Where the green grass grows
In Chicago, Garden of the Phoenix is a hidden gem with a storied past.
A FAINT breeze rises off the lagoon as you cross a green koi pond on wide stepping stones. To your right, a waterfall splashes; to your left, a Japanese moon bridge arches under a bright summer sky.
The scene could not be more perfect, you think, and then you notice a big, boldly patterned bird perfectly centered under the bridge. A black- crowned night heron has settled in for a fishing session.
The Garden of the Phoenix in Jackson Park is one of the hidden gems of Chicago, a lush azalea- studded Japanese garden that looks out over shimmering water at green rushes, pristine woodland and the gleaming columns of the Museum of Science and Industry. A gravel path winds through two acres of greenery, with Japanese maples, glossy grasses and pines pruned to look as if they have sprung from ancient manuscripts.
But this otherworldly place, on the 15- acre Wooded Island and currently closed to the public during a large- scale ecological restoration, is more than just another pretty face in Chicago’s pantheon of parks.
Ever since the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, when Japan, eager to make an impression on the West, brought the magnificent Phoenix Pavilion here to showcase the nation’s artistic heritage, the Wooded Island has been a stage where American- Japanese relations have played out in miniature.
In the 1890s, high hopes for greater understanding were reflected in the Japanese emperor’s decision to give the pavilion to the city of Chicago. In the 1930s, restoration of the pavilion and the planting of what is now the Garden of the Phoenix marked another era of optimism. During World War II, a Japan- born Chicagoan who ran a popular teahouse on the island was interned, or put in detention, solely because of his Japanese heritage.
Today, strong ties and deep respect are represented by new projects such Yoko Ono’s Sky Landing sculpture, set to be unveiled this fall.
“This is probably one of the most important sites reflecting American- Japanese relations in our nation,” said Robert W. Karr Jr., president of Project 120 Chicago, the not- for- profit organisation that is working with the Chicago Park District to revitalise Jackson, Washington and Midway parks. “This is the garden, period, bar none.” Shoji Osato and his wife, Frances Fitzgerald, cared for the garden and ran a teahouse there from 1935 to 1941. The teahouse was shut down after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and in 1946 vandalism led to a fire that destroyed the pavilion.
The Yoko Ono sculpture, conceived as a call for peace and respect among nations, will stand on the spot of the original pavilion.
Go on a video walking tour of the garden at chicago tribune. com/ japanese garden tour .– Chicago Tribune/ Tribune News Service