The Mountain, the Tree, and the Man - Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Brooklyn Botanic Garden Brooklyn Botanic Garden
The Mountain, the Tree, and the Man

The Mountain, the Tree, and the Man

Exhibits

June 14–October 19, 2025
Conservatory Gallery

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In this manga exhibit created by artist Misako Rocks! for the collection’s anniversary, a bonsai shares memories of its life and the story of BBG’s first bonsai curator, Frank Okamura. Free with Garden admission.

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An woman with long hair and glasses smiles widely showing peace signs with both hands

Misako Rocks! is a Japanese manga comic artist whose work has been published worldwide. She is the creator of several graphic novels including Bounce Back, No Such Thing as Perfect, and the forthcoming Sew Totally Nala (Bounce Back Vol. 3), set for release this fall, all published by Feiwel & Friends at Macmillan. Bounce Back was recognized as one of 2021’s Best Graphic Novels for Children by the American Library Association.

She has appeared on NBC’s Today Show as well as numerous Japanese television and radio programs, and been featured in documentaries by the BBC and NHK exploring her life as a comic book creator.

Misako recently launched an activity book series titled How to Draw Kawaii Manga with Misako Rocks, inviting readers into the bubbly, adorable world of kawaii-style manga. She also teaches manga drawing to kids through her vibrant online community at misakorocks.com.

Also On View

  • A sepia-toned frame of video shows an Asian man using a chopstick to move a branch of a tiny tree.

    Bonsai: The Art of Training Dwarfed Potted Trees

    Video, 1971, 21 min. (looped)

    Frank Okamura was responsible for the Garden’s bonsai collection from 1947 until his retirement in 1981. Under his leadership, Brooklyn Botanic Garden was at the forefront of popularizing bonsai for indoors and out. Realizing that many bonsai lovers were eager to grow trees in their homes, Okamura started to experiment with nontraditional species suitable for indoor cultivation in the 1950s and taught widely on the subject, as seen in this instructional video created by Brooklyn Botanic Garden in 1971.

Bonsai Collection Centennial

Bonsai 100th Anniversary Badge

Brooklyn Botanic Garden is celebrating 100 years of its incredible Bonsai Collection with an expanded display of bonsai specimens along with new interpretive signage plus special tours, exhibits, and workshops. Celebrate a century of tiny trees with us!

Support

Leadership support for Art and Exhibitions at BBG is generously provided by the Heidi Nitze Foundation.

Image, top of page: Misako Rocks!