That after due and careful consideration we find that the object of the bill is to provide a park in the suburbs of the City of Hilo where can be constructed gardens surrounding silvery lakes and about rock-bound inlets of the sea … on the order of Japanese landscape gardening that will add greatly to the beauty of this approach to the city.”

So read a paragraph in a March 30, 1917, report from the territorial Legislature’s Committee on Public Lands and Internal Improvements about plans to build a public park on land bordering Hilo Bay. Queen Liliuokalani, Hawaii’s last reigning monarch, had gifted 5 acres for that purpose a decade earlier; the legislators increased that space, earmarking 17 acres to create Lili‘uokalani Gardens. Groundbreaking took place in November — the same month the queen died.

The park is celebrating its centennial beginning this year (see sidebar). Its links to Japan trace back to 1881 when Liliuokalani’s brother, King Kalakaua, embarked on a yearlong trip around the world to strengthen diplomatic ties and study the possibility of arranging foreign labor for Hawaii’s burgeoning sugar industry. He visited 15 countries, including Japan.

On Feb. 8, 1885, Kalakaua and then-Princess Liliuokalani were among the dignitaries at Honolulu Harbor greeting the ship City of Tokio, which carried the first 943 contract sugar plantation workers from Japan. Over the next nine years, more than 29,000 Japanese immigrant laborers followed.

In 1900 Hawaii’s population was about 154,000. Of that, 40 percent (more than 61,000) were Japanese immigrants and their descendants, most of whom were living on Hawaii island.

A few years after Liliuokalani donated land for a park, a Japanese women’s organization called Hilo Fujin Shinkokai (Hilo Women’s Friendship Association) formed, with a mission of beautifying the city. They helped raise money to build Lili‘uokalani Gardens, and by 1916 had imported two stone lanterns from Japan for it. They also dreamed of opening a teahouse there, which finally came to fruition in 1972 thanks to Jean Ariyoshi, wife of then-Lt. Gov. George Ariyoshi.

In 1914 Laura Kennedy and her husband, Charles, president of the Hilo Board of Trade (which later became the Chamber of Commerce), visited Japan with a group of Honolulu businessmen. Kinkakuji Temple in Kyoto, popularly known as the Golden Pavilion, was one of their stops.

“There are gorgeous gardens there,” said K.T. Cannon-Eger, president of the nonprofit Friends of Lili‘uokalani Gardens, which helps maintain, repair and improve the park’s landscaping, facilities and artistic features. “Mrs. Kennedy thought the land the queen had designated for a park could reflect the same beautiful concept and provide enjoyment for the Japanese immigrants who lived and worked nearby.”

According to Cannon-Eger, Japanese gardens were all the rage in Hawaii at the time. Laura Kennedy’s generosity with time, money and other resources was key to the fulfillment of the vision for Lili‘uokalani Gardens.

“Laura Kennedy’s influence was extensive, and her enthusiastic support continued for decades,” Cannon- Eger said. “She brought a garden designer from Kyoto to work on the original gardens alongside local carpentry and construction talent. Many other prominent Japanese garden designers contributed their ideas through the years.”

A founding member of the North American Japanese Garden Association and self-described “knees-in-the-dirt gardener,” Cannon-Eger has visited Japanese gardens throughout Canada, France, England and the U.S. She said Lili‘uokalani Gardens is unique among the 500-plus Japanese gardens outside Japan in terms of age, location and size.

“Nearly 400 of those gardens are in North America,” Cannon-Eger said. “Of them, only about two dozen have attained 100 years of age. Also, very few are oceanfront with ponds fed by the tides. And Japanese gardens are rarely larger than 10 acres. Lili‘uokalani Gardens covers more than 24.5 acres.”

Repairs and improvements have been made to the park over the years; it was rebuilt after devastating tsunamis in 1946 and 1960. Today it is a pretty, peaceful oasis of gazebos; paths winding over tide pools and lava flows; stone, concrete and wooden bridges; stone lanterns, torii gates and other monuments from the 14 prefectures from which Japanese immigrants came to Hawaii; and dozens of tropical and Japanese plant and tree varieties, including ti, monkeypod, banyan, palms, camellia, azalea and black pine.

Shoroan (“pine ocean breeze”), the teahouse, is built in the traditional style with tatami mats, shoji doors and a “tokonoma” (alcove) with a scroll in handwritten calligraphy: “wa,” “ka,” “se,” “jaku” (harmony, respect, purity, tranquility). Three-hour Urasenke tea ceremony classes (urasenke.or.jp/texte) are held there four times weekly, two in English and two in Japanese. Cost is $15 per class with payment of $25 annual Urasenke dues.

A stroll through the gardens reveals spectacular views of Hilo Bay, historic downtown Hilo and Mokuola (“island of life”), which is connected to the gardens by a footbridge. In ancient times this islet was the site of a temple dedicated to healing and a puuhonua (place of refuge) where defeated warriors, lawbreakers and others seeking asylum could go. On clear days Mauna Kea volcano can be seen to the west.

Lili‘uokalani Gardens is open year-round and admission is free. In the park on any given day are picnickers, fishermen, walkers, joggers, couples posing for wedding pictures, dog obedience classes and yoga, qigong and meditation groups.

“For a century it has been the quintessential gathering place for people seeking recreation and relaxation,” Cannon-Eger said. “It’s a vivid snapshot of life in laid-back Hilo.”

Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi is a Honolulu-based freelance writer whose travel features for the Star-Advertiser have won several Society of American Travel Writers awards.