Abstract
Through the centuries, Japanese ornamental gardens have reflected Japanese culture. In the United States, Japanese-style ornamental gardens offered Japanese immigrants and American citizens of Japanese heritage a connection with Japanese culture, giving them a sense of community, while also giving them a sense of place in a country which did not wholly embrace their presence. Analysis of physical remains of Japanese-style ornamental community gardens at Manzanar Relocation Center in Owen’s Valley, California, offers testament to how these gardens allowed the internees to express cultural identity and a feeling of community during one of the most trying times in American history.
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Acknowledgments
The principles behind traditional Japanese garden design can be very complicated and may incorporate dozens (if not more) traditional elements that not even a well-schooled garden designer may know. These features described in this chapter were those recognized by the author, who is only modestly versed in the subject. Many more traditional Japanese garden design elements probably exist in the gardens at Manzanar than were discussed in this paper. I would like to thank Jeffery Burton for his inspiration and guidance and to Ross Hopkins for giving me the opportunity to work for so many years at Manzanar. The maps are the product of the author.
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Beckwith, R.J. (2013). Japanese-Style Ornamental Community Gardens at Manzanar Relocation Center. In: Mytum, H., Carr, G. (eds) Prisoners of War. Contributions To Global Historical Archaeology, vol 1. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4166-3_15
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