The Hagiwara Gate – Japanese Tea Garden, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California

While the majority of the Golden Gate Park design and growth is credited to a man, who is said to have planted two million trees in his lifetime, John McLaren allowed another to design and groom the Japanese Tea Garden. In 1894 a "Japanese Tea Garden" was established to showcase a Japanese Village for the California Midwinter International Exposition (also referred to as the World’s Fair).

In an attempt to share a piece of his culture, an affluent Japanese landscape designer named Makoto Hagiwara wished to transform the temporary World’s Fair exhibit into a permanent fixture of the Golden Gate Park. In the end, Hagiwara was responsible for erecting the Tea House, the garden, and the pavilions. He constructed a large public arena, as well as a small private setting for his family to dwell while he looked after the greenery. The garden was eventually expanded to reach close to five acres, exceeding the original space by four acres of land. Hagiwara not only perfected the landscaping, but also imported a wealth of authentic tributes to his homeland, including rare Japanese birds, goldfish, bronze items, and plants. The new garden was also decorated with an assortment of appealing statues, such as a wooden Buddha, a Shinto Shrine, stately eagles with spread wings, and a porcelain lantern.

Between 1895 and 1942, Hagiwara and his family resided, cared for, and furthered the development of the Japanese Tea Garden, until an unfortunate event occurred. World War II struck and the family was forced from their home and ushered off to concentration camps with other Japanese Americans. The garden was then given the name "The Oriental Tea Garden." During wartime, many of the beautiful arrangements were destroyed or removed, sculptures vanished, and many plants succumbed from lack of care.