The Magic of Trees: Architecture and Woodworking in Japan

This evolving “culture of wood” was very different from that of the West. In Japan, wood’s susceptibility to fire, moisture and extremes of weather was embraced – as was the notion of transience (setsuna).

Japanese Culture, Japanese Garden DesignCorinne KennedyJune 15, 2017Architecture, Woodworking, Japanese Culture, Japanese Garden

Family Saturday + Free First Thursday Programs

In spring of 2017, the Seattle Japanese Garden launched Free First Thursday and Saturday Family Day programs to provide more regular opportunities for our community to engage with the garden and learn about horticulture, Japanese traditions, and the various arts inspired by our beautiful landscape.

Events, Japanese Culture, Visual ArtChie IidaMay 26, 2017Art, Japanese Culture

Juki Iida & Richard Yamasaki: Collaborating in Space & Time

The Seattle Japanese Garden was a collaborative work that involved a number of Japanese design team members. It was also, as this article examines, a unique collaboration between lead designer Juki Iida, and Richard Yamasaki, one of the Seattle landscape contractors hired to build it.

In the Garden, Japanese Culture, Japanese Garden DesignRumi TsuchihashiApril 8, 2016Juki Iida, Seattle, Japanese Garden, Garden Design, History, Maple, pagoda, Sculpture, tea house, Moss, tree, Water, Stone, Japanese Pine

Nature versus Nurture in the Japanese Garden: A Gardener's Perspective

Visitors to the garden often comment on the splendor and beauty of nature and the care and attention that is obviously lavished on the garden. What they are observing and being moved by is the careful, intentional integration of nature and nurture.

In the Garden, Japanese Culture, Japanese Garden DesignRumi TsuchihashiApril 8, 2016Seattle, Japanese Garden, gardening, Stone, Water, tree, Shrub, Moss, Pine, Maple, Azalea, Cherry, Plum, Crabapple

In Bloom: The Quietly Elegant Corylopsis

In early spring, the fragrant, luminous yellow flowers of Corylopsis appear before the leaves, and are held in short nodding spikes along the branches.

In the Garden, Japanese Culture, Japanese Garden DesignRumi TsuchihashiMarch 15, 2016Corylopsis, bloom, Seattle, Japanese Garden, Forsythia, Winter, Spring, Witch Hazel, Fragrant

Japanese Gardens: a Four Season Celebration of Fleeting Beauty

An appreciation for passing beauty is essential to fully experiencing the wonders of a Japanese garden in all four seasons.

In the Garden, Japanese Culture, Japanese Garden Design, Photography, VolunteersRumi TsuchihashiFebruary 12, 2016Spring, Seattle, Japanese Garden, Japan, Japanese Culture, Garden Design, haiku, event, Festival, bloom, tree, Shrub, Cherry, Plum, Peach, Camellia, Azalea, Wisteria, Summer, Iris, Hydrangea, Lotus, Fall, Maple, Ginko, Chrysanthemums, Winter, Pine, Bamboo, Moss

Listening to Stone: Experiencing the Garden Through the Eyes of Sculptor Isamu Noguchi

World renowned sculptor Isamu Noguchi viewed earth as material for art, and sculpture as creation of social space. His concepts have enlivened the author's experience of moving into and through our Japanese stroll garden.

History, In the Garden, Japanese Culture, Japanese Garden DesignRumi TsuchihashiJanuary 14, 2016Seattle, Japanese Garden, Stone, Sculpture, Japan, Japanese Culture

Docents' Picks: Top 11 Books to Read this November

Dokusho no Aki—読書の秋, or “Autumn, The Season for Reading” is a common saying in Japan, and it is a popular time of the year for all kinds of themed reading lists to be published.

Fall, History, In the Garden, Japanese CultureRumi TsuchihashiNovember 5, 2015Fall, Maple, Literature, Seattle, Japanese Garden, Biography, Memoir, Japanese Culture, Novel

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