The Transition of Japanese Garden Culture as Reflected in the UK Gardening Magazine, the Gardeners’  Chronicle

Abstract

This research investigates the UK magazine called The Gardeners’ Chronicle (published by Purcell & Sons), one of the UK top four horticulture magazines in the 19th-20th century, focusing on the articles published between 1841-1967. During this period, when horticulture was booming in UK, various Japanese plants and trees were eagerly brought into UK by the botanists and the plant hunters, and parts of Japanese culture were introduced along with them. By analyzing one of the most popular horticultural magazines in UK, this study aims to investigate how the Japanese garden in UK developed and transformed. The total number of articles related to Japan was 347, of which 283 articles on botany and plants collection, 15 on landscape, 46 on the Japanese garden, 51 on travelling to Japan, 106 on other topics. This research shows that various Japanese plants and trees were imported first into UK by the plant hunters without any connection to Japanese garden designs. It was only after the inception of world exhibitions when the Japanese garden designs and concepts were introduced and acknowledged properly. The results of this research are important for the historic value and the cultural inheritance of the Japanese garden in UK.