Located on the other side of a massive sliding glass door on the second floor of the Jordan Schnitzer Japanese Arts Learning Center, the Jubitz Oregon Terrace is a restful scene tucked away from the busier areas in the Cultural Village of Portland Japanese Garden. On one side, a platform arises from water and features a rotating assortment of different bonsai ranging from Chinese wisteria to western hemlock, to shore pine to vine maple. On small shelves on a stucco wall are kusamono, accent plants that often accompany bonsai: sometimes, lupine, lady fern and violet, aster and vetch, or Douglas iris.
The Jubitz Oregon Terrace’s most notable sights and sounds come from its water feature. Long columns of volcanic basalt stand asymmetrically, that in spring are crowned by sunny yellow blooms of yamabuki (pleniflora) and set against a backdrop of bright orange and red leaves in fall. At the base are dry white rocks, perched above a small sliding waterfall that lies on stone like linen on a bed, with ribbons of water dropping into a clear pool. The result is a sound that evokes a steady rainfall, a particular kind of audio balm different from the rush of the Heavenly Falls in the Strolling Pond Garden or languid flow of streams in the Natural Garden. In total, it evokes thoughts of one of Japan’s most beloved natural landmarks: Takachiho Gorge.
The Gorge is a long, narrow chasm lined with steep cliffs of volcanic basalt columns that tower over the Gokase River in Miyazaki, a prefecture on Japan’s southern Kyushu Island. It is located in the town of Takachiho, recently sited by The New York Times as an overlooked tourist destination. Journalist Rachel Herring notes, “the Japanese have long recognized it as a setting for Japan’s creation stories and mythology.” This site’s stone formations are awe inspiring—that they would evoke reverence and an emotional connection to something greater than oneself feels only natural.
Reflecting Again and Again on One’s Memories of Wild Nature
Sakuteiki, an 11th century Japanese composition believed to be the oldest know text on gardening techniques, begins with its first basic concept as translated by Jirō Takei and Marc Peter Keane: “Select several places within the property according to the shape of the land and the ponds, and create a subtle atmosphere, reflecting again and again on one’s memories of wild nature.” While Portland Japanese Garden has several spaces where memories of wild nature are expressed, the Jubitz Oregon Terrace has a special connection to the Garden’s Curator Emeritus, Sadafumi Uchiyama: he was born in the small rural town of Kurume, about 90 miles from where the Gorge is located. Uchiyama is also the niwashi (garden master) who designed the space, as part of the Garden’s 2017 Cultural Crossing Expansion.
Uchiyama notes that the Jubitz Oregon Terrace highlights a geographical connection between the Pacific Northwest and Japan through the use of the volcanic columnar basalt. These rocks are not common occurrences on this planet, as they are caused from volcanic eruptions and must form near sources of water. Fittingly, the basalt was mined out of both the Snake River Canyon and area near Palouse Falls in Washington.
Beyond this, the Takachiho Gorge is situated in one of the highest elevations of southern Japan, Similarly, the Jubitz Oregon Terrace is located in the loftiest reaches of Portland Japanese Garden. However, Uchiyama notes that he wasn’t simply copying his home prefecture’s famous landmark to create this stunning landscape—he doesn’t seek to copy nature, but rather the experience of nature.
“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. It’s where I am most familiar with columns of basalt. So when I saw it, somehow my brain registered my upbringing. I was probably following that as a design guideline,” Uchiyama shared. His vision of the overall site design and new gardens was to create a subtle unfolding journey from the cacophonic noise of modern life to the peaceful tranquility of the existing Garden oasis.
“I realized at the end of the process what was guiding me,” Uchiyama continued. “I didn’t necessarily try to recreate or mimic those features, but somehow, maybe subconsciously I was following that journey of water. To me, this water feature, placed at this high elevation, symbolizes the source of the Willamette and Columbia rivers that nurture our lives and spirits in the Portland area, just as the Takachiho Gorge does for those who live in my home region of Kyushu.”
To visit the Jubitz Oregon Terrace, take either the stairs or elevator to the second floor of the Learning Center, the same building in which the Gift Shop is located. Though the large sliding door may appear imposing, you are invited to open it and spend some time in this less frequented Garden space.
Written by Will Lerner, Communications Manager for Portland Japanese Garden & Japan Institute.