Discover the legacy of a unique chapter in Florida history -- that of the pioneering Yamato Colony of Japanese settlers -- at the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens. View changing exhibitions of Japanese art and culture, admire miniaturized potted trees called bonsai, and stroll a nearly mile-long path through Japanese landscaping that features rock arrangements, manicured plants, waterfalls, and ponds in garden sites representing the evolution of Japanese garden design over a thousand years of Japanese history.

The Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens is a permanent institution that collects, preserves, exhibits, and interprets for purposes of study, education, and enjoyment objects relating to Japanese culture and the Japanese-American experience. The Morikami presents programs and events of an educational and cultural nature intended to entertain and enrich the lives of broad and diverse segments of the public. The Morikami endeavors to promote tolerance and sensitivity in order to form bridges across cultures.

The Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens traces its heritage to the historic Yamato Colony of Japanese settlers that existed in Palm Beach County a hundred years ago. One of the colony's recruits was Sukeji "George" Morikami, a penniless immigrant who later achieved success in agriculture and business. In 1974, Morikami gave land that he had acquired over his lifetime to Palm Beach County to develop as a park for the people of his adopted country, out of gratitude for the opportunities he had found here. The original museum building, the Yamato-kan, opened in 1977. A second museum building opened in 1993 and Roji-en, the Japanese garden, opened in 2001.

County

Access: General Public, Members

Appointment required: No