The Gresham Japanese Garden: A Living Bridge Between Cultures
GRESHAM – Tucked inside Gresham’s Main City Park, just steps away from the shouts of children at the playground and the thump of baseballs on nearby fields, lies a pocket of serenity that feels a world apart. The Gresham Japanese garden’s Tsuru Island is more than just a collection of trees and stones—it is a living work of art, a bridge between cultures, and a testament to resilience and renewal.
On a bright morning, a visitor crossing the wooden moon bridge into the garden is immediately greeted by winding paths, the quiet shimmer of the creek, and the carefully framed silhouettes of maples and pines. Lanterns of carved stone peek out from the greenery, while the azumaya pavilion invites passersby to pause and take in the layered harmony of nature and design. Here, every turn seems to reveal another carefully composed scene: a pond that mirrors the sky, a mossy rock set deliberately beside a weathered lantern, a path that curves just enough to spark curiosity about what lies beyond.
Though it feels timeless, the Japanese garden is very much alive—shaped by the hands of volunteers, guided by the vision of leaders like Garden Director Jim Card and Activities Director Sue Protz, and supported by a community that has embraced it as their own. As Main City Park itself is readying for a revitalization project, the Japanese garden is stepping into a new chapter too: one that blends preservation of its history with bold steps toward accessibility and authenticity.
For those who have yet to discover it, the Japanese garden is not just a place to visit. It is a place to return to, again and again, finding something new each season—and perhaps within oneself.
Roots of the Garden
The story of the Gresham Japanese Garden begins not with bricks or blueprints, but with gratitude. In the early 1970s, members of Gresham’s Japanese American Citizens League/Gresham Troutdale chapter, dreamed of creating a living tribute to their parents and grandparents, the Issei pioneers who had built new lives in Oregon while holding fast to their cultural traditions. Out of that vision, Tsuru Island was born.
On September 2, 1975, Tsuru Island was formally dedicated. At the ceremony, community leader Kaz Tamura spoke of honoring the Issei generation and offering thanks to the City of Gresham for the opportunities their families had found here. His words framed the Garden not only as a gift to the city, but as a gesture of goodwill — a way to share Japanese culture with the wider community and leave a legacy of beauty and tranquility in the heart of Main City Park.
The design of the Garden in the park reflected the spirit of the times. Across North America, small Japanese gardens were springing up in the 1970s, often built by local Japanese American groups as cultural landmarks. In Gresham, the site chosen for the Garden had once been an unremarkable corner of the park, but with care and imagination it was transformed into something extraordinary: a little island surrounded by water, linked to the park by a graceful wooden bridge.
Over the decades that followed, the Garden became a quiet retreat for visitors — a place to stroll among maples, pause beside a stone lantern, or simply sit and reflect in the shade of tall evergreens. Though it would later face periods of decline, its beginnings were full of hope and generosity. From the very start, the Tsuru Island was more than an arrangement of plants and stones. It was, and remains, a symbol of friendship and cultural exchange — a lasting thank-you to the city and its people.
The Style and Symbolism of Japanese Gardens
What makes a Japanese garden so distinctive isn’t only its beauty, but its meaning. Every element — whether stone, water, or tree — carries a role that goes beyond decoration.
Bridges, for instance, are more than a way to cross from one side to another. They symbolize transition — the journey from the everyday world into a place of reflection. The wooden span into Tsuru Island signals that you are entering a space apart, where the pace slows and the senses awaken.
Lanterns, like the weathered stone figures tucked among maples and moss, are markers of light and guidance. Traditionally placed at turning points in the path or near water, they encourage visitors to pause, notice the scene around them, and find a moment of quiet.
Water itself, whether a flowing stream or still pond, is considered the life force of the garden. Its movement represents renewal, while its reflections remind us of harmony between earth and sky. Even the placement of rocks has purpose: grouped as “families,” they anchor the landscape and suggest permanence amid change.
Trees and plants, too, are chosen carefully. A Japanese maple may glow red in autumn, while a pine symbolizes endurance through winter. Together, they create a Japanese garden that transforms with the seasons — a reminder that beauty is not static but alive.
For Gresham’s Japanese American community in 1975, this style of gardening was more than art. It was a way of sharing values: harmony, respect for nature, and the joy of simplicity. Visitors strolling the paths may not know the symbolism behind every stone or lantern, but they feel it — a sense of peace, of welcome, of stepping into a place designed to nurture the spirit.
And yet, as the decades passed, even this carefully built sanctuary faced the pressures of time. By the early 2000s, Tsuru Island had grown tired and overgrown. The bridge sagged, invasive plants crept in, and few people realized what a treasure lay hidden in Main City Park. That is where the next chapter begins — the story of a remarkable renewal.
Decline and Renewal
By the early years of the new century, Tsuru Island had fallen quiet. The bridge was rotted, paths were hard to follow, and thick vegetation obscured the views that once invited calm. What had been a place of beauty and meaning risked becoming forgotten.
Then, in 2011, a chance meeting changed everything. Local resident and third-generation Japanese American (Sansei) Tomiko Takeuchi invited retired landscape contractor Jim Card to take a look at the island. Card later recalled that when they first approached, they couldn’t even cross the bridge because a fallen tree blocked the way. Embarrassed, Takeuchi feared she had wasted his time. But Card, instead of turning away, saw possibility.
“I see a lot of potential here,” he told her.
That spark became the start of a rebirth. With Takeuchi’s family support — her sister contributed $5,000 toward a new bridge — and Card’s leadership, volunteers began the long process of reclaiming the island. Over the course of months, they stripped out invasive plants and hauled away some 150 cubic yards of debris . In their place, they introduced new plantings, carefully chosen to harmonize with the existing pines and maples.
A vision began to take shape. Card designed a plan that would guide visitors through the garden with gentle turns in the paths, pausing at focal points marked by benches and lanterns. Water features were refreshed, boulders added, irrigation and lighting installed. What had once been an overgrown corner of the park started to reemerge as a jewel.
In September 2014, the renewed garden was unveiled to the public. The moon bridge was rebuilt, now gleaming with purpleheart wood, a richly colored hardwood known for strength and longevity. A new azumaya pavilion offered shade and a place to linger. A karesansui, or dry garden, added meditative contrast to the island’s flowing water. And the old maintenance building had been transformed into the Kyoudou Center, a hub for cultural learning.
What had seemed on the verge of being lost was not only restored, but reborn. More than just a facelift, the effort marked the beginning of a new era: one where the Gresham Japanese Garden would be a centerpiece of the community, cherished by both longtime residents and new visitors discovering it for the first time.
Tsuru Island Today
Crossing the graceful wooden bridge to Tsuru Island feels like stepping into a carefully composed painting. Paths meander in gentle curves, leading the eye and the body through a series of shifting scenes. One moment, you find yourself beneath the dappled canopy of a Japanese maple, its delicate leaves glowing in the sunlight. The next, you emerge beside a pond that mirrors sky and branch, its surface occasionally stirred by the ripple of a breeze.
Stone lanterns punctuate the landscape, their quiet presence lending a sense of continuity and tradition. A moss-covered boulder sits deliberately beside a winding path, as though it had grown from the earth just so. The azumaya pavilion, with its elegant roofline and open sides, offers a shaded retreat — a place to sit, sip tea, or simply listen to the water flowing nearby.
Every season brings a transformation. In spring, cherry blossoms dust the air with pink petals in Ebetsu Plaza. Summer fills the island with vibrant greens and shaded coolness. Autumn ignites the maples in fiery reds and golds, while winter pares the garden down to its sculptural bones, where the lines of bridges and bare branches become art in themselves.
This attention to balance, contrast, and flow is what makes Tsuru Island feel alive. It is not a garden frozen in time, but one that breathes with the seasons and rewards repeat visits. To walk its paths is to be reminded that beauty is never static — it is always unfolding.
A Bridge Between Communities
But Tsuru Island is more than a Japanese garden — it is a bridge between cultures and communities. That bridge extends across the Pacific to Ebetsu, Japan, Gresham’s sister city. In 2015, a delegation of 20 visitors from Ebetsu, including Mayor Miyoshi, joined then-Mayor Shane Bemis of Gresham to plant the first cherry tree at what is now Ebetsu Plaza . The plaza, adjacent to Tsuru Island, stands as a permanent reminder of the friendship between the two cities.
The connection runs both ways. Ebetsu has a Gresham Park, where residents can experience a touch of Oregon through community gatherings and cultural displays . Films about Gresham are shown there, and visitors can pick up books and information about the city, just as Gresham visitors can learn about Ebetsu here.
Closer to home, the lifeblood of the Gresham Japanese Garden comes from its volunteers. Dozens of community members, from master gardeners to local families, donate their time to prune, plant, and maintain the grounds. Their work ensures that the all of gardens don’t simply survive — they thrive. “Accessibility and authenticity,” says Activities Director Sue Protz, “are at the heart of our goals” . Those goals show in the careful maintenance of traditional elements and the efforts to make the island welcoming to all.
Today, the Gresham Japanese Garden is not only a serene retreat but a gathering place, drawing neighbors, school groups, and visitors from afar. It is living proof that when a community tends its cultural treasures, those treasures in turn enrich the whole community.
The Current Renovation
Even as the Japanese garden has flourished in recent years, its leaders have never been content to simply preserve the status quo. True to the spirit of Japanese gardening — where change is constant and refinement is ongoing — Tsuru Island is once again in the midst of transformation. A year-long renovation project, launched in June, 2025 and continuing through 2027, is reimagining the garden for future generations while staying faithful to its traditional roots.
One of the most visible upgrades will be the entrance gate. Designed to welcome visitors with dignity and ease, the new covered gate will feature wider approaches and automatic doors that open and close at set times. A device built into the gate will also help track attendance, giving the Garden a clearer picture of its growing popularity.
Inside the island, accessibility is being woven into every detail. The familiar bluestone path, beloved by visitors, has been carefully lifted and will be reinstalled in 2026 to meet ADA specifications, with joints no wider than 10 millimeters. An alternate exit path will give guests more flexibility in their journey, while subtle grading ensures that all can enjoy the full experience, regardless of mobility.
The renovation also touches the symbolic heart of the garden. The water basin — a place of cleansing and reflection in traditional Japanese design — is being enlarged and re-situated. Inspired by a historic water basin at the Oregon State Penitentiary, the new version will be flanked by large boulders and hold a substantial pool of water, providing a striking centerpiece .
Bridges, too, are being renewed. The aging wooden spans will be replaced with elegant stone bridges, adding permanence and resilience while honoring Japanese tradition. At the eastern edge of the island, a new covered seating area will be built near Johnson Creek. Modeled after the machiai of the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, it will offer shelter and a quiet vantage point over the water.
Perhaps the most distinctive element of the renovation is the addition of yotsume-gaki bamboo fencing around the perimeter of Tsuru Island. Built in the classic “four-eyed” style — open, yet ordered — the fencing is being crafted not only by professionals but also by community volunteers through hands-on workshops. This blend of tradition and participation embodies the spirit of the Garden itself: a place where artistry, authenticity, and community meet.
When the renovation is complete, Tsuru Island will look both familiar and refreshed. The essence of the Japanese Garden — its quiet beauty, its symbolism, its cultural roots — will remain, but enhanced by new layers of accessibility, craftsmanship, and care.
Community Spirit
At its core, the Gresham Japanese Garden is not sustained by walls or endowments, but by people. Every stone set, every plant pruned, every bridge maintained has the fingerprints of community members who care deeply about this place.
Volunteers are the backbone. Some come with years of horticultural experience; others arrive simply with willing hands and an eagerness to learn. Together they rake paths, trim branches, build fences, and share in the quiet satisfaction of seeing Tsuru Island flourish. Their contributions go far beyond maintenance. In tending the garden, they nurture a sense of belonging and pride that radiates out into the wider community.
Support has also come through creative partnerships. Local businesses and civic groups have donated materials, expertise, and funds. The city itself has backed the renovation, recognizing the Gresham Japanese Garden as one of Gresham’s cultural treasures. But some of the most inspiring support has come from grassroots organizations.
Among them is 100 Women Who Care East County, a chapter of the national giving network. Since its founding in 2019, the group has raised over $220,000 for local nonprofits — and the Gresham Japanese Garden has twice been chosen as a recipient. Each time, the group gathered, listened, and then each wrote a check for $100. The impact, multiplied by community spirit, has been transformative. Gresham City Councilor Sue Piazza said, “I never imagined how a group of women can empower change and strengthen our community.”
These gifts — of time, labor, and resources — have ensured that the Garden is not just beautiful but sustainable. They also reinforce the Garden’s original spirit: that it is a place created for the people of Gresham, by the people of Gresham. Every lantern lit, every blossom admired, carries the story of a community that values heritage, friendship, and shared beauty.
In this way, the Gresham Japanese Garden is more than a landmark. It is a living testament to what happens when a city comes together to tend something greater than itself.
Voices of the Garden
For all its stone lanterns and flowing water, what gives the Gresham Japanese Garden its character are the people who guide it forward. At the center of that effort are Director Jim Card and Activities Director Sue Protz, whose voices carry both deep respect for the Garden’s past and excitement for its future.
Card, a retired landscape contractor, has poured more than a decade of vision and labor into Tsuru Island. He still remembers his first visit in 2011, when fallen trees blocked the bridge and the Garden looked abandoned. Instead of seeing ruin, he saw promise. “Wait a minute,” he recalls telling his partner that day, “I see a lot of potential here.” That sense of possibility has shaped everything since, from rebuilding the moon bridge to guiding the ambitious renovation now underway.
For Protz, the Garden’s purpose is as much cultural as it is horticultural. “Authenticity and accessibility,” she emphasizes, “are at the heart of our goals.” Her focus has been on ensuring that every class, program, and renovation decision connects people to the traditions of Japan while also making the Garden welcoming to all. Whether it’s organizing an ikebana workshop or curating the Garden’s history page online, Protz works to deepen the experience for visitors and volunteers alike.
Both leaders are quick to point out that the Garden is still a discovery in progress. “It’s amazing how many people don’t know the Garden is here,” Card notes . With Main City Park drawing crowds for sports and events, the Japanese garden can sometimes be overlooked. Yet, he believes that as word of mouth spreads and the renovation unfolds, more visitors will find their way across the bridge to Tsuru Island.
The dedication speech from 1975 spoke of gratitude and hope. Card and Protz echo that spirit today. They see the Garden not only as a beautiful retreat, but as a living classroom, a cultural link, and a space for reflection. Their voices remind us that the Garden is not static — it is a story still being written, chapter by chapter, season by season.
Looking Ahead
As Tsuru Island undergoes its latest transformation, the Gresham Japanese Garden is poised to step even more fully into its role as a cultural and community landmark. The renovation now underway is not about change for its own sake, but about ensuring that the Garden remains vibrant and accessible for decades to come. Wider paths, stone bridges, traditional bamboo fencing, and an inviting new entrance will make the Garden easier to navigate while honoring its Japanese roots .
Looking forward, leaders see the Garden as more than a destination. It is a living bridge between generations, where grandparents and grandchildren can walk together under the canopy of pines, and between cultures, where the people of Gresham can experience the artistry of Japan without leaving their city. The continuing connection with Ebetsu, Japan — marked by cherry trees planted at Ebetsu Plaza and mirrored by Gresham Park abroad — ensures that the Garden remains a symbol of international friendship as well as local pride.
Education will continue to be central. Programs in bonsai, ikebana, pruning, and bamboo craftsmanship offer not only hands-on skills but also lessons in patience, respect for nature, and the beauty of simplicity. In this way, the Garden’s influence reaches beyond its boundaries, shaping the way participants tend their own homes, gardens, and lives.
Above all, the Gresham Japanese Garden’s future rests on the same foundation as its past: community. The volunteers who weed, plant, and prune, the donors who provide resources, and the visitors who return season after season all keep Tsuru Island alive. Their collective investment ensures that the Garden is not simply preserved as a relic of the past, but continually renewed as a gift to the present.
In a fast-moving world, the Gresham Japanese Garden offers something rare: a place to slow down, breathe deeply, and be reminded of the rhythms of nature. It is a place where stones and lanterns tell stories, where water and bridges invite reflection, and where blossoms remind us that beauty is fleeting yet always returning.
The Garden began nearly fifty years ago as an expression of gratitude. Today, as it embarks on its newest chapter, it remains true to that spirit — a living thank-you to the city of Gresham, and a lasting reminder that when communities tend carefully to beauty, it flourishes for all. HVN