Come join us for Portland Japanese Garden’s O-Shogatsu, Japanese New Year, celebration!

O-Shogatsu is a time of celebration for the start of a new year and hopes of happiness and prosperity to come. Portland Japanese Garden will celebrate the beginning of 2026, the Year of the Horse, or uma in Japanese, on January 11 from 10:00am to 2:30pm with family-friendly activities and performances. Guests can also admire kadomatsu, or traditional arrangements of pine, bamboo, and plum branches, made by our gardeners.

Schedule:

Many programs will be taking place at various times and locations around the Garden. Please see the program below for an overview:

9:30am – 10am (Exclusive to Members): Sumi-e, Japanese ink-wash painting in the Yanai Family Classroom
Stop in to learn how to paint a horse, in honor of the Year of the Horse. According to folklore, people born under this zodiac sign are sociable, quick thinkers, and skilled at both finances and paying compliments.

10:00am – 2:30pm: Sumi-e, Japanese ink-wash painting in the Yanai Family Classroom
Beginning at 10am, the public is welcome to join our members in the Yanai Family Classroom to honor the Year of the Horse through ink-wash painting.

10:30am: Edo Kotobuki Jishi, the celebratory traditional lion dance of Tokyo, performed by Portland Shishimai Kai in the Jan Miller Living Room. Following this performance, Eien Hunter-Ishikawa will give a talk about the celebratory traditional lion dance of Tokyo.

12:15pm: Edo Kotobuki Jishi, the celebratory traditional lion dance of Tokyo, performed by Portland Shishimai Kai in the Jan Miller Living Room.
Throughout Japan, shishimai has been used for hundreds of years to bring good luck and chase away evil spirits. During this performance, the shishi (lion) will go into the audience and gently bite people’s heads to offer good luck for the rest of the year. It is common in Japan to see audiences waving bills of money to attract the shishi to come in their direction. Shishimai is typically performed during New Year’s celebrations, weddings, company functions, parties, and other festive occasions.