Japanese Garden Plants in Residential Yards in Honolulu, Hawaii: A Transported Landscape

Abstract

This study explores the relationship between humans and plant communities in residential yards in urbanized neighborhoods on the island of Oahu, Hawaii by examining how Japanese ornamental garden plants and style have been transported by Japanese immigrants and their descendants to Hawaii, and what has happened to the plants and style in the multicultural society of Hawaii. The history of immigrants to Hawaii and the characteristics of Japanese gardens are summarized as background. The study, comparing the frequency of Japanese garden plants found in literature on Japanese ornamental gardens and gardening and 150 randomly selected residential front yards in Honolulu, shows that the Japanese plants and style were not transported as a whole, most likely because many popular Japanese garden plants do not thrive in the Hawaiian climate, and also possibly because of the difference in the framework and underlying philosophy of a garden between Japanese and American traditions. The part transported comprises some hardy plant species which thrive in the tropical climate, including sacred bamboo ( Nandina domestica Thunb.), cycad ( Cycas revoluta Thunb.), and Oriental hawthorn ( Rhaphiolepis umbellata (Thunb.) Mak.); and a few ideas such as grouped rocks, a stone lantern, and neatly trimmed shrubs. The maintenance and diffusion of the transported Japanese garden traditions were evident in the multicultural society of Hawaii. Although the transported Japanese garden elements make up a rather small portion of the entire garden, they do lend a distinctive Japanese flavor to the front yards of some of the Japanese residents, possibly as a display of group identity.