The Japanese Tea Garden is located in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco and it’s the oldest Japanese Garden in the US. It was originally built for the World’s Fair, the California Midwinter International Exposition of 1894.
Over the years there have been many changes to the garden but a few of the Word’s Fair structures exist today. The garden features elements of Shinto and Buddhist religious beliefs.
Makoto Hagiwara, a wealthy local landscape designer and member of Japan’s aristocracy, funded the Japanese Village for the MidWinter Fair. According to wiki, he is the first person who served the modern version of the fortune cookie. They were made by a SF bakery, Benkydo.
After the World’s Fair, Hagiwara had the idea to convert the Japanese Village exhibit into a permanent garden. He became the official caretaker of the garden. He built, managed the project and funded the Japanese Garden, spending most of the family money.
Hagiwara died in 1925. His Daughter Takano Hagiwara and her kids became caretakers of the garden. WWII brought anti Japanese sentiment, they were evicted from the family home and sent to live in an internment camp. They were not allowed back or compensated for having their century long home taken away. John McLaren, the caretaker of Golden Gate Park and Makoto Hagiwara had an a handshake agreement that he could continue the exhibit as the Japanese Tea Garden and reside there for a century.
It was renamed the Oriental Tea Garden during WWII, Chinese tea servers replaced the Japanese and the new servers wore traditional Chinese clothing. Any structures deemed Japanese were destroyed. The garden fell into disrepair.
In 1952 the name “Japanese Tea Garden” was reinstated but the city refused to reimburse the family for funding and maintaining the garden.
What happened to Hagiwara’s family is a part of American history and a major violation of civil liberties. After Pearl Harbor was bombed in 1941, rumors fueled by prejudice spread about Japanese-Americans trying to sabotage the American war effort. Roosevelt’s administration was pressured by the West Coast farmers to get rid of the Japanese competition. On February 19, 1942 Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 which forced Japanese into interment camps. It didn’t matter if they were citizens or not, it didn’t matter if they were patriotic Americans or not. Here’s an article in Scientific American about the Census Bureau helping the government in locating Japanese families.
Of the estimated 120,000 Japanese that were sent to internment camps, 62% were citizens according to wiki. While Japanese-American citizens fought for the US, their families were held in interment camps.
To read more about Japanese Internment during WWI see links below:
The garden doesn’t envision what Mokoto Hagiwara created, it’s been altered a lot over the years. There’s an ongoing effort to restore the garden. The Hagiwara family left their love of horticulture legacy to the city of San Francisco. Todays garden isn’t their original vision but they created a lasting green space for future generations, locals, and tourists to enjoy. It’s a very peaceful part of Golden Gate Park.
Thank you Hagiwara family for giving us this garden we really enjoyed, you made your mark on SF history. Let’s not forget fortune cookies, love those too.
If you’re craving for fortune cookies go visit the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory.