Nitobe Memorial Garden

 

All photos were taken in August 2014.

The Nitobe Memorial Garden covers 2.5 acres (1 hectare) at the edge of the University of British Columbia just above the Salish Sea.  The garden is one of the most beautiful Japanese gardens I have seen, not as fine as the Japanese garden complex in Portland, but perhaps better than the Japanese gardens in Seattle & Bellevue.  It's not a large garden, but invites you to linger.  The style is said to be Shinto.  It combines traditional Japanese garden plants with native plants from British Columbia.  The garden was designed by Kannosuke Mori, a professor at Chiba University in Japan & named after Dr, Inazo Nitobe (1862-1933) an influential Japanese educator & diplomat at the League of Nations.  He studied in Japan, Germany & at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.  He has no direct link to Vancouver, but died in Victoria on his way home from a conference in Banff Alberta.  Other nearby sites of interest to the public are the UBC Museum of Anthropology, the UBC Botanical Garden & Wreck Beach.

Seattle Japanese Garden

All photos were taken in September 2014.

Click here for more photos of the Seattle Japanese Garden.

The best known Japanese garden in the Seattle area is located the Washington Park Aboretum.  In 2010 the Seattle Japanese Garden celebrated its 50th anniversary.  In 1924 the Olmsted Brothers designed the University of Washington Arboretum.  By 1937 it was agreed that the arboretum needed a Japanese garden, a project not realized until end of the World War II, for obvious reasons.  The Arboretum Foundation began raising funds for the creation of the Japanese Garden in 1957. The Foundation asked Tatsuo Moriwaki of Tokyo Metro Parks to help guide the process. He selected Kiyoshi Inoshita & Juki Iida to design the project.  The design was finished in 1959.  Under the supervision of Juki Iida & Nobumasa Kitamura, construction began in March 1960 & was completed within four months. More than 500 large granite rocks from Snoqualmie Pass were used. Construction was done mostly by local Japanese-American gardeners including William Yorozu as the prime contractor for plants, Richard Yamasaki for stone setting, and Kei Ishimitsu for Garden structures.  The Seattle Japanese Garden was the earliest postwar public construction of a Japanese garden on the Pacific Coast.  It had a strong influence on the design of future Japanese gardens throughout the region.  The original tea house was burned by vandals in 1973 & reconstructed by Yasunori (Fred) Sugita in 1981.  A new gatehouse & community meeting room were completed in 2009.  The bronze gate was designed by Seattle sculptor Gerard Tsutakawa.

Seike Japanese Garden

Seike Japanese Garden March 2011

Seike Japanese Garden March 2011

Seike Japanese Garden March 2011

Seike Japanese Garden March 2011

Seike Japanese Garden March 2011

The Seike Japanese Garden can be found at the Highline SeaTac Botanical Garden in the City of SeaTac, south of Seattle in King County.  The garden was relocated to the Highline SeaTac Botanical Garden from the former site of the Des Moines Way Nursery in the City of SeaTac & opened in June 2006. The garden would have been abandoned due to the expansion of SeaTac Airport. The project is believed to be the largest relocation of a Japanese Garden ever attempted in the United States. The Seike family built the garden as a memorial to Toll Seike who was killed in action during WWII in France.  Construction was spurred by Seattle's 1962 World's Fair. The family hired Shintaro Okada, a garden designer from Hiroshima, to assist with planning & construction. Mr. Okada arrived in December of 1960 & construction started in January of 1961. The $350,000 relocation effort focused on recreating the stonework, pond & built elements such as bridges and lanterns, saving only the most significant plants.  The ultimate goal remained a faithful recreation of designer Shintaro Okada's intent & the preservation of a significant local horticultural, cultural & historical amenity.  This is a pleasant, small-scale Japanese garden.

Portland Japanese Garden

Portland Japanese Garden December 2012

Portland Japanese Garden December 2012

Portland Japanese Garden December 2012

Portland Japanese Garden December 2012

Portland Japanese Garden December 2012

Click here for more photos of the Portland Japanese Garden.

Although I have visited a number of Japanese Gardens in the Seattle area & in California, I can't say that I know very much about them.  All I can say about the Portland Japanese Garden is that it is the largest & most beautiful Japanese garden I have seen, perhaps the most beautiful of any garden I have visited.  I imagine that everyone that visits this garden is delighted & amazed.  The description below is from the Portland Japanese Garden website.

The Five Gardens

The 5.5 acre Japanese Garden is composed of five distinct garden styles. When we enter a Japanese garden, the desired effect is to realize a sense of peace, harmony, and tranquility and to experience the feeling of being a part of nature. In a deep sense, the Japanese garden is a living reflection of the long history and traditional culture of Japan. Influenced by Shinto, Buddhist, and Taoist philosophies, there is always “something more” in these compositions of stone, water, and plants than meets the eye.
Three of the essential elements used to create a Japanese garden are stone, the “bones” of the landscape; water, the life-giving force; and plants, the tapestry of the four seasons. Japanese garden designers feel that good stone composition is one of the most important elements in creating a well-designed garden. Secondary elements include pagodas, stone lanterns, water basins, arbors, and bridges. Japanese gardens are asymmetrical in design and reflect nature in idealized form. Traditionally, human scale is maintained throughout so that one always feels part of the environment, not overpowered by it. As Professor Tono wanted to incorporate native trees in our Garden so that it would blend naturally with its environment, some of the plantings here are on a larger scale.

• Flat Garden
• Strolling Pond Garden
• The Tea Garden
• Natural Garden
• Sand and Stone Garden

Portland Japanese Garden

Stone lion near the entrance to the Portland Japanese Garden May 2011. 

Near the Pavilion (9) at the Portland Japanese Garden May 2011

Water fountain at the Portland Japanese Garden May 2011

Sand & Stone Garden (7) at the Portland Japanese Garden May 2011

Stream between the Strolling Pond Garden (2) & the Lower Pond
at the Portland Japanese Garden May 2011

The Zig Zag Bridge (4) at the Portland Japanese Garden May 2011

The Heavenly Falls (5) at the Portland Japanese Garden May 2011

Beautiful pavement at the Portland Japanese Garden May 2011

Click here for more photos of the Portland Japanese Garden.

Although I have visited a number of Japanese Gardens in the Seattle area & in California, I can't say that I know very much about them.  All I can say about the Portland Japanese Garden is that it is the largest & most beautiful Japanese garden I have seen, perhaps the most beautiful of any garden I have visited.  I imagine that everyone that visits this garden is delighted & amazed.  The description below is from the Portland Japanese Garden website.

The Five Gardens

The 5.5 acre Japanese Garden is composed of five distinct garden styles. When we enter a Japanese garden, the desired effect is to realize a sense of peace, harmony, and tranquility and to experience the feeling of being a part of nature. In a deep sense, the Japanese garden is a living reflection of the long history and traditional culture of Japan. Influenced by Shinto, Buddhist, and Taoist philosophies, there is always “something more” in these compositions of stone, water, and plants than meets the eye.
Three of the essential elements used to create a Japanese garden are stone, the “bones” of the landscape; water, the life-giving force; and plants, the tapestry of the four seasons. Japanese garden designers feel that good stone composition is one of the most important elements in creating a well-designed garden. Secondary elements include pagodas, stone lanterns, water basins, arbors, and bridges. Japanese gardens are asymmetrical in design and reflect nature in idealized form. Traditionally, human scale is maintained throughout so that one always feels part of the environment, not overpowered by it. As Professor Tono wanted to incorporate native trees in our Garden so that it would blend naturally with its environment, some of the plantings here are on a larger scale.

• Flat Garden
• Strolling Pond Garden
• The Tea Garden
• Natural Garden
• Sand and Stone Garden

Portland Japanese Garden Map

The Japanese Garden

Prunus serrulata in Madison Park April 2010

Thujopsis dolabrata at Kubota Garden April 2010

Aucuba japonica at Kubota Garden April 2010 

Ilex crenata at Kubota Garden April 2010

 Illicium anisatum at Washington Park Arboretum April 2010

This is about a different sort of Japanese garden for Seattle & the Pacific Northwest: a garden simply composed of Japanese plants.  Japanese plants are common in Northwestern gardens.  That should be obvious from the many times we use the specific epithets: japonica, japonicus & japonicum.  Perhaps you would like to plan a garden in the Japanese style using Japanese plants.  Traditional Japanese gardens use very few species, usually not more than a dozen, all of Japanese origin.  This can seen meager to Pacific Northwestern eyes.  Here are more options.  Perhaps you might like to make a Japanese garden that mimics nature.  This is very easily done with the wide variety of Japanese plants available here.  As you might expect, many of these plants are also native to China & Korea.  Some are native across the Northern Hemisphere in Asia, Europe & North America.  Most of these plants should be fairly easy to find in Seattle area nurseries.

Trees
Acer crataegifolium (Hawthorn Maple) Acer japonicum (Full moon Maple) Acer palmatum (Japanese Maple)
Aesculus pavia, Aesculus turbinata (Buckeye)
Catalpa ovata
Cephalotaxus harringtonia (Plum Yew)
Chamaecyparis obtusa (Hinoki Cypress) Chamaecyparis pisifera (Sawara Cypress)
Chionanthus retusus (Fringe Tree)
Cornus controversa (Dogwood)
Cryptomeria japonica (Japanese Cedar)
Idesia polycarpa
Pinus densiflora (Japanese Red Pine) Pinus thunbergii (Japanese Black Pine)
Podocarpus macrophyllus (Yew Pine)
Prunus mume (Japanese Apricot) Prunus serrulata (Japanese Cherry) Prunus sargentii, Prunus subhirtella
Sciadopitys verticillata (Umbrella Pine)
Sorbus commixta (Japanese Rowan)
Stewartia pseudocamellia
Styrax japonicus, Styrax obassia (Snowbell)
Taxus cuspidata (Japanese Yew)
Thuja standishii
Thujopsis dolabrata (Staghorn Cedar)

Shrubs
Abelia chinensis
Aucuba japonica
Berberis thunbergii (Japanese Barberry)
Buxus microphylla var. japonica (Japanese Boxwood)
Callicarpa japonica (Japanese Beautyberry)
Camellia japonica, Camellia sasanqua
Chaenomeles japonica (Japanese Quince)
Clethra barbinervis (Japanese Sweet Shrub)
Daphniphyllum macropodum
Disanthus cercidifolius
Diospyros kaki (Japanese Persimmon)
Edgeworthia chrysantha (Paper Bush)
Elaeagnus pungens    
Enkianthus campanulatus
Euonymus alatus (Burning Bush) Euonymus fortunei, Euonymus japonicus
Fatsia japonica
Gaultheria miqueliana (Spicy Wintergreen)
Helwingia japonica
Hydrangea macrophylla, Hydrangea paniculata, Hydrangea serrata
Illicium anisatum
Ligustrum japonicum (Japanese Privet)
Ilex crenata (Japanese Holly)
Juniperus communis, Juniperus rigida, Juniperus sabina (Juniper)
Pieris japonica (Lily of the Valley Shrub)
Rhododendron amagianum, Rhododendron aureum, Rhododendron brachycarpum, Rhododendron dilatatum, Rhododendron indicum, Rhododendron japonicum, Rhododendron yakushimanum
Rosa rugosa
Skimmia japonica
Sambucus racemosa (Red Elderberry) also native to Europe & North America
Viburnum japonicum, Viburnum plicatum, Viburnum sieboldii

Perennials
Achillea ptarmica (Yarrow)
Adiantum pedatum (Maidenhair Fern) also native to North America
Anagallis arvensis
Aster ageratoides
Athyrium niponicum ‘Pictum’ (Japanese Painted Fern)
Campanula glomerata var. dahurica, Campanula punctata (Bellflower)
Caryopteris divaricata, Caryopteris incana (Bluebeard)
Chelonopsis moschata (Japanese Turtlehead)
Dryopteris erythrosora (Autumn Fern)
Glaucidium palmatum (Japanese Wood Poppy)
Hakonechloa macra (Japanese Forest Grass)
Imperata cylindrica (Japanese Blood Grass)
Kirengeshoma palmata
Ligularia dentata, Ligularia japonica, Ligularia stenocephala
Petasites japonicum
Physalis alkekengi (Japanese Lantern)
Polystichum polyblepharum (Tassel Fern)
Primula japonica, Primula kisoana, Primula sieboldii (Primrose)
Rodgersia podophylla

Groundcovers, Vines & Trailers
Antennaria dioica (Pussy-toes) also native to Europe & northern Asia.
Codonopsis lanceolata (Bonnet Bellflower)
Juniperus conferta (Shore Juniper)
Ophiopogon planiscapus (Mondo Grass)
Pachysandra terminalis
Parthenocissus tricuspidata (Boston Ivy)
Trachelospermum asiaticum, Trachelospermum jasminoides (Star Jasmine)
Wisteria floribunda

Japanese Garden at the Washington Park Aboretum

Japanese Garden at the Washington Park Aboretum April 2010

Japanese Garden at the Washington Park Aboretum April 2010

Japanese Garden at the Washington Park Aboretum April 2010

Japanese Garden at the Washington Park Aboretum April 2010

Japanese Garden at the Washington Park Aboretum April 2010

Japanese Garden at the Washington Park Aboretum February 2010

The best known Japanese Garden in the Seattle area is at the Washington Park Aboretum.  In 2010 the Japanese Garden celebrated its 50th anniversary.  The garden was designed & constructed under the supervision of Japanese garden designer Juki Iida in 1960.  It is a beautiful garden with a magnificent pond fed naturally by the creek that flows through the Washington Park Aboretum.  Whether it is better than the 2 other very good Japanese gardens in the Seattle area, Kubota Garden in the Rainier Beach neighborhood of Seattle & the Yao Japanese Garden at the Bellevue Botanical Garden, is a matter of opinion.  It is certainly more formal & manicured.  Parts of Kubota Garden are much older, but went through a long period of neglect.  The Yao Japanese Garden is newer, but developing very nicely.  If you are a local, you have no excuse not to see all 3.  If you are a tourist, the Japanese Garden at the Washington Park Aboretum is well worth a visit.  It is easily reached by from downtown via the 11 Madison Park bus.  The garden is a short walk from the Washington Park Aboretum bus stop.

Yao Japanese Garden at the Bellevue Botanical Garden

Yao Japanese Garden March 2010

Yao Japanese Garden March 2010

Yao Japanese Garden June 2010

Yao Japanese Garden June 2010

Yao Japanese Garden June 2010

  Yao Japanese Garden June 2010

Yao Japanese Garden June 2010

The Yao Japanese Garden at the Bellevue Botanical Garden is a serenely beautiful place.  Every part of the Bellevue Botanical Garden is lovely.  It seems constantly to be improved.  The Bellevue Botanical Garden is the closest thing the Seattle area has to a world-class public botanical garden.  The Washington Park Arboretum in Seattle is obviously trying to catch up & perhaps it will.  Indeed, the Japanese Garden at the Washington Park Arboretum is more impressive.  But the Yao Japanese Garden has a relaxed & intimate feel, while many Japanese gardens seem over-groomed & rigid.  The Yao Japanese Garden is easy stroll, along a wide path, at the edge of the woodland, not far from the main entrance.  Yao is Bellevue's Japanese sister city.  Perhaps the most beautiful & certainly the largest Japanese garden in the Seattle area is Kubota Garden in the Rainier Beach neighborhood of Seattle.

Kubota Garden

Kubota Garden: bridge over Mapes Creek January 2010

Kubota Garden: coniferous evergreens January 2010

Kubota Garden January 2010
 

 Kubota Garden April 2010

Kubota Garden: Mapes Creek April 2010

 Kubota Garden: Birches April 2010

On 34 acres of hillside & ravine in Rainier Beach (near Skyway) lies Kubota Garden. Mapes Creek flows through on its way to Lake Washington. The creek provides water for a series of pools & waterfalls in the lower part of the garden. The upper terrace is recently landscaped. The lower parts are much older. The upper ravine grows wild with native plants. Kubota Garden is an excellent place to visit in winter because most of the plants are evergreen: at their best in cool, moist weather.  The garden is also beautiful in spring when many shrubs & perennials are in bloom, & the new leaves come out on the Japanese Maples. Fujitaro Kubota started the garden in 1923. It became a Seattle park in 1987. Along with Seattle Parks & Recreation, an ardent group of volunteers maintain & improve the park. Read more about the garden at the Kubota Garden Foundation. You can find the entrance on 55th Av S very near Renton Av S.