Hilo’s Stone Lanterns
The Big Island’s Art in the Park
Story and Photos by John Penisten
A Royal Park
The serene atmosphere is an ironic contrast to its turbulent past. The carefully manicured lawns, exotic trees and plants, and arching footbridges over tranquil lagoons are all accented by the mysterious but beautiful stone lanterns. The Japanese-themed garden park is named Liliuokalani Park for the last Hawaiian monarch, Queen Liliuokalani of the 1890s, who was deposed when the islands were annexed by the US. So even though it is a Japanese-style garden park, it honors Hawai’i’s last royalty.
This exquisitely maintained park, one of the finest cultural parks in Hawai’i, is in the Big Island port town of Hilo. The park is right off Banyan Drive on Hilo Bay, within easy walking distance of the hotels. Once nothing more than a series of muddy fishponds and swamp lands on the Waiakea Peninsula, the present-day park consists of reflecting ponds and lagoons, walkways, Japanese bridges, numerous tropical trees and plants, and those mysterious stone lanterns.
The park is said to be the only large yedo-style park outside Japan. Yedo-style is noted for using various landscaping features developed over 400 years ago in Japan. Yedo refers to the Edo period (1603–1867) when Tokyo was established as the capital and cultural center of Japan. The yedo-style landscaping uses features like large water ponds, strolling pathways, arching or curved footbridges, stone lanterns, torii gateways, open green spaces, lots of tropical florals, trees, bamboo stands, and ornamental plants. The park’s development began in 1907, but it wasn’t until several years later that the project really got off the ground.
An Immigrant Memorial
The park began as a memorial to the first Japanese immigrants to Hilo who came to help develop the old Waiakea Sugar Plantation. The project was the inspiration of the plantation manager and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. C.C. Kennedy after they visited the famed golden pavilion and its impressive gardens in Kyoto, Japan.
The park was originally conceived as an open green area in Hilo’s old plantation-style housing tract on the Waiakea Peninsula. The park’s first monument was an antique stone lantern and wash basin, the gift of a Japanese government official. In 1916, a ten-foot high stone lantern was donated by the Hilo Shinkokai women’s organization. Another early gift of a stone lantern came from Seiichiro Yasui, then governor of Tokyo in the early 1900s. The present park began to take shape in 1927.
Tsunami Strikes
And then Hilo’s infamous nemesis struck: tsunami (tidal wave). The park had grown to almost its present size in 1946 when the first big wave hit. That disaster almost erased all the work that had been done. Buildings were destroyed, stonework demolished, reflecting ponds were filled with mud and debris, and trees were uprooted. About the only things that were not destroyed were the park’s stone lanterns.
The 1949 Hawai’i Territorial Legislature provided $10,000 ($125,000 in 2022) to clean up and restore the park to its original state. Among measures taken to clean up the park was the introduction of big sea turtles to eat the excess vegetation clogging the reflecting ponds.
In 1952 and 1957, tsunamis again struck Hilo but on these occasions the damage to Liliuokalani Park was negligible. It was the 1960 tsunami that wreaked havoc all along the Waiakea Peninsula. For Liliuokalani Park it was a case of almost complete destruction. The tidal wave erased the “dry garden,” a former complement to the “wet pond” aspects of the park. It wiped out several nearby government buildings and caretakers’ cottages and a footbridge connecting Coconut Island and the park. It damaged many of the aesthetic landscape features of the park. And it wiped out the resident swan population that had been introduced by the park’s founders, the Kennedys, in 1954. The bill for the damage and cleanup amounted to $25,000 ($250,000 in 2022).
The resulting changes at the park were quite noticeable: there were no more residential cottages near the park and the reconstructed footbridges over the lagoons were made from concrete and lava rock rather than wood or other unstable materials. And, once again, the stone lanterns survived, although some had to be dug out from the mud and debris left behind by the tidal wave.
Centennial Celebration
The modern era of the park and its captivating stone lanterns began in 1968, the 100th anniversary of the arrival in Hawai’i of Japanese immigrants. To celebrate this event, 13 stone lanterns, two stone lions and a wooden torii (a log post gateway to a shrine) were donated by the governors of the prefectures of Japan that sent immigrants to Hilo. The prefectures donating monuments were Niigata, Hiroshima, Wakayama, Okinawa, Hamaguchi and Shizuoka. The Big Island’s sister island, Oshima, donated a stone lantern and the wooden torii gateway, and Fujita Island donated a stone lantern. The handsome grimacing stone lions were donated by the city of Nagasaki.
When the lanterns were installed in 1968, Professor Kinsaku Nakane, a world-famous landscape architect from Kyoto University, supervised the landscaping work. The efforts have resulted in a harmonious blend of earth, air and water for the enjoyment of all. With these additions, it was determined that this park had more stone lanterns than any other Japanese cultural park in Hawai’i. In 1968, the value of the stone lanterns ranged from $400 to $1300 each. There is no doubt that their replacement value today would be considerably more.
Stone Lanterns as Art
The use of stone lanterns goes back many centuries. The oldest existing lantern was erected at the Towaji Temple, in Yamato, Japan, in 682 A.D. Today, they are mostly ornamental and are rarely lighted. In the old days, they were lighted at shrines and temples. Burning lanterns accompanied offerings to Buddha or deities and were also used for light at night services. Gradually, such lanterns came to be used in private homes and placed at roadsides to guide people at night.
The stone lanterns are individual works of art. They are handmade of granite, marble, or similar rock. Bronze lanterns were made for use at temples and shrines. All rest on a foundation stone which is sometimes buried deep in the ground. The foundation underneath one of the stone lanterns in Liliuokalani Park weighs more than a ton.
The main pillar is round, square, or rectangular, and sometimes decorated with carvings. The shelf sits upon the pillar and the lightbox upon this. The roof is usually gracefully-sculptured and often has an ornamental ball on top.
Besides the general shape, there are many minor features that differ according to the local style where the lanterns are produced. Many old families in Japan are proud of the lanterns in their gardens since they are considered a sign of wealth. Most lanterns are expensive and out of the reach of many people.
Symbols of Courage and Culture
Having endured many tumultuous events in the past, Hilo’s stone lanterns remain vivid symbols for the resilient character of the ethnic Japanese people who forbears first came to Hawai’i over a century ago as sugar plantation laborers. For these, the stone lanterns of Liliuokalani Park are a special tribute to a courageous past.
A stroll through this serene garden will be a highlight of a Big Island visit. Along with enjoying the park’s attractions and beauty, it is delightful to see lots of local folks relaxing with picnic lunches or suppers and island kids fishing with bamboo poles in the placid pools. Even local fishermen come to Liliuokalani to net opae, Hawaiian shrimp, for live bait.
Regal Cultural Park
Liliuokalani Park is one place many Hilo folks frequent to sit in the shade, “talk story” and enjoy the cool ocean breezes. There is not a more enchanting spot anywhere in the islands. Liliuokalani Park, named for Hawaiian royalty, is the most regal cultural park of its kind in all Hawai’i. When in Hilo, don’t miss it!
If You Go
For more information on visiting the Big Island of Hawai`i and Hilo, check the following:
Island of Hawaii Visitors Bureau, 68–1330 Mauna Lani Dr. Ste. 109B, Kohala Coast, HI 96743; tel 800–948–2441; Web: www.gohawaii.com/islands/hawaii-big-island. Order a free Travel Planner at the website.
Destination Hilo is an independent community based organization promoting tourism to Hilo and East Hawaii and can provide lots of information; Web: www.destinationhilo.org
More Gardens to See
The Hilo area is noted for botanical gardens and a tropical floral industry. For botanical garden visits, try the following:
Hawai`i Tropical Botanical Gardens, 27–717 Old Mamalahoa Highway, Papaikou, HI 96781; tel 808–964–5233; Web: www.htbg.com. Located 8.5 miles north of Hilo on scenic Onomea Bay; thousands of exotic and tropical plants in lush jungle setting.
World Botanical Gardens, 31–240 Old Mamalahoa Highway, Hakalau, HI 96710; tel 808–731–1160; Web: https://botanicalworld.com. Located 16-miles north of Hilo on 300-acres surrounding the Umauma River and triple waterfalls, numerous exotic and tropical plants and trees like bromeliads, palms, fruit trees, ornamentals, adventure activities like zip line ride, segway tours, jungle maze, etc.
Previous versions of this story appeared in Hawaii Magazine and Touring Times.
Other Hawai’i stories
Hilo Sunny-side Up! It’s Not Just a Rainy Old Town | by John Penisten | May, 2023 | Medium
About the Writer
John Penisten is a photojournalist and longtime resident of Hilo on the Big Island of Hawai’i. He has authored the guidebooks Hawai’i the Big Island, Kaua’i the Garden Island, Adventure Guide to Hawai’i, and Experience the Big Island: The Road to Adventure. His personal adventure book Green Hills and Blue Lagoons: A Peace Corps Memoir covers his travels and experiences as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in the Fiji Islands, South Pacific. His travel stories and photos have appeared in a variety of print and online publications.
