Abstract
Japanese gardens outside Japan have been created as a means of international exchange, and 639 such gardens have been identified worldwide. In this study, we surveyed 35 Japanese gardens in Australia, of which 71.4% are sister city Japanese gardens, to obtain detailed data and clarify their diversity. We established a new classification system for Japanese gardens in Australia based on the nature of Japan’s involvement in their creation: 1) involvement of the Japanese government, companies, or organizations (7 gardens); 2) strong involvement of Japanese sister cities (6 gardens); 3) collaboration between Japanese and Australian citizens of sister cities (6 gardens); 4) gardens created with only gifts or advice from Japan (13 gardens); and 5) gardens with no exchange or involvement from Japan (3 gardens). We also analyzed changes in Japan’s international exchange practices over the decades, starting from the 1960s, and compared these to Japan’s involvement in the construction of Japanese gardens in Australia. This study reveals that the diverse types of Japanese gardens in Australia were influenced not only by economic conditions but also by the evolving nature of Japan’s international exchange policies and its varying levels of involvement.
