the news and was really shocked at how much time has passed since then, and how many things have changed since the time when I got to know her as a life artist in the media. Neither have I really sat to watch TV for almost 10 years, nor have I had time to attend to the garden for an equal amount of time after the birth of my elder child. When my partner and I moved to the current house nearly 15 years ago, I was enthusiastic about herbs. I devoted much time to planting all sorts of herbs. The garden was the focal point of my attention. Venetia Stanley-Smith, a British herbalist married with a Japanese, was very popular for her TV show, At Home in Kyoto . In the program, she showed the seasonal tasks that she would do with the herbs she’d grown in her garden, which surrounded her traditional farmer’s house. Ve...