Trilateral Project Plan
The 2nd “TEIEN FORUM” in 2025
Japanese Gardens: Why Go Global?
Japan Institute of Portland Japanese Garden is excited to co-host the second installment of the Tein Forum in Tokyo, Japan on May 18 with GREEN x EXPO 2027 (Japan Association for the International Horticultural Expo 2027, Yokohama). This gathering, “Japanese Gardens: Why Go Global?”, is a collaboration with the University of Tokyo and will explore the international significance of Japanese gardens through conversations and presentations featuring some of the world’s most respected thought leaders in the field.
Attendees to the Forum, held at the University, will also have the unique opportunity to visit the Kaitoku-kan Garden, an understated gem located on its campus.
This follows the first Teien Forum held in 2024, which had the theme of “Why Japanese Gardens Now?” This inaugural session, similarly featuring distinguished scholars and practitioners from diverse disciplines discussing the interpretation of Japanese gardens, a topic that remains enigmatic even within Japan. Learn about the first Teien Forum installment in 2024.
Program Details
- Tour of the Kaitoku-kan Garden at the University of Tokyo
- Keynote Speech
- Panel 1: Views From Around the World (presented in English)
- Panel 2: Views From Practitioners (presented in Japanese)
Simultaneous translation services will be provided.
About the Speaker and Panelists
- Dr. Atsushi Tsuda, Executive Director & Vice-President, the University of Tokyo
- Dr. Shunsaku Miyagi, Landscape Architect & Visiting Professor of Harvard University Graduate School of Design
- Dr. Naoko Shimazu, Professor, International Institute of Advanced Study, Tokyo College, the University of Tokyo
- Dr. Shao-Lan Hertel, Director of East Asia Museum, Cologne=
- Dr. Darren Mitchell, Historian & Cultural Heritage Advisor, Board Director, Cowra Japanese Garden and Cultural Centre, Australia
- Dr. Heng Yee Kuang, Professor, Graduate School of public Policy, the University of Tokyo
- Dr. Makoto Suzuki, Professor Emeritus, Principal Tokyo University of Agriculture Green Academy
- Mr. Ryuichi Wakisaka, Executive Director, Japan Association for the International Horticultural Expo 2027, Yokohama
- Dr. Christian Tagsold, Professor, Modern Japanese Studies, Heinrich Heine University Dusseldorf, Research leader of Euro-Japanese Garden Association
- Ms. Lisa Christy, Executive Director, Portland Japanese Garden
- Mr. Akihito Nakanishi, Director of Japan Institute & Arlene Schnitzer Curator of Culture, Art, and Education, Portland Japanese Garden
- Mr. Hugo Torii, Garden Curator & Director of Japanese Garden Training Center, Portland Japanese Garden
About University of Tokyo
The University of Tokyo was established in 1877 as the first national university in Japan. As a leading research university, the University of Tokyo offers courses in essentially all academic disciplines at both undergraduate and graduate levels and conducts research across the full spectrum of academic activity. The University aims to provide its students with a rich and varied academic environment that ensures opportunities for both intellectual development and the acquisition of professional knowledge and skills.
About the International Horticultural Expo 2027, Yokohama
The International Horticulture Expo 2027, Yokohama, also known as GREEN x EXPO 2027, is a prestigious event that its organizers expect will see 15 million visitors when it opens in Yokohama in 2027. Representatives from a diverse group of nations will be present to promote and share their horticultural knowledge. Masato Komura, Secretary-General of the Japan Association for the International Horticultural Expo 2027 writes, “We hope that it will provide visitors with opportunities to gain new perspectives on flowers, greenery, agriculture, and food, and inspire them to work to create a world for tomorrow that is sustainable and in harmony with nature.” The expo has the aim of promoting international horticulture and landscaping, fostering lives filled with flowers and greenery, creating regional and economic growth, and addressing social issues.
About Portland Japanese Garden & Japan Institute
Portland Japanese Garden is a nonprofit organization originally founded in 1963 as a place for cross-cultural understanding following World War II. A hallmark in the City of Portland, the Garden was founded
on the ideals of peace and mutual understanding between peoples and cultures. Portland Japanese Garden is considered the most authentic Japanese garden outside of Japan and the foremost Japanese cultural organization in North America.
Japan Institute was established in 2020 as a global cultural initiative of Portland Japanese Garden. This sibling organization is the programmatic arm of Portland Japanese Garden, allowing us to share and expand our cultural programs more broadly around the world, deepen international partnerships, and continue to engage diverse people in shared experiences and conversations about peace, beauty, and connection of nature.
Portland Japanese Garden & Japan Institute share the mission: Inspiring Harmony & Peace.
Registration
Registration will begin in late March. Applications will not be accepted at the venue on the day of the event. Further information, including how to register, will be posted on this page, so please check back later. If you wish to receive a notification, please send your name, organization, and email address to iab@japanesegarden.org. An email message with confirmed registration information will be sent once it is available.
Co-hosted by
Portland Japanese Garden and Japan Institute
With
GREEN x EXPO 2027
(Japan Association for the International Horticultural Expo 2027, Yokohama)
In collaboration with
The University of Tokyo
Sponsored by
All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd.
EU-Japan Fest Japan Committee
