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1942 -- Felix Benjamin Laughlin was born. [He would be educated at the University of Tennessee College of Law.
In 1967 he would achieve the J.D. degree and membership in the
Order of the Coif honor society. Over the next few years he would serve in several senior
positions in the chief counsel's office in the National Office of the Internal Revenue Service where he would have policy
and technical responsibility for corporate transactions and tax
accounting issues. In 1971 Laughlin would achieve the LL.M. degree from the
University of Georgetown College of Law.
The following year, he would be living in a claustrophobic apartment next to the garbage chute on New York's
Upper East Side. He would now be working seven days a week as a corporate tax attorney at a
large law firm in New York. Sensing that he would need an activity outside of the daily grind of corporate tax -- perhaps one that would alleviate his
increasing stress -- his wife would come home one day with a bonsai. At the time he would know nothing of the miniature trees but would be hooked
immediately. He would learn this blend of art and horticulture in his tiny New York apartment, where he would water his growing collection of
plants when they needed to be watered (which was daily). In the winter months, when they would be dormant and need to be in a dark, cold place,
Laughlin would use every inch of his refrigerator to store the plants. His wife would like this because it'd mean that the couple ate out all the time.
As the years went by, his collection would grow, as did his love of bonsai. In 1977 he would move to Washington, D.C. to open the office there
for Dewey Ballantine LLP and continue his work as a corporate tax attorney. Of
course, he would bring his trees with him. He would become involved with the
National Bonsai & Penjing Museum, the world's
most comprehensive museum featuring both the Japanese art of bonsai and its Chinese counterpart, penjing. From that involvement he would help establish
the National Bonsai Foundation in 1982, and go on to become the third President of the
NBF in 1996. In 2001 in Munich, Germany for the Fourth World Bonsai
Convention, Laughlin would become the new World Bonsai Friendship Federation chairman, as he was at the time president of the
North American Bonsai Foundation, which was chosen to host the Fifth World
Bonsai Convention in 2005. Upon retirement from the tax world, he and wife Betty Gayle would move with his trees in 2011 from Washington, DC to
Asheville, North Carolina. He would then become a Member of the Board for the North Carolina Arboretum.]
(Felix B. Laughlin at Caplin & Drysdale; Laughlin, Felix,
"Finding Balance With Bonsai Trees", Huffington Post, May 3, 2012;
History & Milestones, National Bonsai Foundation;
The History of the World Bonsai Friendship Federation (WBFF);
EXPO 2011 in NC - Felix Laughlin,
Walter Pall's Travelogues, Oct 13, 2011) SEE ALSO: Oct 8
1952 -- Daniel Joseph Chiplis was born in Indianapolis, IN. [His involvement in bonsai would begin when was 17. Later, he would study with international teachers while pursuing horticulture degrees which would lead him to work for the National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. and then the Smithsonian Institution.] (SSN Master File by Number) SEE ALSO: Sep 29 1981 -- In order to promote the Chinese penjing art and bring together professionals, enlarge the team of amateurs, make spiritual contributions to the traditional art form and befriend other international sister associations so as to improve skills and exchange experiences, the China Flower and Penjing Association was formed. [The association would be run by a management committee and an executive management committee. Committee members with academic achievements would be recommended and elected by the other organizations to hold office. The first management committee would be formed in 1990, with Professor Wang Ju Yuan working as chairman of the association. A new management committee would be formed in 1995. International activities would include anticipation in or holding of the Asia Pacific Penjing and Suiseki Conventions and Exhibitions. Other activities organized would be penjing study classes (three times), theoretical discourses on penjing (twice), and a symposium on penjing publications, as well as the regular organizing and experiencing of exchange parties, workshops, group studies and specific talks, etc. There would be over 80 organizational members of this body spread over the nation by 2004.] ("The Organization and Activity of Penjing in China," by Prof. Su Xuehen, WBFF Director of China Region, World Bonsai Friendship Federation, http://www.bonsai-wbff.org/rchina.shtml, accessed 05/31/04.) 1981 -- The First Japan Grandview Bonsai Exhibition (Nippon Bonsai Taikan Ten) began today and would run until the 8th. It was advertised as the largest indoor display in bonsai history. [This would be another of the exhibits held for hobbyists although many of the better trees would have been styled and maintained by bonsai professionals. Moved slightly to be held in late November, this largest late-season show would feature bonsai, satsuki azaleas, and suiseki. The Nippon Bonsai Association, the Taikan Ten Organizing Committee, the City of Kyoto, and the local Kyoto Television and Newspaper companies would jointly sponsor this exhibit. It would gain popularity and notice in part due to the widely publicized bonsai contest sponsored by Japan Airlines (JAL). This would be a worldwide contest where individuals submit photographs of their best bonsai for judging by an expert panel. The winners of this annual contest would be flown to Kyoto where the photographs of their prize-winning bonsai are displayed at the Taikan Ten exhibition. The Taikan Ten, held in the Kansai region, Kyoto, would have a slightly different mix of trees than would the February Kokufu Ten, held in the Kanto region, Tokyo.] ("The Second Grandview Bonsai Exhibition" by William N. Valavanis, International Bonsai, IBA, 1983/No. 1, pp. 12-13; "The Best Bonsai and Suiseki Exhibits in Japan" by Thomas S. Elias, http://members.iinet.net.au/%7Ejold/bonsai-in-asia/japanbonsaievents.html, originally in the May/June 2002 issue of Bonsai Clubs International's Bonsai Magazine.) |
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1978 -- The Montreal Bonsai Society (La Société de Bonsaï de Montréal) was formed.
[Although initially having only a few members, the general public would
become interested in the art because of a 1980 Floralies
Internationales held in Montreal which included a presentation to the
city of an important collection of penjing and bonsai from the Chinese
and Japanese governments. The society 's first public display
would be made in the spring of 1982. Development would quickly
progress after that, and by its tenth anniversary it would host the
international congress of the American Bonsai Society's Congress,
July 6-10, 1988. In January 1991 it would be renamed the la
Société de bonsaï et penjing de
Montréal. By the group's 25th anniversary it would have
had over 2,000 members with 300 current active members, continuing to
welcome bonsai masters from all over the world to come and teach.]
("Bientôt 25 ans...,"
http://www.bonsaimontreal.com/societe/historique.asp ; Easterbrook, David "Montreal 1988,"
Bonsai Journal, ABS, Vol. 21, No. 4, Winter 1987, pg. 9)
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| 6 | 1900 -- Zeko Nakamura was born in Japan. [He would go on to become the world's expert on very small bonsai, mame.] (Personal e-mail from Yukio Murata to RJB, Apr. 22, 2006) SEE ALSO: Dec 9 |
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1989 -- Zeko Nakamura died. (Born in 1900, he had been a Zen Buddhist acolyte as a child,
but changed his work and became a comic actor c.1920 when he and his friends established a comic
troupe named "Casino Follies." He became a comedian and supporting actor in movies and television,
and a small bonsai (mame) expert. Following the
Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 and still
a bachelor, he found life so dreary in a wide stretch of burned ruins that he followed a friend's
advice and placed bonsai of maple and pine trees on the roof of his boarding house. He lost some
500 pots during WWII by air raids and fire. In the late 1960s he held a very successful special
show of "bonsai and pots" in Tokyo with Mrs. Teruko Tsuji, one of the foremost ceramists
in Japan. (One result of this was an increase of women growing mame bonsai, formerly an
exclusively male hobby.) About this time he authored two books in Japanese on his 40-year experience
in growing small bonsai. Shufunotomo Co., Ltd. brought out an English translation in 1973 as
Bonsai Miniatures Quick & Easy. One of his first maples he bought back 45 years later
and it was a happy reunion: "Each bonsai has its 'face' that I can recognize as easily as my 'child'
which I brought up." Articles by Nakamura were published in the U.S. in both of the
Brooklyn Botanic Garden handbooks on bonsai. A color movie was made featuring him working
on his bonsai. He enlisted the help of his entire family, including his 92-year-old mother, to water
his mame when he was away on tour. When he was in town, he returned to the house
between performances to tend the trees. Thirty-four members of the U.S. tour to Bonsai
Expo '70 visited his home and collection that March. His limited English proved no problem
as "there were only my friends and I enjoying bonsai." He kept between one and two thousand
small bonsai in his garden of 200 sq meters. At the time he was touring Japan as chairman of
the All Japan Small-Bonsai Society. He accepted an invitation to visit Australia around age
70 to be the patron (advisor) for their Mame Bonsai Association. A small part of a group of
17 Americans on a bonsai study tour in November 1971 visited Nakamura. Coincidentally, shortly
after this Nakamura took ill and was
confined to his bed during the first half of 1972, but then returned home from the hospital and was
said to be recovering nicely. He continued to receive visitors for years afterwards.)
"Zeko Nakamura with two of his collected bonsai. The Dandelion is in seed head and is
planted in an Australian container.
The small willow came from a movie location in the mountains and is planted in a freeform 'stone'-like container. Photograph was made prior to 1972 and came from Zeko's collection." (Bonsai Journal, ABS, Spring 1983, pg. 2) 
"This is a 'beauty spot' for a miniature Tokonoma, and follows great Japanese Tradition"
(Personal e-mail from Yukio Murata to RJB, Apr. 22, 2006; Bonsai Journal, ABS, Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 9, 15;
Vol. 3, No. 3, pg. 16; Vol. 4, No. 1, pg. 16 has a short article and 3 b&w photos about bonsai
and pot exhibit; Vol. 4, No. 3, pg. 17; "The Art of Bonsai" by Jean O'Connell, Science Digest,
March 1970, pg. 37; "Mame Bonsai Societies," Bonsai Magazine, BCI, Vol. X, No. 6, July/August 1971,
pg. 14, "free translation by T. Usami from a news paper article of a Tokyo Shinbun"; "A visit with
Zeko Nakamura and his trees" by Donald M. Vining, Horticulture, July 1972, pp. 32-35; "Zeko Nakamura
Is Ill," Bonsai Magazine, BCI, Vol. XI, No. 5, June 1972, pg. 7; "Mr. Zeko Nakamura Is Recuperating!,"
Vol. XI, No. 7, September 1972, pg. 11, with b&w photos by Dave Bartruff on pp. 9 and 11; See also
movie credits from the
1930s-60s. It is not known if any of his mame ever appeared with him.)
(Bonsai Magazine, BCI, Vol. XI, No. 8, October 1972, cover and pg. 2) 1990 -- The first four postage stamps and a souvenir sheet of the series "Bonsai" were issued by the Maldive Islands to commemorate Expo '90, International Garden and Greenery Exposition in Osaka, Japan. [The balance would be issued on Jan. 29, 1991] SEE ALSO: Jan 23, Jan 29, Feb 3, Feb 16, Mar 1, Mar 27, Mar 31, Apr 3, Apr 6, Apr 18, May 6, May 29, Jun 16, Jul 20, Aug 20, Aug 22, Sep 22, Oct 1, Oct 4. 2011 -- Willi Benz died at age 80. (As long as his health allowed he worked untiringly for the spread of the arts of Bonsai and Suiseki. His commitment received proper recognition. Japan awarded him the "Order of the Rising Sun," the highest Japanese order which can be awarded to foreigners.) (Posting by Walter Pall to Internet Bonsai Club on 10 Dec 2011 listing death date as "yesterday," http://ibonsaiclub.forumotion.com/t8588-willi-benz-has-left-us#89466; EBA website gave date as 10 Dec, http://www.ebabonsai.com, accessed 14 Dec; personal e-mail from Rob Kempinski to RJB on 14 Dec 2011 clarifying date: "According to the e-mail I received from his wife it was Dec 9, 2011.") SEE ALSO: Feb 15 |
| 10 | 1874 -- Yorinaga Matsudaira was born in Japan. [He would go on to become one of the most well-known growers and collectors of miniature bonsai, in addition to being elected the first president of the Kokufu Bonsai Association.] (Personal e-mail from Yukio Murata to RJB, Apr. 22, 2006) SEE ALSO: Sep 13 |