Interviews

1. Learning how to be a gardener

2. How to be a successful gardener

3. Natural look of Japanese-style gardening

4. Enjoying gardening work

5. Difficulties for gardeners in England

6. Designing a Japanese-style garden in England

7. Important features of Japanese gardens

8. Hiring a helper for gardening route after stroke

9. Incorporating native plants into Japanese-style gardens

10. Japanese-style gardening to keep clients happy

11. Changing demography of gardeners in Southern California

Kitashima,Lou

Sansei Gardener

Enjoying gardening work

It’s great. It’s a great life and I’ve been gardening for…geez…before the war and after I got out of the Air Force. I’ve been doing it ever since. And I enjoy it. I enjoy working with my hands. My brother’s an architect. My brother told my dad, “Let Lou do gardening because he loves to work with his hands.” So that’s what my dad did. So then he sent my brother to USC, become an architect.

That’s…I would say that’s a whole life story of myself. I really enjoyed talking with you. I’m sure other people have almost similar stories. If you talk to the old gardeners, the Nisei gardeners, their stories would be similar to what I told you about gardening. Life is just too short to not enjoy what you’re doing.

agriculture gardeners gardening

Date: December 1, 2005

Location: California, US

Interviewer: Daniel Lee

Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum

Interviewee Bio

Lou Kitashima is a Sansei gardener from Los Angeles. As a child, he and his family were incarcerated at the Gila River concentration camp in Arizona during World War II. After the war, the family returned to Los Angeles where his father was a gardener. As a young man, he was stationed overseas in England with the Air Force's Strategic Air Command. While in England, he met and married an English woman. After his service was over, he returned to the U.S. with his wife and had three children.

Upon his return, he entered the gardening profession and became known as the "Gardener for the Stars," working for celebrities such as Rod Stewart, Sylvester Stallone, and Ann Margaret. He later returned with his family to England where he started a gardening business. He later returned to the U.S. although his family remained in England.

He resumed his gardening business in Los Angeles and also spent 17 years as the Head Gardener for West LA College before retiring in 2003. He continues to work for a few customers even now to keep active. (July 7, 2007)