Connecting Visions of People, Place & Peace at the Portland Japanese Gardens
June. 14, 2024
By: Heather Flint Chatto
Last week, I attended my first public event as the Executive Director of the Architectural Heritage Center with a celebration at the Historic Japanese Gardens commemorating the 65th anniversary of our sister city relationship with the City of Sapporo. Stepping through the Nezu Gate is like a portal to a different time and place. It reminded me that historic places give us this gift of time travel. Sight, smell and sounds, shapes and objects hold story and meaning when we take the time to look beyond the surface. Walking into the event, I was struck by the PeaceTree exhibit of Yoko Ono’s which were filled with messages of hope. The speeches from both Portland’s Mayor and the City of Sapporo noted the iconic view of Mt. Hood and its striking similarity to Mt Fuji. That symbolism, like the gardens themselves, felt like a bridge connecting us across languages, culture and geographies.
Historic Gardens & Nezu Gate entry, Mayors of Portland & Sapporo and view of Mt. Hood at the Japanese Gardens
The event was a perfect reminder of how history and connection provide a bond that ties us together across communities and countries. As political debates wage on we sometimes wonder if the things we are sentimental about matter when war divides nations, and cultures fight to survive. Yet, the event reminded reminded me how much these places do matter as the Mayor of Portland spoke of two nations formerly at war had been peacefully connected through this place, the transmitting of cultural traditions, architecture and landscape was a bond that was built after World War II and how our sister city relationship represented the coming together in unity and hope for the future. It was especially meaningful to meet the Mayor of the City of Sapporo as my own Japanese Aunt Junko had recently passed away and I gave a gift of an origami butterfly to take back to Japan in her honor.
Music of the Birds Performer; Mayor Katsuhiro Akimoto of the City of Sapporo receiving the origami butterfly; Breath of Life By Hiroki Tsuji; Heather Flint Chatto and her husband, local architect Chris Chatto at the Vision of Place Exhibit, hosted by the Portland Japanese Garden;
As beautiful Music of the Birds played live from performers in the background, we wrote our own wishes for peace and placed them on the Wishing Tree on an installation created by world renowned artist and peace activist, Yoko Ono. With my husband, a local architect from ZGF, we visited the Vision of Place exhibit which showcased beautiful photographs of Sapporo. This inspired me about upcoming programming events and talks planned around our own new large-scale model of Portland recently acquired by the AHC which will be on display in the coming months downtown, and then later back in our Grand Ave center.
Executive Directors connecting with Lisa Christy, of the Japanese Garden, and Paula Esguerra, Director of International Exchange Forum and the Japan Institute
As the event wound down, I had the pleasure of meeting other “sisters” of sorts in Lisa Christy, the Executive Director of the Japanese Garden, and Paula Esguerra, from the Japan Institute. Ideas for collaboration sparked for ways we might integrate more cross-cultural collaboration between the Japanese Gardens and the Architectural Heritage Center, including possible history and architectural sketching events in the future. Tell us if you like this idea!
Just like “Sister Cities”, the AHC works to strengthen ties between people and places. As the new ED, I look forward to engaging with our sister museums and partners, and to hearing your ideas for how the AHC can advance our connection to local architecture, and new ways historic preservation and engagement can help us deepen our understanding, education and partnership in new and important ways. I look forward to a visionary future and share my wish for peace from the Wishing Tree with you in hopes we may cultivate it together here and abroad as we see each other as brothers and sisters working together to value each other’s unique gifts, and celebrate the buildings and landscapes that connect us through honoring cultural heritage.