Its three-tiered Sanju Pagoda, the Kinkaku-ji Temple, and Mirror Gardens are fine examples of Japanese traditional-style structures and gardens built outside Japan.

The gardens were listed in the National Register of Historic Places as site 04000020 on February 11, 2004.

[2] Honolulu Memorial Park was established in 1958, and its Buddhist Kinkaku-ji memorial and Sanju Pagoda were constructed between 1964 and 1966 as part of the Nuʻuanu Memorial Gardens Funerary Home, adjacent to history Oahu Cemetery.

Both the Sanju Pagoda and Kinkaku-ji serve as columbariums.

As of 2006 they were in poor repair, due to the cemetery's financial difficulties.