Watch | Licensing |
Interviewee: Chris Komai
Relationship to Nikkei gardeners: His father, Kahn Komai, was a nursery owner
Date: July 17, 2007
Location: Japanese American National Museum
Brief Summary: Chris discusses how his father first learned about the art of Bonsai, a talent that would later enable him to establish the Komai Bonsai Nursery.
Transcription
Originally, my father had learned the art of Bonsai, or miniature trees, from my mother's uncle. My mother's uncle was a man named Frank Nagata, and Frank Nagata was among those who started the original California Bonsai Society in the early 1950's. When our family had to go to camp in Amache, Colorado, Frank Nagata was there and I think that's when he talked to my father about the idea of teaching Bonsai to Americans. In order to even make this happen, though, my father had to run a retail nursery for many many years, before he was able to build a classroom on his property and begin getting clients.
Click here for part 2 of this interview >>
____________________________________________
This interview was conducted as part of the Opening Day activities for the exhibition Landscaping America: Beyond the Japanese Garden.
eishida — Última actualización May 24 2012 7:13 a.m.
Part of these albums
Mie Gakure: Discovering Nikkei Gardeners and their Communitieseditor |