The “Capture” of Exotic Natures: Cross-cultural Knowledge and Japanese Gardening in Early 20th Century Britain

Abstract

This paper explores the influence of cross-cultural knowledge derived from travel and specialist horticultural education on the gardening work of three women in the early 20th century. Ethel Webb and Ella Christie were both wealthy, independent women who travelled to Japan. On their return home they created Japanese gardens on their private estates. The creation of Japanese gardens was particularly fashionable in early 20th century Britain. The third woman is the Japanese horticulturalist Taki Nakanome (nee Handa) who studied at Studley College in Britain and directed the construction of a Japanese garden at Ella Christie’s estate, Cowden Castle. The pioneering Japanese horticulturalist, Taki Nakanome (nee Handa), after returning to Japan taught botany, horticulture and English at Doshisha Women’s College in Kyoto, Japan. Later in her life, Taki ran an orchard at the Nakanome family estate at Mizusawa, Iwate prefecture during the 1920s. Ella Christie’s employment of a female garden designer, Taki Nakanome (nee Handa) in 1908, was obscured by the fact that she was a foreigner. Her exoticness was perhaps more important than her gender to create authenticity.