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Mie Gakure: Discovering Nikkei Gardeners and their Communities

Hoshiko & Richard Yamaguchi - Part 1; Yamaguchi Bonsai Nursery; Sanger, CA (Landscaping America Opening: Richard Yamaguchi - Part 1)


Published: Sept. 11, 2007 Modified: Feb. 11, 2025

Richard speaks of how his mother, Hoshiko Yamaguchi, began planting the seeds that would eventually become the Yamaguchi Bonsai Nursery.

To read the transcripts, please view the original item.
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Interviewee: Richard Yamaguchi

Relationship to Nikkei gardeners: His mother, Hoshiko Yamaguchi, started the Yamaguchi Bonsai Nursery

Date: July 17, 2007

Location: Japanese American National Museum

Brief Summary: Richard speaks of how his mother began planting the seeds that would eventually become the Yamaguchi Bonsai Nursery

Transcription
My name is Richard Yamaguchi. I'm from - I actually live in Clovis, California. The nursery, the Yamaguchi Bonsai Nursery is in Sanger. And, that was started in 1956 when my mother went back to Japan to visit her parents. My grandfather had sent the tane, or the seeds, over from Owaji Island off of Osaka, Japan and those seeds - my mother started planting them in 1956 and that's how the nursery got started. To this day, we still have the nursery.

See part 2 and part 3 of this interview.

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This interview was conducted as part of the Opening Day activities for the exhibition Landscaping America: Beyond the Japanese Garden.


Awaji Island bonsai California gardening horticulture Hoshiko Yamaguchi Hyogo Prefecture interviews Japanese American National Museum Japanese American National Museum (organization) Landscaping America (exhibition) nurseries (horticulture) Richard Yamaguchi Sanger seeds trees Yamaguchi Bonsai Nursery

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Mie Gakure: Discovering Nikkei Gardeners and their Communities
The concept of "mie gakure"—or "hidden and seen"—is a central design principle in Japanese stroll gardens, where the path curves, and elements are arranged so that new, unexpected views are discovered at each turn. Inspired by the persona…
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