The feeling you get when you go in the natural woods in the mountains - serenity, quiet, that’s the kind of feeling we try to give.
 
---Tom Kubota--- 
“Family Garden May Become a Park”, Joni Balter, Seattle Times Sept 3 1987, B1

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​Kubota Garden is included in the City of Seattle's Trees for Seattle program.

This tree walk highlights 14 special trees of Kubota Garden as chosen by the volunteers of Kubota Garden Foundation. Strolling through the garden and focusing on these trees you will 1) appreciate the incorporation of native PNW trees into the Japanese garden aesthetic, 2) notice the variety of leaf shape and tree forms of Japanese maples, and 3) appreciate founding gardener, Fujitaro Kubota’s use of many of colorful evergreen trees.

Learn more...

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Kubota Garden is the outcome of years of labor by multiple generations of Fujitaro Kubota's family, at times under the oppression of racism. It's also a story of how the Rainier Beach community saved the Garden from becoming another victim of gentrification, and how the biological and horticultural descendants of Fujitaro Kubota have kept his vision alive. The resources below provide the details of this rich history as well as insight into how the Garden has developed.

• Timeline of the Garden's development, by Anna Carragee.
• ​Fujitaro Kubota’s Life, Inspiration, and Garden Style, from the Master Plan Update.
• A Short History of the Kubota Garden in Rainier Beach, Seattle, Washington, by Mary Anne Parmeter.
• Kubota Garden scavenger hunt for children and families, KGF Education Committee.
• Minidoka: An American Concentration Camp - Resources, Friends of Minidoka & Minidoka National Historic Site. 

Spirited Stone: Lessons from Kubota's Garden

2021 Award of Excellence in Gardening and Gardens, Council on Botanical & Horticultural Libraries

​A collaboration between Kubota Garden Foundation and local publisher Chin Music Press, Spirited Stone: Lessons from Kubota's Garden is a collection of poems, essays, and stories inspired by the Garden. Contributors include bestselling authors Charles Johnson and Jamie Ford, poets Claudia Luna Castro and Anastacia-Reneé, stone sculptor Kentaro Kojima, photographer Gemina Garland-Lewis and many others.

The book can be purchased at Chin Music Press, several local booksellers, as well as online.

A Teacher's Guide to Kubota Garden

Initially developed for elementary school teachers, this guide has proven an excellent resource for all age groups. It contains a history of Fujitaro Kubota and his family, the development of the Garden, and a pictoral guide to key features of the Garden. It also contains a scavenger hunt and other ideas for engaging young people. ​

Download a free PDF

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Fujitaro Kubota... and his garden

Film and Discussion Guide for Adult Community Groups

This documentary film focuses on the early days of the garden through 1986, when it was purchased by the City of Seattle. It features former colleagues, family members, clients, and community members who share their thoughts about Fujitaro Kubota and his development of the garden. The story is told through skillfully knitted-together interviews and photos from the Kubota Garden Foundation archives and other sources. Production of this video was supported by a grant from 4Culture.
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The film can be viewed and downloaded online for free thanks to our partners at DENSHO. ​

KGF has produced a discussion guide for adult community groups. Click the button below to download a free PDF of the document.

Discussion Guide for Adult Community Groups