Japanese House and Garden (Shofuso)

Why go

Japanese House and Garden (Shofuso) earns time because it offers a small architectural landscape where materials, thresholds and planting reward slow observation. Its central thread is a Japanese house, pond garden and carefully framed seasonal views in West Fairmount Park. Sliding screens connect tatami rooms with controlled garden views. The pond, waterfall and island composition change noticeably across the seasons.

What to look for

• Sliding screens connect tatami rooms with controlled garden views.
• The pond, waterfall and island composition change noticeably across the seasons.

The full story

Japanese House and Garden (Shofuso) is best understood through a Japanese house, pond garden and carefully framed seasonal views in West Fairmount Park. Shofuso , also known as Japanese House and Garden, is a traditional 17th century-style Japanese house and garden now located in Philadelphia's West Fairmount Park on the site of the Centennial Exposition of 1876. Shofuso is a nonprofit historic site with over 18,000 visitors each year and is open to the public for visitation, group tours, and event rentals. Shofuso was built in 1953 as a gift from Japan to American citizens, to symbolize post-war peace and friendship between the two countries. The building was constructed using traditional Japanese techniques and materials imported from Japan, and was originally exhibited in the courtyard of Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. After two years, it was relocated to Philadelphia and reconstructed in 1958. In 1976, a major restoration was conducted by a cadre of Japanese artisans in preparation for the American Bicentennial celebration. In 2007, the internationally acclaimed artist Hiroshi Senju created and donated an interior installation of twenty waterfall murals, creating an elegant combination of contemporary Japanese painting in traditional architecture with sixty years of patina. Shofuso is owned by the city of Philadelphia and has been administered, maintained, preserved, and operated by the Friends of the Japanese House and Garden, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, since 1982.

Useful to know

• Remove shoes where instructed and check seasonal opening dates.
• Reserve enough time for both the house circuit and an unhurried garden loop.

Your next visit

Estimated · Declared scenario and planning estimates; no live opening, weather, queue or booking service.