The Gardener Character Analysis

The elderly gardener is one of the servants who works for Dr. Sadao Hoki and Hana. Like the cook, he’s been an instrumental part of the household ever since Sadao was just a boy. He is fiercely loyal to Sadao’s father, who is dead at the outset of the story. The gardener is especially skilled with flowers and moss; in his younger years, he created “one of the finest moss gardens in Japan” for Sadao’s father. He refers to Sadao’s father as “my old master” and Sadao as “my old master’s son,” demonstrating his lopsided loyalty to Sadao’s father over Sadao. This, coupled with his old age, suggests that the gardener clings to traditions, superstitions, and mindsets of the past. Even though Sadao and Hana are fairly traditional, the gardener aligns himself with Sadao’s father’s belief in racial purity, Japanese superiority, and the “old Japanese way” of doing things. Like the other servants, the gardener resents Sadao for saving Tom—besides his racist reasons for believing Tom should die, he also superstitiously believes that saving Tom from the sea will make the sea take revenge on Sadao and his family. The gardener eventually cuts ties with the family and leaves the household because of Tom. However, like the other servants, the gardener returns once Tom is gone, suggesting that the gardener was too engrained in the household—and too devoted to the memory Sadao’s father—to truly leave.