Come see our winter decorations! They're being installed now and will be up through February.
By Will Lerner Portland Japanese Garden has earned a reputation for its excellence over its more than 60 years, but that excellence would remain an aspiration were it not for the quality that truly makes the Garden special: its people. It begins with its visitors: more than 400,000 folks annually from more than 90 nations …
By Will Lerner, Communications Manager for Portland Japanese Garden & Japan Institute Portland Japanese Garden has been and always will be a community effort. Founded by civic leaders in government, business, and cultural organizations in 1963, it has been a place of nature, beauty, and cultural understanding for more than 60 years. And while it …
The Story of a Beloved Tree and the Mother Who Gifted it to the Garden By Will Lerner, Communications Manager for Portland Japanese Garden & Japan Institute In Portland Japanese Garden there stands one tree rooted in the significance of both what it means to be Asian in America and the strength of a mother’s …
Learn more about Maggie Drake, Trustee Emerita, a remarkable and admired leader for the entirety of Portland Japanese Garden’s existence.
On January 19, 2025, history was made at Portland Japanese Garden when Oregon State Representative Mari Watanabe was sworn in by Justice Aruna Masih of the Oregon Supreme Court to fill a vacant seat for House District 34. Watanabe, who has served on the Garden’s Board of Trustees since May 2024, is the granddaughter of Japanese immigrants and has been a Portland resident since 2000.
Issue 11 of The Journal of the North American Japanese Garden Association (NAJGA), published in November 2024, features an article written by Will Lerner, Communications Manager for Portland Japanese Garden and Japan Institute. In it, Lerner shares insights from the organization’s Garden Directors and Curators, all Japanese-born niwashi (garden masters). They discuss the Natural Garden, one of the organization’s five historic garden spaces, and an example of the zoki no niwa style.
Learn more about Steve Bloom, who led Portland Japanese Garden as its CEO from 2005 to 2025.
Portland Japanese Garden’s reputation as “the most beautiful and authentic Japanese garden in the world outside of Japan” is one that has been burnished over the decades by the many dignitaries from Japan who have walked its grounds. To have earned this reputation is something the Garden cherishes and does not take for granted. Photo: © 1978 Randy Wood / The Oregonian. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
As we look ahead to Asian American Native Hawai’ian Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month in May, we reflect on what it means to be an organization that represents this community by diving further back into our history.