Garden Directors Reunion

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Press Release:
World’s Top Japanese Garden Designers to Reunite at Portland Japanese Garden

Portland, Oregon— The Portland Japanese Garden is widely recognized as the premier Japanese garden outside of Japan. At the Garden’s 25th anniversary celebration in 1988, Nobuo Matsunaga, the Japanese Ambassador to the United States, proclaimed the Portland Japanese Garden to be “the most authentic Japanese garden in the world outside Japan.” Most recently, in June 2009, the current Japanese Ambassador to the United States, Ichiro Fujisaki, taken by the quality of this Japanese style garden in a uniquely Pacific Northwest setting, declared that the Portland Japanese Garden was perhaps the most beautiful Japanese Garden in the world.

Founded in 1963, the Garden has been impressing visitors with its beauty and tranquility since its opening in 1967. The design of the Garden is the unique vision of Professor Takuma Tono, a landscape architecture who taught at Tokyo Agricultural University until his retirement in 1969. Tono’s master plan included the creation of several different garden styles to represent historical developments and concepts in Japanese garden design: the Stroll Garden, the Flat Garden, the Tea Garden, and the Sand and Stone Garden. Later, a fifth and more contemporary style of garden, the Natural Garden, was added to complete the site. Critical to the fostering of Tono’s plan was the appointment of nine** Garden Directors who have worked to develop and maintain the Garden over the past 27 years, resulting in the masterwork that the Garden is today.

October 13-15, 2010, the Portland Japanese Garden is extremely proud to host the first-ever gathering of these eight Garden Directors and our current Garden Curator Sadafumi Uchiyama. This internationally renowned group of nine individuals represents a who’s who of the most sought-after Japanese gardeners and landscapers in the world. Famous for bringing the beauty, harmony, and aesthetics of Japanese gardening to the world, these directors will be coming together for the first time to share their vast knowledge of Japanese gardening and the history of the Portland Japanese Garden.

These distinguished landscape designers are known for having designed and created the major Japanese gardens across the globe—including such gardens as the Morikami and Andersen Gardens in the United States and the Mori Gardens and Japanese Garden at Showa Kinen Park in Japan—working to preserve the traditions of Japanese gardening while continuing to evolve and revolutionize the industry.

“It is personally very rewarding for me to welcome all eight of the men who were responsible for this Garden’s development over its 46 year history,” says Uchiyama… “The beauty of this Garden is the result of a combination of elements: the designer Professor Takuma Tono’s original vision, the meticulous care of each of the eight master gardeners who oversaw its development, and the commitment of a dedicated community of supporters. This is a rare opportunity to learn the first-hand history of this extraordinary place we enjoy today.”

The three-day Garden Director’s event includes a public forum and discussion moderated by one of the Garden’s Advisory Board members Joseph Krakora, Executive Officer of Development and External Affairs at the National Gallery of Art. Additionally, an informal Q&A presentation will be held with Garden members and Guides ,instructional time with the gardening staff, filming of each Director for a future documentary, and a final banquet honoring the Directors.

“This gathering of Directors will be one of the most significant events to occur at the Garden in its nearly 50-year history,” commented the Garden’s Executive Director, Steve Bloom. “The impact of the art and design of the Portland Japanese Garden on the garden industry in North American has been substantial, and we have this group to thank not only for our own amazing Garden, but for their major advancements in this field over the past five decades. We are very proud to host this momentous event.”

The Portland Japanese Garden has been proclaimed one of the most beautiful Japanese gardens in the world. The Garden is located above Washington Park at 611 SW Kingston Drive in SW Portland, Oregon and is open daily except on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s.

Garden Director Bios:
Kinya HIRA (Buena Park, California)
Served as Garden Director 1964-69

Mr. Hira was the first and longest-serving director of the Portland Japanese Garden. He worked directly with Professor Takuma Tono, the Garden’s original designer, on the formative stage of the Garden’s development. Under the direct supervision of Prof. Tono, Mr. Hira worked on the development of Flat Garden, Stroll Garden and sand-Stone Garden. After completing his tenure at the Portland Japanese Garden, he went on to build a very successful Japanese garden design firm in Southern California building residential gardens primarily in Beverly Hills and Orange County.

Hoichi KURISU (Portland, Oregon)
Served as Garden Director 1968-73

Mr. Kurisu is the owner of Kurisu International, Inc. based in Portland, Oregon. He is one of the foremost Japanese garden designers in North America today. In addition to his work at the Portland Japanese Garden, including the restoration of the Heavenly Falls in the Lower Pond, he was principal designer of the Morikami Gardens in Florida, the Anderson Japanese Gardens in Illinois, and the roof garden on the Contemporaine in Chicago—among many others. Over the last 20 years, his practice has focused on the creation of what we know today as “restorative or healing gardens” at various healthcare facilities throughout the US.

Hachiro SAKAKIBARA (Tokyo, Japan)
Served as Garden Director 1972-74

Mr. Sakakibara worked on the design and construction of the Portland Japanese Gardens Natural Garden, the most contemporary of the five garden styles. He is currently one of the most sought-after landscape architects in Japan. Noted for synthesizing traditional Japanese garden styles into contemporary settings, his major projects have included the impressive public gardens at Tokyo Mid-Town, Mori Gardens at Roppongi Hills, and the Japanese Garden at Showa Kinen Park. He is also Professor of Landscape Architecture in the Department of Art & Design at Meisei University.

Michio WAKUI (Nagano, Japan)
Served as Garden Director 1974-76

Mr. Wakui initiated the development of the outer Tea Garden at the Portland Japanese Garden. He is most noted in Japan for the design and construction of Teishaba Garden, at Komoro Station in his hometown of Komoro City in Nagano Prefecture, for which he received an award from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism. His book Natural Style Gardening in Shinshu was published by Shinano Mainichi Publishing Company.

MASAYUKI MIZUNO (Beaverton, Oregon)
Served as Garden Director 1977-80

Mr. Mizuno training in garden construction and maintenance in Tokyo led him to establish the Portland Japanese Garden’s superb garden maintenance system upon the completion of the major features of the Garden. Since then,he has operated his own landscape consulting company in the United States and his clients include the Seattle Japanese Garden, Nikka Yuko Garden (Alberta, Canada), and the Nissho Iwai Garden at NIKE Headquarter Campus in Beaverton.

Kichiro SANO (Kyoto, Japan)
Served as Garden Director 1982-84

Mr. Sano is noted for his mastery of the traditional gardening techniques of Kyoto. The current Head Gardener, Michael Kondo learned and inherited to date a finest craftsmanship from Mr. Sano. Mr. Sano worked on the inner Tea Garden at the Portland Japanese Garden and contributed greatly to that Garden’s traditional style. He now lives in Japan where he works with Kawasaki Zoen Inc. overseeing the private Matsushita Estate Garden in the Nanzenji district of Kyoto, among other projects.

Takao DONUMA (Niigata, Japan)
Served as Garden Director 1985-87

Mr. Donuma, currently the president of Yosho-en Corp. Inc., a prominent landscape design-build firm in Niigata, Japan, pioneered in Japan the research and study of Japanese gardens outside of Japan. At Portland Japanese Garden, Mr. Donuma expanded and completed what is Natural Garden today. He holds a doctorate in environmental studies from Niigata University, where he has pursued a lifelong study of the development of Japanese style gardens outside of Japan. He co-authored “A Study of the Characteristics of Establishing a Japanese Garden in Washington Park, Portland, Oregon.” He is also a consultant for the Hakone Garden in Saratoga, California.

Toru TANAKA (Beaverton, Oregon)
Served as Garden Director 1988-90

During his time as Garden Director of the Portland Japanese Garden, Mr. Tanaka restored the Natural Garden and designed the Sapporo Plaza adjacent to the Flat Garden as well as the Antique Gate area gardens. He worked with Hoichi Kurisu on a number of major projects at other gardens, including the construction of the Anderson Gardens and the Morikami Gardens. With more than 40 years of experience, Toru has created thousands of public, residential, and commercial gardens in both Japan and North America. He is a master of integrating authentic Japanese landscape design with existing natural elements. He is currently the owner of Japanese Garden Specialty LLC, based in Portland, Oregon.

Sadafumi UCHIYAMA (Portland, Oregon)
Current Garden Curator

In October 2008, Mr. Uchiyama was appointed Garden Curator of the Portland Japanese Garden, a new position with the mission of determining the vision for the future of the Garden. Born and raised as a third-generation Japanese gardener in Southern Japan, he then moved to the United States in 1988. He holds a master’s degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of Illinois and is a registered landscape architect in Oregon and California. His major garden projects in the United States have included work on the Osaka Garden at Historic Jackson Park in Chicago and the renovation of Shofu-en Garden in Denver.