Discover Nikkei Logo

https://www.discovernikkei.org/en/nikkeialbum/items/2093/

Mie Gakure: Discovering Nikkei Gardeners and their Communities

Takashige & Kimiko Kikuchi - Part 2; nursery owners; Culver City, CA (Landscaping America Opening: Steven Kikuchi - Part 2)


Published: Sept. 18, 2007 Modified: Feb. 11, 2025

Steven Kikuchi remembers the heat and hard work involved in gardening with his father.

To read the transcripts, please view the original item.
--
Interviewee: Steven Kikuchi

Relationship to Nikkei gardeners: His parents, Takashige and Kimiko Kikuchi, owned a retail nursery called TK Garden Supply. His father also was a full-time gardener.

Date: July 17, 2007

Location: Japanese American National Museum

Brief Description: Steven remembers the heat and hard work involved in gardening with his father.

Transcription
I have a brother and a sister and I’m the youngest. Probably like a lot of Sansei children, we hated gardening, especially in Los Angeles. It was very hot, a lot of hard work, long hours. And then, when we weren’t helping out gardening, we also had to help out in the nursery as well. So, it was a lot of hard work. And, I think it was only it only into my latter years of life that I appreciated the hard work that my father did that was able to support us as a family.

See part 1, part 3 and part 4 of this interview.
____________________________________________

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


California Culver City families gardening horticulture interviews Japanese American National Museum Japanese American National Museum (organization) Landscaping America (exhibition) nurseries (horticulture) Steven Kikuchi

Part of this album

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…
View Album
Discover Nikkei brandmark

The new Nikkei Album!

We’re excited to share our redesigned Nikkei Album. It’s a work-in-progress, so please have patience as we add more features and functionality. It will be an exciting tool for our community to easily share photos, videos, and text! Learn More
Discover Nikkei brandmark

New Site Design

See exciting new changes to Discover Nikkei. Find out what’s new and what’s coming soon! Learn More

Discover Nikkei Updates

SUMMER INTERNSHIP
Discover Nikkei is hosting a summer intern through the Nikkei Community Internship. College students, apply by April 4!
SUPPORT THE PROJECT
Discover Nikkei’s 20 for 20 campaign celebrates our first 20 years and jumpstarts our next 20. Learn more and donate!
PROJECT UPDATES
New Site Design
See exciting new changes to Discover Nikkei. Find out what’s new and what’s coming soon!