Portland Japanese Garden Members have a unique opportunity to purchase the Garden’s shimenawa, which was recently on display in celebration of the new year.

Shimenawa are stylized and twisted rice straw ropes used for ritual purification and can be found at Shinto Shrines, Torii gates, and trees and landmark rocks in Japan. They indicate the border of a sacred space and act as a ward against evil spirits. The folded white paper strips, called shide, that are attached to the rope move in the breeze. This particular rope was handwoven by craftspeople in Japan and shipped to Portland Japanese Garden to ring in the new year as a ceremonial display on our Antique Gate.

This special shimenawa will be available for purchase at the price of $100. Since there is only one shimenawa, there will be a lottery system to provide all members equal opportunity to purchase.

Update 2/16/2024: The lottery is now closed to submissions.

Lottery Details:

– Only one submission per member will be factored into the lottery. If you have a membership with secondary members listed, each individual should enter their own submission to be included in the lottery.

– After the lottery window has closed, one member will be selected at random, and will be contacted at the phone number listed on the lottery submission form.

– If you are unavailable when we call, a message will be left. If no response is received within 72 hours, another member will be randomly selected.