An early immigrant’s vision transforms clearcut forest into a beloved public garden. Short stories, poems, essays, and photographs celebrate Fujitaro Kubota’s legacy.
 
Novelists, poets, scholars, and garden enthusiasts examine the legacy of nurseryman Fujitaro Kubota, whose unique gardens transformed Seattle's landscape in the 20th century. Kubota immigrated to the US in the early 20th century, worked as a nurseryman, and eventually bought 20 acres of clear-cut forest in southern Seattle that he shaped into a beautiful and enduring Japanese garden. Today, the public garden serves one of Washington’s most diverse zip codes.
Kubota also created a memorable garden in the Minidoka prison camp while he was incarcerated there during World War II. Upon his return to Seattle, he created the first “drive-through” garden to capitalize on the automobile craze of the 1950s. To Kubota, everything has spirit. Rocks and stones pulsed with life, he said, and that energy is still apparent in his gardens today.
 
Inside you'll find:
Original fiction from Charles Johnson and Jamie Ford
Photography by Gemina Garland-Lewis and Nathan Wirth
Essays from Thaisa Way, David Streatfield, Jeffrey Hou, Alex Gallo-Brown, Kentaro Kojima, Jason M. Wirth, Anna Tamura, Glenn Nelson, Iain Robertson, and Betsy Anderson
A foldout history by Mayumi Tsutakawa & Carla Girard
Poetry from Shin Yu Pai, Samuel Green, Anastacia-Renee, Claudia Castro Luna, Elizabeth Austen, and Shankar Narayan
 
A co-production with the Kubota Garden Foundation
Most of the proceeds of your purchase go back to the garden.
 
Hardback