HISTORIC JAPANESE AMERICAN BONSAI

Benign Neglect: Historic Japanese American Bonsai features sixty bonsai grown mostly from seed by the Issei (first-generation Japanese Americans) post-WWII. These bonsai were left in the care of renowned aesthetic pruner Dennis Makishima, who described the collection as being one of “benign neglect” as the Issei became too busy rebuilding their lives after the war, and gave minimal attention to the bonsai. Over time, the bonsai started to form unusual visual features, and their aesthetic characteristics are not typical of contemporary bonsai practices. The photographs in Benign Neglect are the last time the bonsai are represented together, as Dennis donated his entire collection upon his retirement in 2021.

KQED review here

September 16th – October 22nd, 2023

Conversation and Book Signing
w/ Dennis Makishima and Kenny Murakami
September 24, 1:30pm

Military Intelligence Service Historic Learning Center
640 Mason Street, San Francisco, CA 94129

Open on weekends from Noon to 5 pm
General Admission is $10, Veterans and children under 12 are freeVery limited parking; consider arriving via Muni 30

For tickets (free)
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/benign-neglect-tickets-698183203757
pass: takeshi

July 2023, English, 4.25 x 5.5 in, 28 pages, color, softcover
Design: Sming Sming Books

Practicing Non-Violent Protest is a zine of impromptu performances by Takeshi Moro’s daughters between 2016-2020. 

June 2023, English, 9 x 12 in, 72 pages, softcover, full color, spiral bound with metal rod, rope, and pin
Edition of 300
Design: Sming Sming Books

With texts by Kenny Murakami and Takeshi Moro

In Benign Neglect: Historic Japanese American Bonsai, artist and photographer Takeshi Moro documents sixty bonsai grown by seed by the Issei (first-generation Japanese Americans) post-WWII. These bonsai were left in the care of renowned aesthetic pruner Dennis Makishima, who described the collection as being one of “benign neglect” as the Issei became too busy rebuilding their lives after the war, and gave minimal attention to the bonsai. Over time, the bonsai started to form odd visual features, and their aesthetic characteristics are not typical of, or even desired by, traditional or contemporary Japanese bonsai practices. Kenny Murakami, former owner of Moraga Garden Center, writes in the foreword, “The story of these pines is a story of a journey, not a journey of distance, but a journey of time . . . They represent a period of transition for Japanese Americans, from a time of great personal and institutional racism, to a time of greater yet not quite full acceptance by American society.” Takeshi Moro’s photographs in Benign Neglect are the last time the bonsai are represented together, as Dennis donated his entire collection upon his retirement in 2021.