Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden Centennial

This year, Brooklyn Botanic Garden celebrates 100 years of its iconic Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden. This extraordinary and beloved place was the first Japanese garden in an American public botanic garden, and today it remains of one of the finest examples of its kind outside Japan. It is one of the most visited sites within Brooklyn Botanic Garden's 52 acres and has inspired millions of adults and children through the generations with the beauty of Japanese culture and design.

History

• The Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden: A History

  This viewing and strolling garden, opened in 1915, was designed by Takeo Shiota, whose ambition was to create “a garden more beautiful than all others in the world.” More than a century later, it remains a testament to Americans’ enduring appreciation of Japanese gardens. Learn More ›

Special Events

• Mizue Sawano: Images of Brooklyn Botanic Garden

  Saturday, March 26–Sunday, June 12, 2016
  Mizue Sawano's paintings burst with color and activity. This exhibition focuses on works inspired by the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden. Learn More ›

• Sakura Matsuri

  Saturday, April 30–Sunday, May 1, 2016
  Renowned as New York City's rite of spring, this annual cherry blossom festival offers more than 60 events and performances that celebrate traditional and contemporary Japanese culture. Learn More ›

• Special Tour: A Japanese Spring in Brooklyn

  Saturday, May 7, 2016
  Enjoy the beauty of the Japanese Hill-and Pond Garden and view highlights of BBG’s collections of plants native to Japan.

  Learn More ›

• Japanese Garden Centennial Gala

  Tuesday, June 7, 2016
  Celebrate spring and support the Garden with a cocktail reception, a formal dinner, and a dance party under the stars.

  Learn More ›

• Gala After Party

  Tuesday, June 7, 2016
  The party continues after the Gala with dancing, drinks, and dessert.

  Learn More ›

Japanese Collections at Brooklyn Botanic Garden

• Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden

  The Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden is one of the oldest and most visited Japanese-inspired gardens outside Japan. It is a blend of the ancient hill-and-pond style and the more recent stroll-garden style, in which various landscape features are gradually revealed along winding paths. Learn More >

• C.V. Starr Bonsai Museum

  The Garden's collection of approximately 350 bonsai is the second oldest in the country and one of the largest on public display outside Japan, with as many as 30 specimens on exhibit at any given time. Learn More ›

• Tree Peony Collection

  Three hundred tree peonies (Paeonia suffruticosa) were presented to BBG in 2002 by the Japanese town of Yatsuka-Cho in Shimane Prefecture “to bring peace of mind to people in the United States” after the events of September 11, 2001. Learn More ›

• Flowering Cherry Trees

  The Garden's collection of ornamental cherry trees is one of the most diverse in the United States, with over 200 trees representing nearly 30 varieties growing throughout the grounds. Learn More ›

Japanese Garden Centennial Honorary Chairs

Caroline Kennedy, Ambassador of the United States of America to Japan

“Congratulations to Brooklyn Botanic Garden on a century of inspiration and beauty. For 100 years, BBG has introduced New Yorkers to the beauty of Japanese gardens. This institution plays an important role in the deep friendship and mutual admiration of our two great countries, and I am so glad to know that there will always be a little piece of Japan right near home.”

Reiichiro Takahashi, Ambassador and Consul General of Japan in New York

“This is an historic moment for Brooklyn Botanic Garden, in which the Garden will elevate and celebrate the vibrant relationship and enduring ties it has helped to cultivate between the United States and Japan.”

Japanese Garden Centennial Support

Lead Sponsor
The Freeman Foundation

Major Sponsor
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group

Sponsors

JCC Fund of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of New York

Mitsubishi Corporation (Americas)

Sony Corporation of America

Sumitomo Corporation of Americas Foundation

Friends
Brother International Corporation
Canon U.S.A., Inc.
The Japan Foundation, New York
Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal U.S.A., Inc.
Toyota

Partners
The Helen V. Froehlich Foundation

Special Donors, Isamu Noguchi at BBG
Dana and Rick Dirickson
Suzy Marquard and Jim Breckenridge
Tin Man Fund
Anonymous friend of the Garden

Honorary Host Committee

(List In Formation)

Tsutomu Karino, BBG Trustee

Kanetsugu Mike, Regional Executive for the Americas, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group

Toshikazu (Kaz) Nambu, President and CEO, Sumitomo Corporation of Americas

Masahiro (Matt) Soga, SVP, Sony Professional Solutions of America