Ceremony celebrates 48 years of serenity at Japanese Garden

The gentle sound of trickling water filled the air Sunday near the entrance of Seattle's Japanese Garden. Children stood near pine trees and spotted orange-and-black Koi swimming in a pond.

"I just want to unwind, breathe and be out in nature," said Kay Lukens, a West Seattle resident, relaxing on a chair.

About 500 Seattle-area residents did the same and gathered at the Washington Park Arboretum garden to celebrate its 48th year at an opening ceremony.

"It's an amazing place," said Lukens, 60. "It's a quiet place."

The garden, at 1075 Lake Washington Blvd. E., opens Tuesday and this year's season runs until November.

The day's ceremony included a Japanese blessing by the Rev. Koichi Barrish, who circled the garden and splashed sake from a green bottle.

He read a prayer, hoping the garden would have a successful year and that visitors would be enlightened and refreshed by the trees, flowers, grass and water.

"This garden was meant to be a bridge between the Japanese and the American people," said Steve Garber, president of the Japanese Garden Advisory Council.

The 3.5-acre garden, which about 57,000 people visit each year, is one of the best outside of Japan and is known for its lead designer, Juki Iida, he said.

Garber and Japanese Consul General Mitsunori Namba paid tribute to Richard Yamasaki, a longtime Seattle resident who died Feb. 18.

Yamasaki, 86, helped build the garden in 1959 and 1960, and Iida gave him the responsibility of setting the rocks at the garden, Garber said.

"His memory will live on in this garden," the diplomat said.

Garden officials also noted that construction on a new entrance would start later this year.

Before the ceremony, Issaquah resident Karen Chikuami, 54, noticed wisteria hanging from an arbor.

Chikuami, a first-time visitor, was looking forward to seeing azaleas bloom later in the year.

"It's a little different than Green Lake," she said, referring to the garden. "People want to sit and absorb the sun and tranquillity."

She and her husband also wanted to study how caretakers have tended to the trees and plants.

The couple have a Japanese-influenced garden at their Issaquah home and want to apply the lessons there.

Lukens started visiting the garden last year.

While she worked four days in an office, she worked one day at her house.

On that day, when she worked at home, she would stroll through the garden in the afternoon.

She enjoys the serenity and she loves to sit and watch the fish and turtles. During the fall, she said, the Ginkgo trees turn a bright yellow.

With the ceremony's speeches over, members of the Seattle Kokon Taiko group raised their wooden drumsticks and entertained the crowd by striking traditional Japanese drums.

"I really like the drums. I like the beat," said Maggie Schildt, a 12-year-old from Bellevue.

Those sounds filled the park with deep reverberations, adding another layer of tranquillity and rhythm to the day.

And as guests left the garden, the gentle sound of trickling water once again filled their ears.

ON THE WEB

Visit seattle.gov/parks/parkspaces/japanesegarden.htm