Ogura-Sato Annex Fund
This rendering is a conceptual idea to give a sense of our hopes for the future as the Annex is built. Japan House is delighted to announce the commencement of site work for the highly anticipated Ogura-Sato Annex. As we finalize the remaining contracts, construction will soon be underway. Our heartfelt gratitude goes out to all who have supported this project and patiently awaited its beginning. This marks a significant milestone in the future of Japan House, and we deeply appreciate all who continue to believe in our mission and engage with our offerings. During this process, we ask for your patience. The west side of Japan House, including the tea garden, will be temporarily inaccessible, but rest assured, it will transform into an even more beautiful and enriching space with time. Thank you for your support and we look forward to sharing this exciting journey with you.
Please consider donating to the Ogura-Sato Annex Fund. While our current fund covers the building’s construction, we continue to seek support for the expanded tea garden, surrounding grounds, and interior space. Your generosity will help Japan House to thrive for generations to come.
To our wonderful community and friends of Japan House,
It is with immense gratitude, relief, and joy that I can finally share exciting news with you. After an eight-year journey, construction of the Ogura-Sato Annex will officially begin. In preparation, the University’s Facilities and Services team has already commenced preliminary site work and excavation. The future site, located just west of Japan House, will undergo immense changes, and we appreciate your patience and understanding during this period.
I am deeply grateful to our staff, gardeners, supporters, volunteers, and visitors who have patiently awaited for the day that our facility can expand and welcome even more opportunities to Japan House. I want to especially express Japan House's gratitude to Jim Bier who established the Japanese tea garden and dry rock garden, to expand Japan House's educational mission outside, along with our gardeners and volunteers who have so generously dedicated their time and energy to the gardens of Japan House. For years, the gardens have been a space of tranquility and enjoyed by countless visitors from daily strolls to those coming to celebrate major milestones.
I know that seeing the excavation for the first time may be disheartening — half of the tea garden area had to be excavated to make way for the Annex. However, the heart of the tea garden — from the entrance to the tsukubai and the stepping stones outside the sliding door—remains intact. Japan House Gardener Lois Sjoken worked tirelessly to preserve as many plants as possible, collaborating with subcontractors to carefully remove each rock and place them in a safeguarded area. Moving forward, we will work to strengthen Jim Bier’s Garden legacy by creating a new path that will connect to a secondary tea garden—one that will be fully accessible to all.
The legacies we have inherited and continue to nurture are truly unparalleled. For over 60 years, Japan House has been dedicated to fostering cultural understanding, offering new perspectives, and providing a space where visitors can experience tranquility. Rooted in traditional Japanese aesthetics and arts—particularly Chado, the Way of Tea—Japan House continues to offer students and the broader community a unique opportunity to cultivate a deeper appreciation of diverse cultures. None of this would be possible without our gardens and the love and care that Jim Bier has devoted to them over the past 25 years.
I am deeply grateful to everyone who has supported us thus far and hope everyone will continue with us on this new journey of development and growth, building upon what has been cherished by so many. Once again, I thank you for your kindness and friendship that you share with Japan House.
With heartfelt gratitude,
Jennifer and the Japan House Team
During this process, we ask for your patience and to pardon the disorder in the area.
From left to right: Professor Emeritus Shozo Sato, Mrs. Alice (Ogura) Sato, and Dr. George Ogura
The idea of the Ogura-Sato Annex began in 2017. As Japan House's operations grew due to popular demand, it began to outgrow the current space, which limited scheduling for programming and for storage of the educational special collections. This sorely needed space will provide meeting and classroom space for the Japan House interns, classes, offices, and storage space for our increasing collections. A major donation by Dr. George Ogura (brother of Alice Sato) and from Shozo and Alice Sato started the funding for this effort, but more funds will be needed for the upcoming construction, the installation of a tea room and traditional Japanese interior space, and garden reconstruction. Japan House expresses our utmost gratitude to them for starting the Ogura-Sato fund and to those who continued to donate to make this dream a reality.
2017
The idea for the Ogura-Sato Annex is conceived and initially supported with the generosity of Professor Emeritus Shozo Sato, Mrs. Alice (Ogura) Sato, and her brother, Dr. George Ogura. Dr. Ogura was a leader and father of forensic pathology in Denver, CO; he visited Urbana-Champaign and was charmed by the beauty and tranquility of the Illinois prairie and the cultural offerings of Japan House. He moved to Champaign and his gift, along with additional major gifts from Professor Shozo Sato, Alice Sato, Nick Offerman (BFA ’93 Theatre), and additional gifts from over 140 other friends of Japan House, brings the total private support for this project to over $2.25M.
2017
In April, Japan House hosts Whisky, Wood and Barbecue with Nick Offerman: A Japan House Fundraiser with sponsorships by Black Dog Smoke & Ale House, Smile Politely, and Cream & Flutter. Guests enjoyed a tasting of three different Japanese whiskies, accompanied by small tastings from Black Dog Smoke & Ale House, followed by a mini whisky-pecan pie from Cream & Flutter. A raffle was held with specially made items from the Offerman Woodshop. Afterwards, Nick spoke about his book, Good Clean Fun: Misadventures in Sawdust at Offerman Woodshop, which he dedicated to the founder of Japan House, and his former Professor and sensei, Shozo Sato.
2018
Offerman performed two sold-out shows in December, one at the Virginia Theatre and another specifically for students at Foellinger Auditorium, as a fundraiser for the Ogura-Sato Annex. His performances featured a collection of sawdusty musings on living with enthusiasm, crafting things in wood, and most importantly, cultivating mirth.
2019
Initial plans by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois are approved. It noted that the addition of the Annex would expand the enrollment of students within the programs and classes of Japan House, make the house and garden more welcoming and accessible to students and the broader community, increase tea room capacity and related preparatory operations, multi-functional activity areas, dedicated space for additional staff and interns, and provide storage for collections gifted to Japan House.
2021
A groundbreaking ceremony was held for the Ogura-Sato Annex as part of the Arigatou no Kokoro Fall Open House. Professor Emeritus Shozo Sato broke ground for the new addition in honor of his late wife, Alice Ogura Sato, and his late brother-in-law, George Ogura. Guests enjoyed a performance by the Monticello High School Marching Sages. Later, special remarks were made by University of Illinois President Timothy Killeen, Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs and Provost Dr. Andreas Cangellaris, and Dean of the College of Fine and Applied Arts, Kevin Hamilton. Following the official groundbreaking ceremony, Ho Etsu Taiko performed to close this commemorative event.
2023
Japan House continues to fundraise to make the Ogura-Sato Annex possible with the rising costs of construction. With the generous support of Nick Offerman, he performed a sold-out show at Foellinger Auditorium in August featured an evening of deliberative talking, mirth, and music. Topics included but were not limited to: beef, comportment, eggs, bacon, pork, breakfast, barbecue, steak, meat, and Illinois Kabuki Theatre.
2025
Japan House is pleased to announce the beginning of construction for the Ogura-Sato Annex. Also, Nick Offerman Returns to the University of Illinois! He makes an appearance at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts on March 7 for a book signing of Where the Deer and the Antelope Play. On March 8, he will share his musings and reflections on life and his own personal history in an interview with Emmy Award Winning Documentarian Alison Davis at an intimate gathering filled with humor, stories, and perhaps a song or two. This event is sponsored by Busey Bank. Japan House collaborates with Michael's Catering and Suzu's Bakery to create a deluxe Japanese bento lunch for this intimate performance.