by Kay Curry
Northwest Asia Weekly
April Hattori’s grandparents Ryokichi and Kazue Yamazi were married in Seattle, and they often visited Seward Park and its torii gates. (Photo property of the Yamako Hattori family. All rights reserved.)
“Er Jing fell seven times; rose again. In Rainier’s shadow, the sacred torii beckoned like Mount Fuji; welcome after our release from WWII desert prison. Cherry blossoms fluttering like snow” – Larry Matsuda in New Torii dedicated to bench (bench not finished)
Once upon a time, a Japanese couple got married in Seattle. The man is from a small town in Japan. The woman was born on Vatson Island and grew up on a strawberry farm in Tacoma. Their family is no longer in Seattle, and they don’t know why, as their last wish when they died, Ryoichi and Yamako Kazue demanded that their ashes be scattered on Lake Washington.
Seward Park Torii (Photo courtesy of Hattori April)
“I know they frequent Seward Park,” their granddaughter April Hattori told Asia Weekly. After going to Seattle to follow in his grandparents’ footsteps, Hattori got it. “They started life in Seattle as married people. It was a great start for them.”
That beginning included a torii that once stood in Seward Park and was demolished in the 1980s. During World War II, that started to turn into internment, which cost “a big part of their lives”, and then a fulfilling life raising a family and running a store in Chicago.
The original Seward Park archway shortly after its installation in 1935. (Photo courtesy of Seattle Municipal Archives)
“They embody kindness, humility and generosity,” Hattori said. “They’ve worked hard all their lives.” She wondered how she could honor them. As it happens, the Friends of Seward Park and other community members have already embarked on a mission to rebuild the torii.
Hattori and her family decided to donate to the fundraiser, which in total benefited from the financial support of more than 300 donors. On April 2, a new torii gate opened, marking a ‘complete cycle’ for the participating Hattori and his family, as well as the community where the park, torii, Cherry Tree and Lake Washington are part of the residents.
“Come ashore, my friends,” said the Seattle chief, ancestor of Duwamish Tribal Council member Ken Workman, who welcomed guests at the dedication ceremony. “You are
Welcome to this ancient land. The torii is a symbol of welcome, and while it may have religious significance, it is also often used as a symbol of a gateway. Like the previous gate, the new torii, made of Pacific Northwest basalt and red cedar, also represents a relaxation The place.
From right: April Hattori, her mother Aiko Sokolowski and sister Dawn Ernster Yamazi at the dedication ceremony of the new torii on April 2. (Photo by Kai Curry)
State Rep. Sharon Fumiko Santos, speaking at the celebration, called the torii “a jewel in the history of the park.” She remembers, “like many generations of children in the Southside”, “spent countless hours and days in the shadow of the sentinel of the Seward Park Torii, primitive, playing in the lake, attending summer camp, learning how to drive”— The final comment drew laughter. It was not until the original archway was demolished that she thought of its significance. The feeling, she said, was “lost” because “something meaningful to me and my history, the physical evidence of my memory” was erased. That’s why, Santos continued, “it was such a happy moment for me” and certainly for long-term residents.
The original torii was built in 1934 as part of a potluck, an indigenous tradition that, as described by Friends of Seward Park chairman Paul Talbot, “was diverted to promote tourism and trade”— —The predecessor of Seafair. At the time, the Japan Chamber of Commerce hired Kichio Allen Arai, whose son Jerry was at the April 2 event, to design a torii. With the help of Yoshizaburo Ichiko, who is still a contractor in Seattle today, the torii gate was erected in the Japanese language school. Arai paid $2 for a design that partially mimics the famous “floating torii” in Miyajima, Japan. It was later reassembled in Seward Park.
Just seven years later, this “gift of friendship” was “repaid” by the imprisonment of Japanese citizens, as Talbot chronicled.As it happens, the date for the celebration of the new torii was randomly chosen, postponed due to COVID-19 (the torii has been completed since 2020), and takes place 80 years after the Japanese residents of Bainbridge Island were detained at the camp. Born in Minidoka Larry Matsuda, a local poet who camped and grew up in the South End, admits, “Not a day goes by. [the incarceration] I did not think of it. “
Representative Sharon Tomiko Santos shares her memories of growing up in the “Shadow of Sentinels” at the Seward Park Torii. (Photo by Kay Curry)
The park has been a popular resting place since that harrowing period. For Santos, the torii gate is “a statement by our immigrant ancestors that they are here to stay…[to say] This is also our home. Santos compared the crowd to the same diverse group she played during the park’s “kenjinkai’s,” parties that provided a place where people could forget “how hard life is” and enjoy their day.
Mayor Harrell talks about how the event and the new torii fit in with his #OneSeattle campaign. (Photo by Kay Curry)
“There is no place on earth more beautiful than Seattle in spring,” declared Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell, asking, what does the torii stand for? He jokingly continued, “Let me give you the right answer,” before clarifying that, for him, the torii is a celebration of the beauty of Japanese culture that we all share. Harrell proposes that the new Torii “may outlive everyone who hears my voice right now… Every time I see this, I’m reminded of my Japanese-American culture, and I’m reminded of my African-American culture… …I’ll be reminded of what we have in common.” Harrell reminded guests it was important to “put our differences aside for now so we can hear each other,” and said what he saw in front of him “now, this is Seattle. The best place…when I talk about #OneSeattle, that’s what it’s all about.”
The new torii was designed by Murase Associates with the participation of the Japanese architecture firm Takumi Company and the public. The project includes donation stones and historical stones. In the auditorium sat Hisao Inagaki, Consul General of Japan, and dozens of them were descendants of the aborigines in the South District of Seattle. Interested visitors and passersby are drawn to the drumming of the Seattle Taiko School, the Washington Diamonds and Drumline, or the climax of the lion dance. A young woman in a traditional Japanese kimono dances to a song about cherry blossoms, all around them in full bloom.
“Our new torii, like its predecessor, is designed to be a gift of intercultural friendship, welcoming all the diverse cultures that come together in Seward Park,” explained Talbot, recognizing that it was an “elusive goal.” … full of racism and racial hostility that contradicts our nation.”
Santos reiterated “the importance of our ancestors passing through the door of opportunity to provide us all with a foundation and future that we now store for our children and grandchildren.”
“It’s the connection between all ethnic groups,” Hattori said. “That’s the beauty of it. It’s a symbol of a broad connection between all cultures, and it has this special personal meaning because of my grandparents. It’s very profound, especially in these turbulent times, to respect all Humans matter.”
Kay can reach info@nwasianweekly.com.
