Experience the Magic of Moon Viewing in the Garden
Photo from 2021 Moon Viewing
お月見 (otsukimi), moon viewing, dates back to 8th century Japan, when on the 8th month of the old Japanese calendar, aristocrats celebrated the beauty of the autumnal full moon with poetry and music.
This year, we are enhancing your night walk experience in our Japanese stroll garden, drawing inspiration from the beautiful tradition of autumn garden illuminations in Japan. Join us for two nights at the Seattle Japanese Garden's Moon Viewing 2025, where the Garden comes alive with the soft glow of lanterns and luminaries.
The first night of Moon Viewing 2025 will feature lighting displays by famed artist Yuri Kinoshita, modern dancer lead by Asian diaspora focused troupe Tsuru Ko and traditional Okinawan music performed by Mako (of Mako and Munjuru) and Greg Campbell. Moon Viewing mainstay Michael Dylan Welch of Haiku Society of America will also return to help guests try their hand at haiku composition and judge our annual Moon Viewing Haiku Contest.
Tickets will go on sale at 10am on Monday, August 4th and will surely sell quickly!
Lighting
Yuri Kinoshita
Born In Kyoto, Japan, Yuri graduated with honors from Osaka Fashion Institute, Department of Interior Design. After traveling throughout Africa, Europe, India, Asia and South America, she settled in the U.S. to expand her artistic skills and passion for lighting design. Now based in Seattle, Yuri works with organic materials to create small and large scale sculptures of ‘Interwoven Lights’. Her site specific installations continue to explore the interrelations of play between light and shadow within her medium.
For this year's Moon Viewing, Asagao (morning glory), Tsubaki (camellia) and Yamazakura (wild cherry blossom) lights made from Japanese kozo paper, bamboo and linen fiber will be displayed in three locations in the Garden.
Dance
Tsuru Ko
Shared Ground is a 30-minute collaborative performance created by an intergenerational group of Japanese American dancers. Featuring choreography by four of the performers, the piece moves through memory, resilience, and renewal, set to a suite of works by musician Mako Kikuchi. Drawing on diverse Asian American perspectives, including Shin-Nikkei, Gosei, and Sansei, the work reflects the legacy of Japanese American history while finding beauty and continuity in the present moment, rooted in the living landscape of the Seattle Japanese Garden.
Performers: Aya Chiong-Bisbee, Gabrielle Nomura Gainor, Fumi Murakami, Truong Nguyen, Kaylyn Ready, Buffy Sato and Mariko Smithashima
Music
Mako of Mako and Munjuru
Mako, a talented performer of traditional Okinawan music, is renowned in the Northwest area, particularly in Seattle. As a solo artist, she captivates audiences with her heartfelt melodies and mesmerizing performances. Additionally, Mako leads a group known as Munjuru, where she skillfully combines music, dance, and storytelling from Okinawa. Mako proudly contributes to the preservation and promotion of Okinawan music and art as a valued member of Ukwanshin Kabudan, a musical troupe based in Honolulu. Through her involvement, Mako aims to ensure the enduring legacy of Okinawan traditions for future generations.
Greg Campbell
Greg Campbell plays drums, percussion, and French horn in styles ranging from mainstream jazz to free improvisation, western classical music, and traditional West African drumming. He has performed with jazz clarinetist and composer William O. (Bill) Smith, the Tom Baker Quartet, Wayne Horvitz, Stuart Dempster, Stewart Copeland, Michael Bisio, the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra, the Seattle Modern Orchestra, and the Seattle Percussion Collective. He co-leads the traditional Ghanaian drumming group Anokye Agofomma. He has studied with Dave Holland, Cecil McBee, Shinjo Wataru, Joseph Jarman, Bob Moses, Tom Collier, and Michael Crusoe. He teaches at the Cornish College of the Arts at Seattle University, and at Cascadia College.
Haiku
Michael Dylan Welch
Michael Dylan Welch likes to be surprised by empathy and gratitude in haiku. He has been active with haiku for more than 40 years, and joined the Haiku Society of America in 1987. He founded his press, Press Here, in 1989, edited Woodnotes from 1989 to 1997, and Tundra from 1998 to 2001. He currently coedits First Frost and serves as haiku editor for Pulse: Voices from the Heart of Medicine. Michael cofounded the Haiku North America conference in 1991 and the American Haiku Archives in 1996, and founded the Seabeck Haiku Getaway in 2008 and National Haiku Writing Month (www.nahaiwrimo.com) in 2010. Michael has won first place in the Henderson, Brady, Drevniok, and Tokutomi haiku contests, among others, and his poems, essays, and reviews have appeared in hundreds of publications, translated into more than twenty languages. He served two terms as Redmond poet laureate, curates SoulFood Poetry Night, and is president of the Redmond Association of Spokenword. Michael has published 76 books, mostly haiku. His website, also devoted mostly to haiku, is www.graceguts.com.