A Cycle to Celebrate
The Seattle Japanese Garden turns 60 with fitting testaments to rebirth and resilience.
The Seattle Japanese Garden, a 3.5-acre public garden within Washington Park Arboretum, is celebrating a very special milestone. It takes 60 years to cycle through the Chinese zodiac calendar. In Japan, the occasion is called “kanreki” and celebrated as a return to childhood, a rebirth. “This auspicious anniversary seems especially fitting for our garden, which is constantly renewing,” says Jessa Gardner, Seattle Japanese Garden Programs Manager.
Development of the Garden, one of the most notable Japanese gardens outside of Japan, was a collaborative effort between the Arboretum Foundation and Tokyo government officials in the 1950s. Working from site photos and a topographical map, plans emerged from a team of experienced Japanese designers for an Edo-style stroll garden—a landscape to be experienced from within. A storytelling garden with footsteps revealing a succession of landscape elements and views depicting nature, literature and art. The Garden, which officially opened to the public on June 5, 1960, is managed in partnership by Seattle Parks and Recreation and the Arboretum Foundation.
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