The Orange County Japanese Garden and Teahouse is celebrating its 56th anniversary at the Orange County Civic Center this year.
It was created by the generosity of 643 Orange County individuals and organizations who donated a total of $50,000 to make it a reality. The organization, at that time, that coordinated this effort was the Japanese American Community Services, Inc., which has now been dissolved, and the current stakeholder representing the Orange County Japanese American community is the SELANOCO / Orange County Japanese American Citizens League (JACL).
If your grandfather, father, uncle, or relative is one of these donors, we would like to create a bio paragraph listing about each donor and include the listing in the Orange County Japanese American Legacy Time Capsule that will be opened on the garden’s 100th anniversary on Nov. 15, 2070.
This major investment has flourished to honor our Orange County Japanese American pioneers and was created as a thank-you to Orange County for welcoming the Japanese back to the area at the end of WWII. We hope you will participate to honor your family’s legacy.
If you would like to see a listing of the donors, please contact Patti Hirahara at hiraharacollect@aol.com or call (714) 392-2103 for information.
Deadline for inclusion is: Sept. 30, 2026