Exhibition Sneak Peek & Panel Discussion | Lessons from the Garden

Presented by the Japan Information & Culture Center, Embassy of Japan

Join us for a panel discussion exploring the profound impact of Japanese gardens as spaces of healing, mindfulness, and transformation.  

Shin Ka: Inner Gardens of Reflection explores the history, philosophy, and cultural significance of Japanese gardens—from their traditional roots to their contemporary adaptations. A central focus is the Memorial Healing Garden at Oregon State Penitentiary, designed by renowned landscape designer Hoichi KURISU of Kurisu LLC.

This dynamic panel will open with remarks from Colette Peters, former Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, who served as the Director of the Oregon Department of Corrections (2012–2022) during the inception and opening of the Memorial Healing Garden. The conversation will be led by moderator David KOMEIJI, who has played an instrumental role as a cultural liaison between the Asian Pacific Family Club at OSP and Kurisu LLC.

Panelists include Hoichi Kurisu, celebrated landscape designer behind the Memorial Healing Garden, and Thomas Charney, a landscape designer and researcher based in Southeast Michigan, who worked with Kurisu LLC to study the garden as part of his master’s capstone thesis. Interwoven throughout the discussion will be video interviews with several adults in custody—artists who contributed to this exhibition and continue to maintain the Memorial Healing Garden.

Don’t miss this rare opportunity to hear from those who brought this transformative project to life!

President and Founder of Kurisu LLC, Hoichi Kurisu has been designing and building gardens for over fifty years. From 1968 to 1972, Hoichi served as Landscape Director for the Japanese Garden Society in Portland, Oregon, and supervised the construction of the Portland Japanese Gardens. He founded Kurisu International, Inc, (now Kurisu LLC) in 1972. The landscape firm has an established reputation for gardens of the highest quality including Anderson Gardens (Rockford, IL) and Morikami Museum and Japanese Garden (Delray Beach, FL). Their unique garden designs create “inner space” for inspiration and healing. Kurisu is a leader at the forefront of creating Japanese-style healing gardens to meet the complex needs of society, which has resulted in Japanese gardens in unlikely places. Kurisu has collaborated with forward-thinking water-treatment facilities to create space for community, and in 2019 completed the first of its kind healing garden inside the maximum-security Oregon State Penitentiary (Salem, Oregon).

Thomas Charney is a recent graduate of the University of Michigan’s Masters of Landscape Architecture (MLA) program and is currently working as a landscape designer in Michigan. While pursuing his MLA, he continued to deepen his Japanese studies from undergraduate and incorporate Environmental Psychology into his MLA curriculum. As an extension of this, he made contact with Kurisu LLC and arranged the opportunity to study the Memorial Healing Garden at Oregon State Penitentiary. Since presenting his thesis at the end of his graduate studies, he has continued to advocate for the garden’s mission through dissemination of his thesis findings.

Born and raised in Hawaiʻi, of Japanese American parents, David Komeiji carries with himself the spirit of aloha and a deep reverence for Indigenous Hawaiian culture. Its values—pilina (relationship), kuleana (responsibility), and mālama (care)—have shaped not just how he lives, but how he creates. Whether he is arranging ikebana, co-creating programs with those inside Pr*son walls, or curating spaces for reflection, he sees his role not as a teacher, but as a coach—someone who helps others connect with ideas, beauty, and their own inner knowing.

This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required for security purposes. Program begins at 6:30PM. Doors open 30 minutes prior. No admittance after 7:00 PM or once seating is full. Registered guests will be seated on a first come, first served basis. Please note that seating is limited and registration does not guarantee guests a seat

Host or Publisher Japan Information & Culture Center, Embassy of Japan