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Garden Path Culture, Art, & Education

Upcoming Cultural Festivals in 2025

Portland Japanese Garden’s mission is Inspiring Harmony and Peace. For more than 60 years, the Garden has promoted cultural understanding of Japan with locals and visitors from around the world through the beauty of the Garden as well as through cultural programs. Since the 1970s, the organization has brought together the community to celebrate traditional cultural festivals. Mark your calendars now and join us in a new year of Japanese celebrations!

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Sakura Society Offers Emerging Leaders a Deeper Connection to Portland Japanese Garden

Portland Japanese Garden is excited to introduce the Sakura Society, which welcomes emerging leaders from the ages of 21 to 45 to become patrons of the organization. The Sakura Society offers a deeper connection to the Garden and its mission of Inspiring Harmony and Peace through access to tailored opportunities to engage with garden, art, and cultural experts. Additionally, these patrons will get to connect and network at special events with like-minded peers who are passionate about finding peace, harmony, and beauty through nature.

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2025 Art Exhibitions Preview

In 2025, the Garden’s exhibitions highlight a diverse range of Japanese cultural traditions and artforms, including a selection of ceramics from Japan’s famous Bizen region as well as the art inherent in Japanese gardens themselves. These exhibitions aim to share the ideas and aesthetics integral to the fabric of life in Japan. Here, we share a preview of what to expect in the upcoming year.

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Important Repairs Completed in Natural Garden

Saka’s Pond is a beautiful space with flowers that radiate pink in springtime, a pleasant waterfall, and dynamic stonework laid by Sakakibara. Below it is an area that has been sometimes referred to as “Saka’s Reservoir,” a continuation of the pond that was designed and constructed by former Garden Directors Takao Donuma (1985-87) and Toru Tanaka (1988-91). Unfortunately, because it was built on the edge of a slope, issues arose. Due to its placement, its foundation had been undermined and was subsequently seeing a loss of water. The leaks, in turn, were further undermining the foundation and causing the slope to erode even more. Altogether, the eroding slope, faulty foundation, and loss of water meant repairs were in order.

Garden Path Art Exhibitions

Exhibiting Artist Profile: Naoko Fukumaru

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.

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High-Ranking Japanese Officials Who Have Affirmed the Authenticity of Portland Japanese Garden

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.

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Japan Institute Co-Presents TEIEN FORUM at University of Tokyo with International Horticultural Expo 2027

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.