Entrance off SW Tichner Dr. / West Burnside is temporarily closed due to a landslide. Please use SW Kingston Drive or SW Vista Ave. to SW Park Place to arrive.
Lungi Morrison, a granddaughter of Nobel Peace Prize Winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Indigenous knowledge scholar, sat down to discuss her work and partnership with Portland Japanese Garden and Japan Institute.
On September 28, Portland Japanese Garden debuted its final art exhibition of 2024, Kintsugi: The Restorative Art of Naoko Fukumaru. In both the Pavilion and Calvin and Mayho Tanabe Galleries, the show will feature the artwork of kintsugi artist and master conservator Naoko Fukumaru. “Kintsugi is a five-hundred-year-old Japanese method of restoring damaged ceramics with natural urushi lacquer dusted with powdered gold, seen as enhancing beauty by celebrating imperfection and impermanence,” shares Fukumaru.
Portland Japanese Garden sat down to chat about Joto and sake with Ryan Mellinger. Mellinger is a sake expert who has been with Joto for ten years. She currently serves as General Manager for Joto Sake within the Kobrand Corporation.
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.
In May, Japan Institute and Portland Japanese Garden collaborated with the International Horticultural Expo 2027, also known as “GREEN x EXPO 2027,” to present a symposium at the acclaimed University of Tokyo in Japan. Titled “Why Japanese Gardens Now?” the event convened some of the nation’s preeminent thought leaders in the fields of gardening, architecture, landscape architecture, and academia to discuss the global appreciation of Japanese gardens. They examined the evolving cultural significance of these vital natural spaces, their ability to foster community, and what the future holds in store for them.
Portland Japanese Garden is thrilled to feature Kintsugi: The Restorative Art of Naoko Fukumaru in our Pavilion and Calvin and Mayho Tanabe Galleries this fall. Kintsugi is an ancient method of mending damaged ceramics using urushi (natural lacquer) dusted with powdered gold. This type of mending highlights the beauty of imperfections, rather than trying to hide them. This timely exhibition will explore universally resonant themes of healing through the artwork of kintsugi artist and master conservator Naoko Fukumaru. In this article, Fukumaru shares her impressions from her 2022 visit to Portland Japanese Garden and discusses the art of kintsugi.
Portland Japanese Garden was honored to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the Portland-Sapporo Sister City relationship by holding a reception for Sapporo Mayor Katsuhiro Akimoto and Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler in June.
Portland Japanese Garden could not pursue its mission of Inspiring Harmony and Peace without its remarkable group of volunteers. More than 180 individuals from a diverse group of backgrounds help the organization in innumerous ways, including providing richly detailed tours, guiding guests through artwork on display in our exhibitions, and tending to the physical landscape itself. One of these gifted and bright individuals is Masaki Shimada, who has been providing invaluable support to the organization since 2020. Shimada sat with The Garden Path to discuss his volunteer service.
Portland Japanese Garden was selected as one of 16 partners to celebrate its home city’s thriving cultural scene through the Google Arts & Culture platform. The Garden is proud to be a part of this prestigious project and part of the Google world as it reinforces how we are an indelible thread in our city’s fabric–its history, its culture, and its appeal.