Appreciating New Japanese Gardens in the West—From the Late Meiji to Early Showa Periods

As the new garden style gained popularity in Japan, Western garden experts and tourists, who had been interested in Japanese gardens since the world’s fairs, began to notice the revival of horticulture in the East. Writers such as Friedrich Hochberg and Florence Du Cane mentioned these new gardens in their travel books about Japan. In 1935, the Garden Club of America visited Japan admist growing diplomatic tensions. The group was introduced to various historic sites and several of Ogawa’s gardens. For the most part, Western authors and visitors referred to these locations as “Japanese gardens” without much further reflection.