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Mie Gakure: Discovering Nikkei Gardeners and their Communities

Tak, Herb, Sam & Mako Omoto; gardeners; Los Angeles & Seattle (Omoto brothers)


Published: Feb. 8, 2025 Modified: Feb. 11, 2025

Tak, Herb, Sam, and Mako Omoto are four Kibei brothers, all who worked as full-time gardeners with their own routes. One is based in Seattle, Washington. The other three work/worked in the Los Angeles, California area.

Their personal story is shared by their niece Vicky Murakami-Tsuda. View the original item to read more.
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Pictured are my mother’s four brothers: Tak, Herb, Sam, and Mako Omoto. All four are/were Kibei gardeners with their own routes. One uncle lives in Seattle. The other three had/have routes in the Los Angeles area. This photo looks like it’s probably from the early 1970s, probably in Los Angeles.

My grandmother had eight children—four boys & four girls. Of the two girls, two of their husbands also worked in gardening, making six gardeners in the immediate family. If you look at any of their yards, although they’re all fairly neatly kept, none of them are very elaborate. My Uncle Mako said once that he worked hard all day caring for other people’s yards, so he’d rather spend his free time doing other things.

- Vicky Murakami-Tsuda, Los Angeles, California


brothers California families gardeners Southern California uncles

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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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