The original Seward Park torii
For 50 years the entrance to Seward Park was visually dominated by a 25-foot tall torii, or Japanese Gate. The torii was a gift of intercultural friendship from the Seattle Japanese Chamber of Commerce to the city of Seattle. Designed by Kichio Alan Arai and constructed at the Japanese Language School by Kichisaburo Ishimitsu, the torii was produced for the 1934 International Potlatch celebration and stood originally on University Avenue downtown, where it bore a sign declaring “Seattle – America’s Gateway to the Orient.
International Potlatch, torii on University Avenue, 1934, courtesy of UW Libraries Special Collections, Kushi family video
In Japan, torii mark the entrances to Shinto shrines, and separate mundane and sacred space, but in America, torii are found almost exclusively in Japanese gardens and at international festivals as symbols of Japanese culture. The sign on the Potlatch torii had the explicitly commercial purpose of promoting trade with Japan.
After the Potlatch festival, the torii was relocated to Seward Park in the spring of 1935 (without the sign), where it joined the sakura (Japanese flowering cherries) planted in 1929-1930 and the Taiko-gata Lantern installed in 1931.
Seward Park torii, 1935, courtesy of Seattle Municipal Archives
The torii was a source of pride for the Japanese-American community and an icon of the neighborhood for those who grew up in Rainier Valley.
Seward Park torii 1953, courtesy of Donald Taniguchi
Rainier District Pow Wow, 1950, courtesy of the John L. O’Brien Family
In 1985 or 1986, the torii was rotting and was removed by Seattle Parks and Recreation. A Parks employee repurposed some of the wood in his yard, and in 2012 FoSP recovered one of the sideposts and donated it to the Wing Luke Museum.
The new torii
Centennial poster (left) and Seattle Japanese Cherry Blossom and Cultural Festival committee and guests in Seward Park, Earth Day 2011.
FoSP adopted the torii as a symbol for the Seward Park Centennial celebration in 2011. The Seattle Japanese Cherry Blossom and Cultural Festival committee was invited to plant a new cherry tree for the centennial celebration, and several people suggested restoring the torii, to honor the original gift of intercultural friendship.
A torii committee was formed and community input was taken on the design of a replacement. FoSP hired Murase Associates to design a new torii made from natural basalt columns from eastern Washington and red cedar from Vancouver Island.
Scott Murase and torii model
FoSP raised over $300,000 from grants and donations to construct the new torii. The new Seward Park Torii was completed in November 2020.
After the Covid 19 pandemic of 2020-2021 subsided, a community celebration took place on April 2, 2022.
Akemi Burns dances under the new torii, 2022, photo courtesy of Karen O’Brien
The new torii is a gift of intercultural friendship to honor the donors of the original torii and to welcome the native and successive waves of immigrant communities who come to Seward Park.