Education and Early Work

In 1938 Kan enrolled at UC Berkeley to study Landscape design and Architecture. He worked on building the Japanese gardens at the World’s Fairs in both New York and San Francisco. After the close of the Golden Gate International Exposition in 1939, Kan raised money to transport rocks from the Exposition’s Japanese Pavilion Garden in San Francisco to UC Berkeley’s Botanical Garden, where he incorporated them into the design for the Sansuien Garden pool (see photographs and site plan). That same year, he applied for an apprenticeship with Frank Lloyd Wright at Taliesin (see letter).

Japanese Pavilion, Golden Gate International Exposition
Japanese Pavilion, Golden Gate International Exposition
Japanese Pavilion, Golden Gate International Exposition
Japanese Pavilion, Golden Gate International Exposition
Program for the Official Opening of the Japanese Pavilion New York World's Fair
Registration Circular for January 1939
Report Card
University of California, Berkeley Botanical Garden
University of California, Berkeley Botanical Garden
University of California, Berkeley Botanical Garden
University of California, Berkeley Botanical Garden
University of California, Berkeley Botanical Garden
University of California, Berkeley Botanical Garden
University of California, Berkeley Botanical Garden
University of California, Berkeley Botanical Garden
University of California, Berkeley Botanical Garden
University of California, Berkeley Botanical Garden
University of California, Berkeley Botanical Garden
UC Berkeley Botanical Garden
UC Berkeley Botanical Garden
Pacific Telephone Directory
Letter to Eugene Masselink
Education and Early Work