Exploration of the value of Japanese-style gardens in incarceration camps during world war II: the case of the Amache, Colorado, U.S.

Abstract

ABSTRACT Japanese immigration to the U.S. began in the late 1800s. Japanese immigrants and later their children were mostly engaged in agriculture; however, some owned nurseries and gardening or landscaping businesses. Following the outbreak of World War II, most Japanese and Japanese Americans were sent to one of ten incarceration camps, one of which was Amache, in the High Plains of Colorado. Inmates there planted trees and created hundreds of gardens to improve its stark institutional landscape. These gardens were located in the front of individual barracks and other public spaces. They formed the most significant landscape element within the camp and helped Japanese inmates retain their identities during wartime. This study focuses on two Japanese-style gardens created in the public spaces of barracks Blocks 6H and 12F in the Amache incarceration camp. Framed by archival research on professional gardener associations and the Japanese language section of the camp newspaper, it explores the significance of these Japanese-style gardens, revealing the value and role the gardens played among Japanese detainees. It also reveals the long-term impact of these gardens as a material legacy.