Stories

Takeshi Moro (Art and Art History) opened his photography exhibition at the Military Intelligence Service Historic Learning Center in Presidio, San Francisco.

Benign Neglect features sixty bonsai photographs that were cultivated by Issei (first generation) and Kibei (born in the U.S., educated in Japan, and later returned to the U.S.) Japanese Americans. These bonsai were started after the Japanese Americans returned from WWII American concentration camps. Some of the plants were likely started from seeds.

Dennis Makishima, a bonsai and aesthetic pruning master, inherited the bonsai after the initial creators of the bonsai passed away. He took care of them for over thirty years, trying to honor the style envisioned by the original practitioners. In 2022, Dennis retired and donated his entire bonsai collection. The bonsai have likely dispersed all over the state and country, flourishing, just like so many other aspects of Japanese American culture. Moro photographed the bonsai before they dispersed and published a book to go along with the exhibition.

Military Intelligence Service Historic Learning Center
640 Mason Street, San Francisco, CA 94129
Open on Saturday and Sunday 1pm-5pm
September 16th - October 22nd, 2023