Seattle Japanese Garden
Encyclopedia
Japanese garden
, that is, gardens in traditional Japanese style, can be found at private homes, in neighborhood or city parks, and at historical landmarks such as Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines and old castles....
in Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, located in the southwest corner of the Washington Park Arboretum
Washington Park Arboretum
Washington Park is a public park in Seattle, Washington, USA, most of which is taken up by the Washington Park Arboretum, a joint project of the University of Washington, the Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation, and the nonprofit Arboretum Foundation. Washington Park also includes a...
along Lake Washington Boulevard E.
The decision had been made to include a Japanese garden in the Arboretum in 1937, but it took 20 years for fundraising to begin. Kiyoshi Inoshita and Juki Iida were appointed as designers and completed their plans in 1959. Iida selected William Yorozu as prime contractor for plants, Richard Yamasaki for stone setting, and Kei Ishimitsu for structures. Construction began and was completed the next year, 1960. The garden's teahouse, donated by the city of Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
in 1959, was burned by vandals in 1973 and reconstructed by Yasunori "Fred" Sugita in 1980 and 1981.
During 2001 and 2002, renovation took place under the direction of Koichi Kobayashi.
At the blessing ceremony at the garden on March 2, 2008, Steve Garber, president of the Japanese Garden Advisory Council and Japanese Consul General Mitsunori Namba paid tribute to landscape designer Richard Yamasaki, a Seattle resident who died February 18, 2008. Yamasaki, born in 1921, in Medina, Washington, helped build the garden in 1959 and 1960 and remained as a consultant until 1988. In addition to his work at the Japanese garden, his clients included the Nordstrom and Boeing families, Paul Allen, and Bill Gates.
The garden closes for several months in winter. The garden is open to the public from approximately dawn to dusk, depending on the season. Admission is free for children under five; $4.00 for youth, students, senior citizens, and the disabled; and $6.00 for adults.
Public tours are offered (free with regular garden admission) April through October on Wednesdays at 12:30 p.m. and on Saturdays and Sundays at 12:30 p.m. and at 2:30 p.m.
External links
- Seattle Parks Department
- Legacy of the Japanese Garden of Seattle: Past, Present, and Future by Koichi Kobayashi (PDF)
- JGarden.org
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