A Lasting Respect: Japanese American Gardeners in San Diego

by Japanese American Historical Society of San Diego

Exhibit HAll

This exhibition explores the history of Japanese American gardeners in San Diego, from the early 20th century through World War II and beyond. Gardening offered first-generation immigrants work, provided beauty and solace during wartime incarceration, and evolved into modern landscaping after the war. The exhibit honors their labor, skill, and sacrifices for future generations.

Image Credit: JAHSSD_2006.1.1217.

Two women sitting by a pond in a newly constructed Japanese garden in Point Loma, April 1919

“A Lasting Respect charts the history of Japanese American gardeners in San Diego” before, during, and after World War II. The popularity of Japanese-style gardens at the turn of the twentieth century made gardening an accessible occupation for first generation immigrants at a time of limited job opportunities. During the war, when Japanese American San Diegans were incarcerated in Poston, Arizona, gardening was a means to beautify a harsh environment. And after the war, the profession evolved again with the transition to modern landscaping. This exhibit is dedicated to those Japanese gardeners who labored with their hands and made sacrifices so that their children would have a better future.