Storrier Stearns Japanese Garden, Pasadena

About Storrier Stearns Japanese Garden

The Storrier Stearns Japanese Garden is a historic stroll garden in Pasadena designed by landscape architect Kinzuchi Fujii between 1935 and 1940. Visitors explore a hill and pond-style garden featuring a waterfall cascading down a 25-foot hill, a formal teahouse also designed by Fujii, stone lanterns, and traditional plantings. The garden was originally created for an aristocratic Pasadena couple and remained private for decades before undergoing faithful restoration from 2007 to 2013 under landscape architect Dr. Takeo Uesugi. It is the only remaining garden by Fujii and the only intact example in the United States of a major Japanese-style garden created for a residence in the years before World War II. The garden demonstrates the adaptability of Japanese culture in modern America and is considered a masterwork.