By Mahlon Meyer
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
As a girl, she was afraid of the “never ending dark pit.” No wonder. Her brother told her a dragon lived there.
So Karen Walker always kept her feet tucked beside her.
But when she lost her childhood, she also lost her fear of the tatami room at Bush Garden.
The old Bush Garden location on King Street (Photo by George Liu)
“As I got older, I thought it was so cool that we had our own room, that we took off our shoes, and the room had a phone as well,” she wrote on a Facebook page dedicated to bringing back the fabled Japanese restaurant. “I had never seen anything like it.”
Community effort
No one had.
From 1953, when it first opened, to 2021, when it closed due to the pandemic and other factors, Bush Garden had been the home to community activism, cultural solidarity, and family life.
Now, it is reopening in a different location.
But the story of its reopening, slated for later this year, is a story of the community coming together again, as it once did inside the walls of the restaurant and later bar and karaoke parlor.
Whereas activists once regularly held court inside the restaurant, a newer generation of activists pleaded for financial support on social media to reopen its doors.
It worked.
Connections
Multiple fundraisers helped owner Karen Sakata relocate Bush Garden to the newly opened Uncle Bob’s Place, site of low-income housing.
(Northwest Asian Weekly was not able to reach Sakata by press time).
One of these, organized by Sarah Moriguchi and Bif Bee, raised over $16,000 by the end of last year.
At the same time, the fundraiser helped articulate the challenges and meaning of the restaurant that was anything but a restaurant.
“Its legacy as a cultural hub in the Chinatown-International District cannot be understated,” wrote the organizers on their GoFundMe site. “Bush Garden is not just a place to enjoy delicious meals and showcase our vocal prowess in karaoke; it represents the vibrant tapestry of our community. It’s a space that has fostered connections, celebrated diversity, and provided a welcoming environment for all.”
A site for activists
Among its most famous patrons was Bob Santos, who was known to hold court there, meeting with other activists, and planning actions and protests that would shape and sustain the community.
A photo of him in his trademark Panama-style hat, in front of the crowd, with his earnest yet droll face, from several decades ago, seems to epitomize the whole meaning of the place.
Santos helped form the “Gang of Four,” a group of interracial leaders who helped establish some of the major institutions for marginalized communities in the city. Santos also helped found Interim CDA—which developed low-income housing, including the building now named after him—and where Bush Garden will be resuscitated.
Out of his leadership and activism, which he formulated while talking with others in the restaurant, such CID institutions as the Denise Louie Education Center, the Asian Counseling and Referral Service, the International Community Health Services, and the Danny Woo Community Garden were born.
A place of refuge
But Bush Garden was even more than that.
At a time when the entire country, it seemed, was caught up in anti-Japanese hysteria in the wake of World War II, the restaurant was said to offer a refuge of sorts.
Within its hushed walls, one could experience the kinds of experiences one might have found, perhaps, only in Japan of the pre-war years.
An actual indoor waterfall with a Japanese style bridge graced the interior.
After moving from its original location, due to the need for more space, founder Kaichi Seko and his family indulged a vision of nostalgia, loss, and resilience.
“The new location was transformed into a picturesque Japanese village with elaborate decor, including a Shinto temple-style gate, traditional carvings, and a working waterfall,” according to the Bush Garden’s website.
The first karaoke machine in the United States was brought in—to the delight of children like Walker and the Japanese Americans who were returning from long war years in American West Coast concentration camps.
High hopes
As former patrons heard of its reopening, and pledged money to bring the atmosphere back to life, they added their own feelings of hope.
The wide spectrum of patrons was also testament to the open, welcoming atmosphere of the place, which was one of the few in this city where people of different races felt comfortable mingling.
“I’ve made many happy memories at the old location,” wrote Migee Han, on the fundraising site. “Looking forward to helping to warm the new one!”
Anne Xuan Clark wrote, “So many happy memories at Bush Garden over 30 years! Can’t wait until you reopen.”
Beau Gunderson called it “the best karaoke on planet Earth. So many good times there, can’t wait for it to return.”
A third birth
Masahura Sakata and Karen Akada bought the restaurant from the Sekos in 1996.
They continued to operate it as a restaurant for a decade, then changed their focus, reshaping it into a bar and karaoke lounge.
In 2018, the building in which Bush Garden was situated was sold. During the pandemic, it closed its doors with the plan of reopening at Uncle Bob’s Place.
Like Chinatown, perhaps, which has been reborn three times, this will be the third incarnation of the fabled community hangout.
Mahlon can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.