Garden History
Special Message
A Letter from Portland Japanese Garden Trustee Doug de Weese
Portland Japanese Garden has become an essential cultural nonprofit organization over its nearly 60 years of existence due in part to the expert leadership provided by its Board of Trustees. Our trustees guide the Garden in planning its future, building connections with civic leaders near and far, and raising funds so it can continue to …
Special Message
A Letter From an Early Champion
Portland Japanese Garden has grown and flourished because of the support it receives from its generous members, donors, and community. This nurturance began in the 1960s when Portlanders banded together to create a Japanese Garden. One extraordinary figure who helped realize Portland Japanese Garden is Margueritte (Maggie) Drake. The first female board president of the …
Garden Updates
Head Gardener Michael Kondo: Reflecting on 40 Years at the Garden
Long before the mighty trees that shade the path walkway up to Portland Japanese Garden stood as tall as they do today, before the pavilion was housing lively art exhibitions, and back when the Garden was comprised of only a handful of fully completed Garden spaces (now there are eight), a young man – fresh …
In the News
Sharing the Garden’s History
Our CEO Steve Bloom recently sat down with C-SPAN to share the Garden’s history and importance of our foundation of peace and understanding to bring cultures together. Click the image to view the full interview.
Garden Path Garden History
A Reminder of Peace and Reconciliation
In addition to Professor Takuma Tono of Tokyo Agricultural University, the original designer of Portland Japanese Garden, eight Garden Directors and two Garden Curators from Japan have overseen the development and maintenance of the original five gardens over its 60 years. This lineage of Japanese wagashi (garden master) has made our garden unique among Japanese …
Photos & Video Art Exhibitions
Kasagi: Gates of Hope
In 2013, two nearly identical beams of a sacred Shinto gate landed on the Oregon coast after having been tragically washed away in the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011. After traveling 5,000 miles across the Pacific, incredibly, these two crossbeams, known as kasagi, landed within 120 miles of each other less than one month …
Garden Updates Garden History Photos & Video
Watch Highlights from the Cultural Crossing Groundbreaking
For those of you who couldn’t make it to August 31st’s Cultural Crossing Groundbreaking, we’ve prepared a short video with highlights from the event.