RESTORED GARDEN AN ISLAND OASIS

Sometimes, it can be nice to just go out somewhere that’s quiet and relaxing. In current times, places like that can be difficult to find, or difficult to get to.

For those who live in and around the downtown Gresham area, there’s just such a place that some residents may not know about: Tsuru Island, a small Japanese garden located at the southern end of Main City Park in downtown Gresham and adjacent to the Springwater Corridor multi-use trail entrance.

“Tsuru” is the Japanese word referring to the crane family of birds, and in Japanese folklore cranes represent long life, which certainly could be said of Tsuru Island.

The park, built on a small island that Johnson Creek slips past on either side, has been around since about 1974 (exactly when work first began is a bit vague). The garden was built by several Japanese Americans who were part of the Japanese American Citizens League, which is one of the oldest Asian American civil rights organizations. It was estimated to have taken over 800 hours to craft the garden, the layout of which was designed by Sam Iwamoto, at the time a landscapist.

Other known individuals who assisted in its creation include Kaz Tamura and Yosh Mishima, co-chairmen of the committee that oversaw the project.

Ed Fujii, Joe Onchi, Henry Kato, Shig Nagae, George Ninomiya, Shiro Takeuchi, Mits Nakamura, and Hiram Hachiya were all volunteers in the effort to make it a reality.

The garden itself was envisioned and created as a lasting monument to the first generation of Japanese Americans born in the United States, and was presented as a gift to the city of Gresham. The grounds were crafted using over 5,000 stones and boulders brought from the riverbanks of the Clackamas River about 13 miles away, all of which were handpicked. Some of the stones were laid in such a way as to resemble a tortoise, another animal the Japanese feel represents longevity. Several different species of trees and shrubs were planted along pathways lined with the river stones, including weeping willows, azaleas, and Japanese cherry trees. Some of the plants were imported from Japan. An arched wooden bridge was built in a Japanese style to connect the island to the “mainland” of City Park. The garden was built to embody peace, tranquility, and happiness, and was publicly dedicated on Sept. 2, 1975 – the 30th anniversary of the formal Japanese World War II surrender to the U.S. – with an audience of around 150. The addition stood as “an example of what people can do when they care about their city,” Mayor Al Meyers was quoted as telling the crowd that day by the Gresham Outlook newspaper.

Still, the JACL was not fully satisfied and considered the garden incomplete. Volunteers planned to add benches on which visitors could rest and a Japanese-style teahouse somewhere on the small island. However, by 1988 the once peaceful and beautiful Tsuru Island had fallen into a state of disrepair, and the further plans for the garden had not come to fruition. Vandalism across Main City Park was not uncommon, and went so far as the burning of the Japanese cherry trees planted in the garden 13 years prior. It was evidently a popular place to drink and litter.

Kaz Tamura, one of the original group who had labored to create the garden, told the Outlook “it’s going to pot.”

It would take years more before a rebirth was launched.

In July 2011, a new group of volunteers supported by the City of Gresham, the Gresham Sister City Association, and local residents and businesses began work to restore and revitalize the neglected and decaying garden. It went through a complete overhaul: The paths were redone, many new plants were introduced, and a small shelter was added, as well as a Japanese dry garden. The bridge leading to the island was also remodeled.

One of the few elements of the garden that remains from its initial creation is the stone tortoise, now partially grown over with moss. Tsuru Island is currently maintained by The Friends of Tsuru, a volunteer organization. Once again, the garden is a beautiful, quiet place to relax. At most times of the day there may be one or two other individuals enjoying the garden, and it remains a nice place to pause and enjoy the outdoors with plenty of shade and tranquility.