Japanese Garden Landscaping Ideas
The Center, formerly the Institute, is a new educational initiative of the Portland Japanese Garden. We seek to provide a place in North America for learning the skills and techniques for creating and stewarding Japanese Gardens (waza) while acquainting students with the cultural heart and soul (kokoro) of Japanese garden arts. The Center employs an educational model drawing from both Eastern and Western traditions. This includes traditional Japanese hands-on learning methods combined with lectures, experiential cultural instruction, visual arts instruction and other classroom learning activities – providing students with an immersive learning experience.
The Center’s programs are tailored to a variety of audiences, including:
- Professionals at Japanese gardens
- Landscape design and construction professionals
- Students of landscape-related disciplines
- Members of the public interested in exploring Japanese garden arts or learning about new research and scholarship related to Japanese gardens
Waza to Kokoro Seminar
Waza to Kokoro (Hands and Heart) is the Center’s flagship program. It is a certificate program consisting of three intensive training seminars, combining hands-on technical learning with cultural instruction and theoretical knowledge. Waza to Kokoro is designed to realistically help Japanese gardens serving communities across the country meet the need to find authentic, locally-appropriate solutions in design, construction, maintenance, and preservation. Admission is also open to landscape design and construction professionals, and students of landscape-related disciplines.
LEARN MORE OR APPLY FOR THE SEMINAR
Garden Workshops
These one and two-day workshops, led by Garden staff, are designed for the general public and focus on skills in pine and maple pruning, basic bamboo fence construction, and other topics. They represent an accessible entry point for many beginners to cultivate skills in Japanese garden arts. Each workshop combines demonstrations, printed learning material, question-and-answer sessions, and hands-on experience in a friendly, exploratory environment.
VIEW GARDEN WORKSHOP EVENTS
Public Lectures
Our lecture series provides a platform for sharing new ideas and promoting vibrant discussion about Japanese gardens and their related arts. Acclaimed authors, scholars, and practitioners present on a wide variety of topics in the inspiring setting of the Garden and its venues.
VIEW PUBLIC LECTURES
A SHORT FILM
View a short film about the Japanese Garden Training Center and its mission.
