Portland Japanese Garden
Bon-Odori, Summer Festival
Portland Japanese Garden 611 SW Kingston Ave., Portland, ORA highlight of summer festivals in Japan is the bon-odori (盆踊り/ Bon dance). Each region in Japan has their own version of the dance, as well as different music. In Japanese Buddhist tradition, bon-odori is a way to entertain and send off the spirits of our ancestors and celebrate life. Dancers circle the yagura, a high wooden bandstand for the […]
Portland Japanese Garden Celebrates Tanabata, the Star Festival
Portland Japanese Garden 611 SW Kingston Ave., Portland, ORTanabata, the Star Festival, is one of five seasonal festivals that has been celebrated in Japan since the eighth century. Each summer in Japan, people prepare for the festival by writing their wishes on narrow strips of paper called tanzaku and hanging them with other origami paper ornaments on bamboo branches displayed at the entrance to their […]
Kodomo no Hi, Children’s Day at Portland Japanese Garden
Portland Japanese Garden 611 SW Kingston Ave., Portland, ORKodomo no Hi, also called Children’s Day, is commemorated each year in Japan in May to celebrate the growth and good fortune of children. The festival at Portland Japanese Garden will feature a range of family-friendly activities. Come listen to taiko performances, learn origami, explore the garden using our special Discovery Map designed by Mike Bennett, and enjoy […]
Portland Japanese Garden: Bonsai Society of Portland Exhibition
Portland Japanese Garden 611 SW Kingston Ave., Portland, ORPortland Japanese Garden welcomes the Bonsai Society of Portland (BSOP) for a bonsai exhibition in the Yanai Classroom, located in the Jordan Schnitzer Japanese Arts Learning Center. Bonsai, which literally translates to “tree-in-a-tray,” is the art and science of miniature trees. Literal translation aside, “bonsai” has evolved to mean an artistically shaped woody plant that […]
Portland Japanese Garden: Bonsai Society of Portland Exhibition
Portland Japanese Garden 611 SW Kingston Ave., Portland, ORPortland Japanese Garden welcomes the Bonsai Society of Portland (BSOP) for a bonsai exhibition in the Yanai Classroom, located in the Jordan Schnitzer Japanese Arts Learning Center. Bonsai, which literally translates to “tree-in-a-tray,” is the art and science of miniature trees. Literal translation aside, “bonsai” has evolved to mean an artistically shaped woody plant that […]