In 2020, commemorating the 75^th anniversary of the end of WWII and designating the year’s programming under the theme of  “Year of Peace”, Portland Japanese Garden proudly returns to its founding history and seeks to offer the experience of peace through culture and nature.

In observance of International Day of Peace, Portland Japanese Garden conducted a virtual, traditional Japanese tea ceremony as a way to symbolize how the culture and art of Japanese tea can unify people and bridge different cultures. The Garden’s guest of honor, Portland Mayor, Ted Wheeler, was joined virtually with the Mayor of Hiroshima (Kazumi Matsui) and the Mayor of Nagasaki (Tomihisa Taue), and each city had their local tea masters hosting the tea ceremony.

We hope that in honor of International Day of Peace, we can take a moment to reflect on our collective history, cherish our mutual respect and friendship, and continue facilitating cultural exchange.

Participating Tea Masters

• Hiroshima: Sokei Ueda (The 16th Generation Grand Master of Ueda Soko School of Tea)
• Nagasaki: Keika Ueno (Secretary-General, The Tea House Shinden-An Association)
• Portland: Jan Waldmann (Member of Kashintei Kai Tea Group at Portland Japanese Garden)

Ceremony Locations

• Uedaryu Wafudo Tea School, Hiroshima
• Shinden-An, Nagasaki
• Portland Japanese Garden, Portland

Learn more about the Study of Tea