Collection Guide
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Domoto, Kaneji Collection
2017.12
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Table of contents
Description
The Kaneji Domoto Collection spans the years 1928-2002 and includes personal, professional, and project records. This collection
is organized into five series: Personal Papers, Professional Papers, Frank Lloyd Wright (Taliesin) Papers, Project Records
(Architecture), and Project Records (Landscape Architecture).
Background
Kaneji (Kan) Domoto was born on November 5th, 1912 in Oakland, CA. Raised by a family of nursery workers, Kan Domoto worked
in his family nursery from a young age, ultimately influencing his career in landscape architecture. The Domoto Brothers nursery,
based in Oakland, was renowned throughout the Bay Area and is credited as the first nursery in Northern California to commercially
produce camellias, wisterias, azaleas, and lilies imported from Japan. In the late 1920s to early 1930s Kan studied physics
and math at Stanford University, but dropped out after two years to help his family with the nursery during the Great Depression.
The economic recession resulted in the Domoto family filing for bankruptcy, and the nursery was foreclosed upon and seized.
Extent
20 Linear Feet:
Restrictions
All requests for permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from materials in the collection should be discussed with the
Curator.
Availability
Collection is open for research. Many of the Environmental Design Archives collections are stored offsite and advance notice
is required for use.