Japanese Plants, Stand Up Please!

I was blasting this song from 1980 driving to invasive plant removal volunteering at the Berkshire Botanical Garden, thinking it would be a good track to start a set with when I DJ for the reception party of the invasive plant art show that I’m dreaming of.

Hi, everybody!

We are YMO from Tokyo, Japan

We don’t sightsee, we dance!

Now, ‘Tighten Up’ was very popular in Houston, Texas

With Archie Bell & the Drells

Now, we are the number one!

And then it suddenly occurred to me: the last time we were considered invaders wasn’t the Second World War, but when we were called “economic ANIMALS,” a phrase that followed Japan's postwar economic boom, as its exports and investments flooded global markets. Which is what this song was making fun of – the dehumanizing depiction of Japanese people, and the awkwardness of navigating that moment on the world stage.

Back when that country was thriving, metaphors characterized Japan as an “invading force,” or an enemy that resorted to “sneak attack,” and Japanese trade and investment in the United States was described as “war.” Using militaristic language and viewing your “enemy” as a monolithic force that strips individuality seems pretty similar to what I see in the native vs. non-native/invasive plant conversation.

The question is, is that approach truly helpful?

The militaristic mindset can obscure the science of how these plants function in each local natural landscape. According to Dr. Bernd Blossey’s presentation, Invasive Plants as Agents of Change or Symptoms of Other Stressors*, organized by Partners for Climate Action Hudson Valley, there are 4,259 field studies on 104 invasive species, of which 5 species represent 33% of studies. I’m no expert, but that doesn’t sound like we have much data to define what this big group of 'non-native/invasive' plants are doing individually. And yet the war is already declared among some.

He questioned the conventional idea that non-native plants are inherently destructive to ecosystems and advocated for a shift toward evidence-based management and long-term monitoring. The piece of information that most excited the audience: don’t pull Garlic mustard.

I watched another of his presentations, When Doing Nothing is the Best Invasive Plant Management Tool**, to understand more. My crude understanding is that initially Garlic mustard conditions the soil to its advantage in the competition with other plants. But eventually this condition creates microbial communities that are suppressive to Garlic mustard. If you pull it, you may just be getting in the way of that process.

Dr. Blossey also says earthworms make way for Garlic mustard. The plant is taking advantage of a situation that was already in motion. As he puts it: “it’s a follower not a preparer for ecosystems to deteriorate.”

Which brings me to this, from the New York Times, August 28, 1972***:

Japan Fills a Vacuum Regional leaders talk of balancing major-power influence, but they remain wary of the intentions of Moscow and Peking. Europe’s colonial stamp on the region ended symbolically last year when the British withdrew from Singapore. America’s military grip was loosened and its economic energy sapped on the battlefields of Vietnam. And into the vacuum Japan has marched.

I understand the urgency, but to wait and observe, even in dire situations, can be a practical path. Not to neglect, but because there is no shortcut for true understanding. We don't want to act on incomplete information and make things worse, just to get away from fear of losing control and changes to come. The Garlic mustard case suggests exactly that. I think it comes down to this 13th century writing, if you’ll excuse me for being very stereotypically Japanese in quoting it:

The knell of the bells at the Gion temple echoes the impermanence of all things.
The colour of the flowers on its double-trunked tree reveals the truth that to flourish is to fall.
He who is proud is not so for long, like a passing dream on a night in spring.
He who is brave is finally destroyed, to be no more than dust before the wind.

祇園精舍の鐘の声、諸行無常の響きあり。娑羅双樹の花の色、盛者必衰の理をあらはす。驕れる人も久しからず、ただ春の夜の夢のごとし。猛き者もつひにはほろびぬ、ひとへに風の前の塵に同じ。

This is a hard philosophy, especially when your livelihood is at stake. But I do think this centuries-old wisdom is sometimes the right approach: things change, not because they are bad or evil, not necessarily because you TRY, but simply because nothing lasts forever. The anxiety of the “war” mindset prevents you from seeing the reality. Nature is resilient, and it may have better ideas than what you think to be a "solution." Meanwhile, we need to have courage to choose not to live in fear and declare a war, despite the uncertainty, but choose to live with curiosity and patience to all of our fellow beings. If not for the world, for the sake of our own well-being.

*Morning Coffee: Invasive Plants as Agents of Change or Symptoms of Other Stressors by Bernd Blossey, Partners for Climate Action Hudson Valley

**When Doing Nothing is the Best Invasive Plant Management Tool by Bernd Blossey, the New York Invasive Species Research Institute

***Japan Tightens Her Economic Grip On Nations of East and South Asia By James P. Sterba Special to The New York Times Aug. 28, 1972

Additional reference: Lex, Andrea Louise. Japan Bashing and the Image of Japan in the American Press. MS thesis, Iowa State University, Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, 1993.