The Garden Path Monzenmachi March/April 2018 TABLE OF CONTENTS OF TABLE HAIKU 3 Letter from the CEO Steve Bloom Falling with the rain a white camellia blossom The moss darkens 4 Events Calendar March – April –Peter Kendall 5 Member News 6 Garden News SENIOR STAFF The Unfolding Journey CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Steve Bloom of the Cultural Crossing DEPUTY DIRECTOR Cynthia Johnson Haruyama THE ARLENE SCHNITZER CURATOR 8 Culture & Education OF CULTURE, ART, AND EDUCATION Garden Workshops Diane Durston GARDEN CURATOR Sadafumi Uchiyama CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER Cheryl Ching 10 Art in the Garden DIRECTOR OF FINANCE Diane Freeman Hanakago: The Art of Bamboo and Flowers DIRECTOR OF MARKETING Lisa Christy CHIEF DEVELOPMENT OFFICER Tom Cirillo 12 Special Events EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT Sarah MacDonald Garden Expressions DIRECTOR OF RETAIL Ashley McQuade Lecture Series DIRECTOR OF FACILITIES Mike Rego 13 Annual Fund BOARD OF TRUSTEES PRESIDENT Dorie Vollum PRESIDENT-ELECT Robert Zagunis 14- Golden Crane Society VICE PRESIDENTS 15 Ann Carter, Katherine Frandsen, Carol L. Otis M.D., Dr. Calvin Tanabe TREASURER Drake Snodgrass 16 Global Ambassadors SECRETARY Dede DeJager IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT Cathy Rudd MEMBERS Suzanne Storms Berselli, Gwyneth Gamble Booth, Jimmy Crumpacker, Dean M. Dordevic, 17 Golden Crane Legacy Society Michael Ellena, Bruce Guenther, Bill Hughes, & Tribute Gifts Janelle Jimerson, Gail Jubitz, John Kodachi, Martin Lotti, Douglas Lovett, CPA, Lindley Morton, Darren Nakata, Piper A. Park, Travers Hill Polak, Frances von Schlegell, Paul Schommer, Susan Winkler 18 Photo Gallery FOUNDATION BOARD Cultural Crossing One Year Anniversary CHAIR Greg Fitz-Gerald PRESIDENT Steve Bloom 20 Did You Know? VICE PRESIDENT Carmen Wong Kyoto: Cultural Village Inspiration SECRETARY/TREASURER Diane Freeman MEMBERS Trish Adams, Dede DeJager, Jerry Hudson, Joshua Husbands, Douglas Lovett, CPA, 2018 Featured Events James D. Lynch, Allan Mercer, Dee Ross THE GARDEN PATH FRONT COVER Jeremy Bitterman FOR QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS BACK COVER Julia Taylor Email [email protected] 2 THE GARDEN PATH FROM THE CEO THE FROM Dear Members, It has been nearly a year since we opened the beautiful new Cultural Crossing buildings and garden spaces and what a year it has been! We were pleased to have Architectural Record name this project one of their Top Ten Picks in the world for 2017. When the American Institute of Architects in Portland presented the Honor Award to this project, the jurors stated that this “is the Gold Standard for what should be done next.” The Umami Café was recently named the most beautiful place to get your caffeine fix in Oregon by Architectural Digest. The recognition this project has received has certainly been gratifying. But it is what the new spaces allow us to do that is the most rewarding. They are our monzenmachi – a place where all guests can linger, explore, share, visit, and learn while the Garden itself remains a quiet, restorative place. The other day I stopped in the Jordan Schnitzer Learning Center and mar- veled at the Jane Stimson Miller Living Room: it was packed full of people, all captivated by the koto concert taking place. The week before that, I watched more than 50 people gathered around the Cathy Rudd Cultural Corner, observing a tea demonstration, artfully performed by members of Kashintei Kai, who later answered question after question from the audi- ence about the ancient art form. It’s been the same every week! People come expecting to see a beautiful garden and then find themselves staying longer – intrigued, curious, and eager to learn more about Japanese tradi- tions and culture. The Garden has always been a path to cultural understanding. But if we’ve learned anything about Japanese culture, we know that it is as simple and as complex as the beautiful Noh masks we had here last October. I am thrilled that this organization can now offer paths to cultural understand- ing that lead in so many more directions. All beautiful, all fascinating, all unique. In this way, we can truly share the ideals upon which this Garden was built, the ideals which connect Portland to Japan and Japan to the world: the art of craft, the connection to nature, and the experience of peace. Sincerely, Steve Bloom PS – I hope you’ll use the special tear-out in this issue to mark your cal- endar for some of the exciting events we have planned for you. The Year of Kyoto is shaping up to be our best year yet! Christina Sjogren MARCH / APRIL 2018 3 EVENTS March April 2/3- Hanakago: 1 Cultural Demonstration: Bonsai 4/1 The Art of Bamboo and Flowers 4 Cultural Demonstration: Tea 2-4 Cultural Corner Décor: Hina Dolls 6 Colin Currie: Oregon Symphony's Artist-in-Residence 3 Hina Matsuri, The Doll Festival 7 Cultural Demonstration: Tea 10 Cultural Demonstration: Koto 7-8 Saga Goryu Ikebana Exhibition 11 Cultural Demonstration: Bonsai 8 Cultural Demonstration: Ikebana 15 Lecture by Jake Hobson - Niwaki: Interpreting Garden Trees 11 Cultural Demonstration: Tea Outside of Japan 14 Cultural Demonstration: Koto 17- Garden Workshop: 18 Bamboo Fence Building 15 Cultural Demonstration: Tea 17 Cultural Demonstration: Tea 18 Cultural Demonstration: Tea 18 Cultural Demonstration: Bonsai 19 Lecture by Balazs Bognar - Tradition 22 Heart and Soul of Ikebana Serving the Future: Lessons from by Professor Kimiko Gunji the Portland Japanese Garden’s New Architecture 24- Oregon Camellia Society Exhibition 25 21 Chado, The Way of Tea 28 Cultural Demonstration: Tea 22 Cultural Demonstration: Ikebana 25 29 Cultural Demonstration: Koto Cultural Demonstration: Tea 28- 31 Cultural Demonstration: Tea Bonsai Society Exhibition 29 28 Cultural Demonstration: Koto 29 Cultural Demonstration: Ikebana For more information, please check japanesegarden.org/events or call 503-542-0280. 4 THE GARDEN PATH MEMBER NEWS MEMBER Jonathan Ley Hina Matsuri Summer Hours Begin March 3, 2018 March 12, 2018 11am-2pm Jordan Schnitzer Japanese Arts Learning Center The Garden will switch over to Summer Hours beginning Monday, March 12. Bring the whole family to this year’s celebration of Hina Matsuri, the Doll Festival. Dress your little ones up in traditional cotton yukatas, create beautiful floral arrangements in the kids’ ikebana Monday: Noon-7pm workshop, and view an exquisite seven-tiered display of festival Tuesday - Sunday: 10am-7pm dolls, a generous gift from the Loen and Sho Dozono Family to Last General Admission is at 6:30pm the Garden in 2008. The Garden is proud to display this extraordinary collection of costumed figures depicting imperial courtiers amid a full Photographer complement of beautifully lacquered furnishings. The Hina Dolls Member Hours décor will be on view in the Cultural Corner from March 2-4. April 11, 2018 6:30 - 8am Photographer Oregon Camellia members only Photographer members are invited to Society Exhibition capture the Garden in Spring's light. March 24 - 25, 2018 Garden Hours Yanai Classroom Extended Member Hours The Oregon Camellia Society will be offering a special treat to Garden visitors this weekend. In what has almost become an April 20, 2018 annual tradition, the society will be presenting an informally 6:30 - 8am Members and judged show of the same sort of lovely Asian camellias that you'll guests only see in bloom throughout the Garden. Scores of flowers, from Members and your guests, watch the miniature to very large and in many shapes, colors, and patterns sunrise at the Garden on Friday, April 20 will be on display. Exhibits of camellia culture, art, and history will during our special extended hours. also be featured. Society members will be present to answer your questions. This show is free with Garden admission. MARCH / APRIL 2018 5 GARDEN NEWS GARDEN 1 The Unfolding Journey of the Cultural Crossing Early in its design phase, the remarkable setting for the Cultural Crossing expansion reminded Portland Japanese Garden Curator Sadafumi Uchiyama of the concept of satoyama, a Japanese term describing the transition zone between the wild mountain foothills and the arable flat land. Sato means arable and livable land, and yama means hill or mountain. Water hypnotically starts your journey from the stair- stepped waterfalls around the Welcome Center to the pools (see photo 2) along the zig-zag path. Just beyond the Antique Gate, you hear the unseen bubbling spring at the base of the hill. 6 THE GARDEN PATH Continuing your ascent across Sheila’s Bridge under the cantilevered Umami Café, you come to the upper creek with scattered broken boulders of basalt imply- ing the wildness of the mountain landscape to come. Uchiyama says the primary binding element of this- journey is water as the “source of life” which has so much symbolism for both Japan and Portland. The Japanese Way of Tea provides a powerful lesson in how we should live in harmony with nature. Its principles of Wa-Kei-Sei-Jaku (harmony, respect, purity, and tran- quility) have informed the design of Japanese gardens since the 15th century. Tea culture teaches wisdom and is manifested in plants, the abundant moisture of the rainy northwest climate, and the great Columbia River. The four principles of tea are related to the flow of water; the flow of wisdom from the Japanese Garden “ at its highest point, from our rooftops, under Sheila’s bridge, and down through the Entry Garden. It ulti- 2 mately meets the force of life; the mighty Columbia," said Uchiyama. Water has played an important role in Uchiyama’s life. He was born in Kurume, a small town on the south- ern Japanese island of Kyushu. The famous Takachiho Gorge near Uchiyama’s hometown inspired him to design the Jubitz Oregon Terrace (see photo 3). It is one of the few places in the world with naturally formed columnar basalt. 3 When I see basalt, that’s where my mind goes, but I never tried in a conscious way to equate it to the “ Takachiho Gorge (see photo 1).