Barred from leasing farmland in the early 1900s, many Japanese immigrants traveled from California’s countryside to the cities and turned to another kind of farming—gardening.

This profession sustained Japanese Americans when they returned from concentration camps and also Japan after the war. A display, co-sponsored by the Southern California Gardeners’ Federation, surveys the gardeners. 100 years of contributions to create a “greener tomorrow” for all Japanese Americans and the larger Southern California community. The 45th Convention of the Southern California Gardeners’ Federation will take place at the New Otani Hotel in Little Tokyo in October 2000.