Wednesday, July 10, 1996

On one of those days, when the skies seem determined never to clear, Dr. Walter Byck, his wife Marijke and daughter and son, Sonja and Rene unveiled their tribute to Kanaye Nagasawa, the distinguished Japanese winemaker at historic Fountain Grove winery. Their own winery, Paradise Ridge, is a mere stone's throw from the site - and crumbling ruins - of this once prestigious Sonoma landmark. Their hearts are much closer.

Captivated by the life story of the young Japanese student, the Bycks, particularly Marijke, began collecting memorabilia, contacting members of Nagasawa's family, and planning a permanent gallery/museum, to keep the memories of this important Sonoma wine country personage alive. Last year, during Auction week, lunch guests at Paradise Ridge were given a preview of some of the artifacts: personal photographs, diaries, clothing, and pictures of Fountain Grove Winery, then and now.

Spurred by a biography of Nagasawa, sub-titled "A Biography of a Satsuma Student," Marijke kept building on her dream, and in May invited Nagasawa's grand-nephew and grand-niece, representatives of the Friends of Kagoshima, and other interested parties to a dedication, not just of the exhibition, but of a special block of vines in the Paradise Ridge Vineyard, to be known as "Nagasawa Vineyard."

The celebration began with a traditional tea ceremony, presented by Mary Ann Soyo Goodman, with the assistance of Heather Ferrol, whose grandfather had worked with Nagasawa. The tea used was made of camellia leaves, hand-picked in May, steamed, then dried for six months in a jar, before being ground in November. Little cookies served with the tea were baked by the headmaster of a school in Kyoto, just for this event. Impressed on each cookie was the shape of a ginkgo leaf, a symbol of the school.

The party moved downstairs to the exhibition area, where Terry Earl Jones and Professor Paul Akira Kadota, co-authors of the Nagasawa book talked about how they met and brought the story to the printed page. Jones described how the book started to take form in the 1960s, when he was at Sonoma State University and began researching the Japanese role in the history of Fountaingrove Ranch. From public records, personal files and recollections of friends, Jones formed a profile of Nagasawa. From writings about Nagasawa's contemporaries he drew additional facts, and he credits Gaye LeBaron's book, "The Japanese 'Baron' of Fountaingrove," as an important source.

In 1973, the Regional Studies Institute of Kagoshima Prefecture Junior College joined a project of studies of Satsuma-Britain relations, and Kadota became involved in the research, first at Cambridge, and later in Aberdeen, Scotland, where Kanaye Nagasawa went to school and learned to speak English - and picked up a Scottish burr which remained as part of his speech all of his life.

In recalling his studies, Kadota told the dedicatory gathering: "Kanaye Nagasawa left his birthplace, Kagoshima, in 1852 at the age of 13, one of 15 students sent to Europe to study in Aberdeen. He remained there for two years, then moved on to Brooklyn, NY, where he learned to make wine. In 1875 he moved to Santa Rosa to open the vineyard and winery at Fountain Grove.

"The War made people forget him, but in 1968, there was a celebration of the restoration in Japan, and his name suddenly came back to memory. The student from Kagoshima had taken an important part in the modernization of Japan." Ten years later, Kadota got in touch with Jones, and added his Japanese data to the Santa Rosa findings. He then translated the assembled information into Japanese, and a Japanese edition of the book appeared in 1983. He then re-translated it to English, and this version was published by the Kagoshima Junior College in 1990.

Nagasawa's grand-nephew, Kosuke Ijichi, added some personal recollections: "My sister, Amy, and I are probably the only ones around who had contact with Nagasawa. He was a very small man, but he was a powerful man." Marijke, who is very petite, interjected, "I put his suit on, and it fit me perfectly."

"We lived in the Manor House at Fountaingrove," Ijichi continued. "It was huge - six or seven bedrooms, 1-1/2 baths. The rooms downstairs were solid with books - literature and art from all over the world. My uncle would sit is this one little room in a comfortable chair and read, hour after hour, all in English. He loved to be in the vineyards at all seasons, supervising the activities of the winery."

As champagne was sipped and hors d'oeuvres nibbled, Dr. Byck kept looking out at the vineyard, waiting for the rain to stop and the clouds to lift. Finally, he could postpone the vineyard dedication no longer. "The vineyard just past the trees is the Nagasawa vineyard," he said. Then indicating a handsome wooden monolith resting just below the balcony, he described how the pillar, designed by artist Bruce Johnson, would be placed at the edge of the vineyard. "This tribute," Dr. Byck explained, "is long overdue. If you know the history of Nagasawa, you know he came here as a youth, and grew to be a man of remarkable accomplishment."

A toast was offered, and three flights of white doves soared above the Nagasawa vineyard site. Each group circled once, then moved silently over the vines and disappeared into the mist. Surely, the spirit of Kanaye Nagasawa flew with them.

A footnote: A special program will be presented jointly by Paradise Ridge and the Wine Library Associates, July 17, 7:00 to 8:30 p m at the Winery. A talk will be given by author Robert C. Fuller, who will sign copies of his new book "Wine and Religion: A Cultural History of Wine in America," which contains generous mention of Fountaingrove and Thomas Lake Harris' utopian community, of which Nagasawa was such an important part. Wine and hors d'oeuvres will be served. For tickets or information call the Winery 528-9463 or the Wine Library, 433-3772. The Kanaye Nagasawa exhibition may be visited at Paradise Ridge Winery, 4545 Thomas Lake Harris Drive, Santa Rosa, between 11:00 a m and 6:00 p m, daily.

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