We are pleased to announce that the International House of Japan has established a cooperative agreement of mutual exchange with the Portland Japanese Garden (Portland, Oregon, United States). A reception to commemorate the agreement was held on Thursday, October 8, at the International House of Japan, where I-House Chairman Akashi Yasushi and Portland Japanese Garden CEO Mr. Stephen D. Bloom signed the agreement.
I-House and the Portland Japanese Garden will jointly work for the cause of mutual exchange and cooperation, furthering international understanding of Japanese gardens and culture, and the significance of these to our societies.
The Portland Japanese Garden, located in the West Hills of Portland, Oregon, was designed by Professor Tono Takuma of the Tokyo University of Agriculture in 1963. It is one of the most authentic Japanese gardens out of over 250 public Japanese gardens in North America, both in its beauty and scale, and it played a leading role in establishing the North American Japanese Gardens Association (NAJGA) in 2010. Not only is the Portland Japanese Garden known for the first-class maintenance and management of its gardens, but it is also famed for its quality programs on Japanese culture. The garden is temporarily closed until March 2016 for construction on its Cultural Crossing expansion project, whose buildings were designed by the renowned architect Kuma Kengo.
