The Seattle Japanese Garden will open its gates to the public in a few days on March 1st, and the following Sunday March 6th it'll have an official First Viewing with a customary Shinto ceremony.
This is a good time to reflect on the words of Juki Iida, the builder of our Garden, penned after his visit to Seattle and the Garden 13 years after the construction was finished; the article was originally published in the Japanese magazine 'Niwa' in February 1974, and just recently translated into English by Shizue Prochaska and Julie E. Coryell.
Below the beginning of Juki Iida article's translation; the whole translation at link below the excerpt. The captions under the pictures of the Garden how it looks today, are taken from the Juki Iida's 1974 article.
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Next week: look for the article by Koichi Kobayashi on the 'Welcome Rock by Dick Yamasaki' (the stone arrangement in the area between the current south entrance gate and WPA vintage stone bridge, which was not completed by the end of the initial garden construction). |
| SJG • 10/27/15 Juki Iida, 1974: ‘[…] We pruned most of the lower branches of some trees located in the path of view lines. Of course, I had to admit that our work looked pretty strange, however, it was done with the future in mind. Fortunately we obtained spruce and yew trees seven-to-eight-feet high so we could plant them from the base of the waterfall up the hill around the jūsansō-tō, thirteen-story pagoda.[…]’ |
ABOUT THE JAPANESE GARDEN AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
By Jūki Iida
Shizue Prochaska and Julie E. Coryell, translators, 2015.
[Note: translators added information within brackets for clarity].
Gai Yō, Introduction
This garden was constructed thirteen years ago between 1959 and 1960. I learned that
the University of Washington made the initial request to build a garden. Consul General Yoshiharu Takeno in Seattle contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which in turn, conveyed the request to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.
When I was asked to assist in this project, two points struck me. First, how could rocks, plants, and other materials for a large-scale Japanese garden be obtained outside of Japan? Second, how could people of European descent and second-generation gardeners [of Japanese descent] build such a garden? Never having experienced such a project and thinking it could be a great opportunity to learn, I was happy to undertake the work.
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| SJG • 10/27/15 Juki Iida, 1974: ‘[…] The pond covers 850 tsubo [about 1.5 acres]. The plan is a stroll garden in “somewhat Momoyama style.” Where the creek enters the pond, large sawa tobi ishi, marsh stepping-stones connect the shores. A yukimi-tōrō, snow-viewing stone lantern stands nearby.[…]’ |
Sekkei, Planning
With the leadership of [master landscape designer Sensei] Kiyoshi Inoshita, the design
team included [Tokyo Metropolitan Park Department Director] Tatsuo Moriwaki, [Tokyo
Metropolitan Park Department Engineer] Nobumasa Kitamura, Messrs. [Shoshi] Iwao
Ishikawa, Naotomo Ueno, Chikara Itō, and myself. The year before [in 1958] discussion
of building a Japanese garden in Seattle started around the time Park Director Moriwaki
visited the United States and viewed the site personally. Using his firsthand report and
photographs and other materials sent to us from Seattle, we formed the basic plan.
Genchi Chōsa, Site Research
In the autumn of 1959, I traveled to America to check the initial plan for the proposed
garden site and to explore the availability of rocks, trees, shrubs, and other materials. The
day after my arrival, I attended a meeting of the Arboretum Foundation members with the
Acting Consul General and [Cultural Affairs liaison James] Fukuda. There I explained
the plan in detail. Everyone present appeared to be satisfied with the design. I was told
that the garden was planned to be built for the centennial celebration of the Japan-
America treaty [1858] but was delayed for various reasons. The Arboretum Foundation
members left matters in my hands to build an authentic Japanese garden “not to be
found” outside Japan.
The whole article (+ a dictionary of Japanese terms used in the article) here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9dTvsGBY3zjaE9xTHdVeEktUlU/view?usp=sharing
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| SJG • 10/27/15 Juki Iida, 1974: ‘[…] A yatsuhashi, zigzag bridge and a dobashi, earthen bridge link the middle island to the shores.[…]’ |
Zōen Shikichi , Garden Site
The garden site covers about 6,000 plus tsubo [actually three and a half acres],
stretching north to south fronting a public road to the east. It faces slopes of zōkibayashi,
woodlands, to the northwest and south. There is a numasawachi, marsh, at the bottom of
the slopes. I found the site ideal for building a Japanese garden and not likely to require
extensive revision of the design. There is already a teahouse donated by the Tokyo
Metropolitan Government on the south side of a small hill. [...]The whole article (+ a dictionary of Japanese terms used in the article) here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9dTvsGBY3zjaE9xTHdVeEktUlU/view?usp=sharing
 |
| SJG • 10/27/15 Juki Iida, 1974: ‘[…] To create the atmosphere of a harbor town and boat landing, between the foot of the north slope and the pond we used sandstone pavers measuring two by seven-feet, and to represent a lighthouse, we placed an omokage-gata tōrō, face-style or reflection lantern. To protect the foot of the slope we created a seven-foot high rock wall and planted a chain of small shrubs on top of the wall. […]’ |
