Portland Japanese Garden

The Portland Japanese Garden is making rapid progress in bringing together leaders in the Japanese garden industry towards the formation of a partnership with the purpose of preserving the design traditions and techniques of this historic art form. At the Portland Japanese Garden, we feel this responsibility keenly and are actively participating in ways that fit within our mission.

First, we’re working within our own Garden to preserve the actual gardening techniques (such as pruning, bamboo fencebuilding, and Zen garden raking) by offering local workshops and disseminating information about sources for materials for private and public gardens.

The Garden is increasing its connections with both professional and amateur gardeners. For example, our Garden Curator consults with other public gardens, and landscape architecture students are frequent visitors here on our site.  — Read more »

When I was in Japan for six months last year, one of my intentions was to get to know the professionals and workers in the Japanese garden industry. I wanted to find out as much as I could about current design initiatives, preservation of culture and tradition, what’s happening with gardening techniques, and of course the cultural and economic status of the gardens themselves. I also wanted to build a network of professionals that would link Japanese gardens in the U.S. and North America with their Japanese counterparts.

Not surprisingly, I found there to be concern in Japan about preserving the art form of the Japanese garden, especially in the face of modern landscape design as with the influence of America and Europe. There are also perplexing shortages of skilled designers, constructors, and gardeners who know the old techniques. There is no longer the same prestige in becoming a gardener, nor is there the same patronage of gardens that had earlier helped keep them sound.  — Read more »

As many of you know, last year I had the extraordinary opportunity to spend six months in Japan as a Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellow and as Visiting Scholar at Tokyo University of Agriculture. During my time at the University, I often ate lunch in the commons with some of the students so I could practice my Japanese language skills and learn firsthand about the Japanese people and their culture today. One day, when I was talking about how much I love our Japanese cultural events such as O-Bon and Moonviewing at the Garden in Portland, two of the young Japanese students looked intrigued. They said they had never experienced either festival and joked that perhaps I knew more about Japanese culture than they did.  — Read more »

It’s often said that the Portland Japanese Garden is one of the finest Japanese gardens in the world. What makes our Garden so special?

First, it’s the design. Professor Takuma Tono, an internationally recognized authority on Japanese landscape design, oversaw most of the early construction and organization of the Garden into its five harmonious components. Professor Tono designed the Garden to be Japanese in aesthetic but uniquely Pacific Northwest.

Japanese aesthetics differ from those of our Western European origins, where gardens tend to emphasize blooms and bold splashes of color. The Japanese aesthetic is more subdued, with its shades of green, occasional colorful bloom, and attention to form. This aesthetic touches us each in a different way.  — Read more »

A Letter from the Executive Director

Dear Friends,

I am very pleased to announce that I have received an International Affairs Fellowship awarded by the Council on Foreign Relations and sponsored by Hitachi, Ltd. This is an exciting opportunity for the Portland Japanese Garden as well as for me personally.

This Fellowship will afford me the opportunity to conduct research in Japan in the area of cultural diplomacy, focusing on grassroots foreign relations through international cultural and artistic exchange—especially as it pertains to Sister City and Friendship Japanese Gardens.  — Read more »