Seward Park Torii (Photo courtesy of Hattori April)
The long-awaited celebration of the construction of the Japanese Torii (Gate) in Seward Park will be held on April 2nd from 1-2pm. The festivities will include taiko drummers, lion dances, and speaking advocates for elected officials and the community.
The Department of Communities awarded a planning grant to Friends of Seward Park, which hired landscape architecture firm Murase Associates to design the torii. Murase partnered with Friends of Seward Park to gather community input. Community participants chose a design that respects the original Seward Park torii, addresses concerns about long-term maintenance, and reflects current community values and the park’s wilderness character. The pillars (hashira) of the torii are made of natural basalt from central Washington. A giant western red cedar tree harvested on Vancouver Island provides lumber for the lintel (kasagi) and beams (nuki). The Seattle Parks Foundation supports Friends of Seward Parks, who together successfully raised $347,000 for the project.
Seattle Parks and Recreation managed the construction of the new torii gate. It replaces a 26-foot timber torii gifted to the city by the Japanese-American community of Seattle in 1934 as part of the International Potlatch Celebration, then donated and placed in Seward Park as a gesture of cross-cultural friendship. The original torii was demolished in the mid-1980s due to rotting beams.
