Press Release

For Immediate Release

Japan-America Society of Washington DC to Honor Renowned Garden Designer Hoichi Kurisu with 2026 Marshall Green Award

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Japan-America Society of Washington DC (JASWDC) is proud to announce that it will present the 2026 Marshall Green Award to world-renowned Japanese garden designer Hoichi Kurisu. The award will be formally presented at the Society’s annual US-Japan Capital Gala on November 12, 2026.

The Marshall Green Award was established by the JASWDC Board of Trustees in 2011 to recognize individuals or groups who have made sustained and significant contributions to strengthening the relationship and increasing understanding between the United States and Japan. The award is named in honor of Ambassador Marshall Green, one of America’s most distinguished diplomats and a founder of the Society, who dedicated his career to East Asian affairs and bilateral diplomacy.

Born in Hiroshima, Japan, Hoichi Kurisuwas witness to the atomic bombing, an experience that profoundly shaped his commitment to creating “healing gardens” that restore the human spirit. After training under master designer Kenzō Ogata in Tokyo, Mr. Kurisu moved to the United States, where he served as the Landscape Director of the Portland Japanese Garden from 1968 to 1972. In 1972, he founded Kurisu International (now Kurisu LLC). Mr. Kurisu has had a profound impact on the Washington DC community, having designed and built the Japanese Stone Lantern Plaza on the Tidal Basin in 2013, as well as the transformative renovation of the Japanese Pavilion at the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum. His portfolio also includes some of the most highly regarded Japanese gardens in North America, such as the Anderson Japanese Gardens in Illinois and the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens in Florida.

“For all of the wonderful aspects of Japanese culture, one of the most unique and immediately recognizable as distinctly Japanese, is the Japanese sense of space and design,” said Ryan Shaffer, President of the Japan-America Society of Washington DC. “Our city is lucky to have several world-class Japanese spaces, highlighted in particular by two treasures: the Japanese Bonsai Pavilion at the National Arboretum and the Japanese Lantern landscape on the National Mall, both of which were the creations of world-renowned Japanese garden designer Hoichi Kurisu. We are thrilled and privileged to be able to honor Mr. Kurisu with the Marshall Green Award, for his contributions to US-Japan friendship and understanding in the heart of our community, and around the country.”

Mr. Kurisu joins an esteemed list of past recipients that includes Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, Ambassador Walter F. Mondale, Secretary Norman Mineta, Congresswoman Diana DeGette, Honorable Taro Kono, Dr. Kurt Campbell, among other distinguished leaders.

 

About the Japan-America Society of Washington DC

The Japan-America Society of Washington DC is a non-partisan, non-profit organization that fosters the grassroots relationship between the United States and Japan. The Society promotes friendship through more than 70 annual programs, including the Sakura Matsuri – Japanese Street Festival, the nation’s largest celebration of Japanese culture.

 

Press Contact Information

William Denton, Communications Manager
wdenton@jaswdc.org