Company Profile
Portland Japanese Garden
Company Overview
When His Excellency Nobuo Matsunaga, the former Ambassador of Japan to the United States, visited Portland Japanese Garden, he proclaimed it to be “the most beautiful and authentic Japanese garden in the world outside of Japan.”
The Garden sits nestled in the hills of Portland, Oregon’s iconic Washington Park, overlooking the city and providing a tranquil, urban oasis for locals and travelers alike. Designed in 1963, it encompasses 12 acres with eight separate garden styles, and includes an authentic Japanese Tea House, meandering streams, intimate walkways, and a spectacular view of Mt. Hood. This is a place to discard worldly thoughts and concerns and see oneself as a small but integral part of the universe.
Born out of a hope that the experience of peace can contribute to a long lasting peace. Born out of a belief in the power of cultural exchange. Born out of a belief in the excellence of craft, evidence in the Garden itself and the activities that come from it. Born out of a realization that all of these things are made more real and possible if we honor our connection to nature.
Company History
Inspired in the late 1950s by growing cultural ties between Oregon and Japan, Mayor Terry Schrunk and members of the Portland community conceived the idea of building a Japanese garden on the site of the old zoo in Washington Park. Their reasons for building a Japanese garden were twofold: providing the citizens of Portland with a garden of great beauty and serenity, while forging a healing connection to Japan on the heels of World War II. At this time in U.S. history, Japanese gardens were founded across the country as a way to build cultural understanding. Needing no translation, an American could experience firsthand Japanese ideals and values, communicated simply through nature.
The site was dedicated in 1961, and Professor Takuma Tono of Tokyo Agricultural University was retained to design the Garden. Professor Tono’s plan included five different garden styles laid out on 5.5 acres. This was quite a departure from gardens in Japan which typically follow one singular style. His intention was to represent different historical developments in Japanese garden architecture and through that communicate Japanese culture to create a cultural exchange.
In 1967, the Garden formally opened to the public for the summer. Admission was $0.50 for adults and $0.25 for students. That year, more than 28,000 people came before the Garden closed for the winter.
In 1968, the Kashintei Tea House was constructed in Japan, shipped in pieces, and reassembled in the Garden. Other structures were added as the five gardens evolved. The Pavilion Gallery, which sits at the heart of the Flat Garden, was in Professor Tono’s original plan. However, it was not completed until 1980. (Interestingly, it was dedicated on May 18 – the same day that Mount St. Helens erupted.)
It was not until the winter of 1981/1982 that Portland Japanese Garden was first kept open year round. In 2015, the Garden partnered with world renowned architect Kengo Kuma as it embarked on a new journey, expanding its footprint to accommodate its rapid visitor growth, as well as its ability to immerse visitors in Japanese arts and culture. The Garden’s new Cultural Village features three new structures, each LEED-certified, existing harmoniously with nature and serving as a mere frame from which to view the exquisite beauty of the surrounding landscape. The new Cultural Village opened in April 2017.
Throughout the Garden’s history, it has been acclaimed by a number of visiting Japanese dignitaries as one of the most beautiful and authentic Japanese gardens in the world outside of the island nation, as well as one of the foremost Japanese cultural organizations in North America.
Benefits
- a household membership to the Garden
- reciprocal access to other area attractions, such as the Portland Art Museum, OMSI, and Oregon Zoo
- a 30% discount on most items in the gift shop
- incentives for using alternative transportation to commute to work (applies only to those working at the campuses in Washington Park)
- free access to the Employee Assistance Program
- membership access to the American Public Gardens Association (APGA)
- membership access to the Japan America Society of Oregon (JASO)