umiimu. a new word coined by Robert W. Karr, Jr. in 2012, which means “our narrative,” while researching and writing about the lost or forgotten stories of the Japanese garden, located on the Wooded Island in Jackson Park, Chicago, now known as the Garden of the Phoenix.

Karr created this palindrome based upon the Japanese word for ocean. He could see that by combining the pronunciation “umi” with the reversed pronunciation “imu” that it captured the concept of and depicted two sides of an ocean (i.e. Japan and the United States). When combined with that understanding, the two ii’s can be viewed as two people who come together to bridge the ocean, or other divide between them. Further, when the letters are each pronounced separately (u-m-i-i-m-u), it sounds out “you am i - i am you.” We are one.

Our narrative - not just yours or mine.

Our stories, together with the places where they occur, are often unseen threads in the fabric of our shared existence.

-Robert W. Karr, Jr.

History is not one version over the exclusion of another. By looking beyond the familiar or traditional accounts of history, we can gain greater mutual respect and understanding for each other and our planet. Then, together we can not only truly learn about the past, but learn from the past to create a better future together.

At the time Karr coined “umiimu,” he had many inspirations, including the work of Pulitzer-prize American author, child psychiatrist, and Harvard professor emeritus Dr. Robert Coles. Karr was introduced to Dr. Coles’ work by his friend and colleague, Trevor Hall, who studied and worked under Dr. Coles and edited Dr. Coles book entitled Handing One Another Along, which was published in 2010.

Dr. Coles encourages us to venture outside of our own selves and lives and to listen, attentively and with growing humanity, to the way others get through life. He encourages us to examine our own character, kindness, and complexity by looking carefully at our perceptions of others.

Karr was also inspired by his work with Yoko Ono that began in the Spring of 2013 and culminated with SKYLANDING - Yoko’s first permanent work of art in the Americas, and a marker of her place as an artist of profound international influence and her lifelong mission for world peace.

From 2013 to 2016, their work transformed the site of the Garden of the Phoenix into one of the most important sites in the nation reflecting the highs and lows of the U.S.-Japan relationship, but a place “where the sky and earth meet and create a seed to learn about the past and come together to create a future of peace and harmony with nature and each other” - YOKO ONO