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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, June 27, 2005

Access to monkeypod no longer guaranteed

By Rick Daysog
Advertiser Staff Writer

Each day, buses full of Japanese tourists show up at Moanalua Gardens to snap photos of the towering monkeypod tree at the property's entrance, which is popularly known in Japan as the "Hitachi tree" due to long-running television commercials by the Japanese electronics giant.

Hitachi, a maker of TVs and other electronics, has long used a tree at Moanalua Gardens in its ads.

Photos by Andrew Shimabuku • The Honolulu Advertiser

But the century-old tree's status as a corporate icon for Hitachi appears to be on shaky ground because of the unsettled future of the 24-acre garden that houses it.

The tree's owner, the Estate of Samuel Mills Damon, is giving Hitachi no guarantees that it can have exclusive access to the tree for its television ads because of a potential change of ownership at the Moanalua Gardens.

The estate, which has allowed Hitachi to use the monkeypod tree in its television commercials in Japan since 1973, is winding down its operations and is looking to transfer ownership of the garden to a private company, nonprofit group or local government agency that will take over the park and pay for its upkeep.

Hitachi pays the Damon Estate about $20,000 a year to use the monkeypod tree in its national advertising. The Damon Estate spends about $600,000 to operate and maintain the Moanalua Gardens.

Tim Johns, chief operating officer for the Damon Estate, said Hitachi representatives in Hawai'i recently approached the trust to see if it could secure the use of the tree even after the park's ownership changes hands. Johns said Hitachi isn't interested in buying or leasing the park but offered to contribute to the upkeep of the tree and the garden in exchange for continued access.

Johns said that it would be premature to negotiate a deal until the park's future ownership was settled.

Hitachi's local representatives could not be reached for comment.

The fate of the popular Moanalua Gardens and its lush foliage has been in limbo since November with the death of Joan Damon Haig of New Jersey, which triggered the dissolution of the 81-year-old banking and real-estate trust.

The estate's founder, Samuel Mills Damon, who received the garden and the entire ahupua'a, or valley, of Moanalua in 1884 as a gift from Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, had specified in his will that the park be set aside for the public's use at the Damon Estate's expense.

The Hitachi tree, known for its one-of-a-kind symmetrical shape, is one of several monkeypods in the Moanalua Gardens.

Japanese tourists often visit Moanalua Gardens to see the monkeypod tree that is known to them as the "Hitachi tree." The tree belongs to Damon Estate, which is negotiating a possible sale of the gardens.
Those trees have been a part of the gardens since the turn of the century and were acquired by Samuel Mills Damon as seedlings during a trip to Africa, the estate said.

The tree — which gets its distinctive umbrella-shaped canopy because it has been left to grow alone in an open area — is listed by the city as an exceptional tree, according to Paul Weissich, former director of the Honolulu Botanical Gardens.

The city designation prohibits anyone from removing or destroying the tree without City Council approval.

Over the years, the tree has evolved into a visitor attraction for thousands of Japanese visitors, who recognize it from the long-running Hitachi ads. In Japan, it's so popular that school children memorize the jingle that goes with the advertisements.

While it's difficult to place a monetary value on the use of the tree, local advertising and branding executives said it holds a lot of value for Hitachi.

Once an image or icon becomes associated with a company's product or its culture, it becomes extremely valuable to the company, said Noelle Baker, of Starr Seigle Communications Inc.'s StarrMark Brand & Strategy unit. Baker cited Prudential Insurance's use of the Rock of Gibraltar for it's long-running "get a piece of the rock" slogan, which conveyed images of financial soundness and strength.

"If that tree has become a symbol of strength for the company and is associated with one of its brand attributes, then the tree's image has tremendous value," said Baker.

Reach Rick Daysog at rdaysog@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8064.