1974 -- ABS President Dorothy Young addressed the Japan Bonsai Society at a special dinner in Tokyo held to celebrate the publication of the beautiful commemorative volume honoring the Matsudaira family.  Kaname Kato, the noted horticulturalist, translated her talk into Japanese.  Young talked of the history of the American Bonsai Society, of its plans for a symposium in Tokyo for its tenth anniversary in 1977, of the different kinds of trees being used as bonsai in the U.S., and of the ABS's full support for the proposed gift of bonsai from the Japanese to the American people for the Bicentennial.  ("Call Me Ms. President,"  Journal, ABS, Vol. 8, No. 2, Summer 1974,  pp. 45-46)  SEE ALSO: Jul 9, Jul 21

1923 -- Kenko Rokkaku was born near Kanuma City, Japan.  [He would become a promoter of Satsuki (azalea) bonsai, including being the publisher of Japan's only magazine exclusively devoted to that subject, as well as the monthly Wildflowers and Alpine Plants.] ("Biography of Mr. Kenko Rokkaku" by Bill Spencer, Bonsai, BCI, May/June 1986, pg. 17)    SEE ALSO:  Mar 2

1955 -- French dramatist, poet, and diplomat Paul Claudel died in Paris.  (He had been born on Aug. 6, 1868 in Villeneuve-sur-Fère, into a family of farmers and gentry.  Having spent his first years in Champagne, he studied at the lycée of Bar-le-Duc and at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand in 1881, when his parents moved to Paris.  Claudel was prolific, authoring many plays, essays, poems and Christian apologetics.  He had many admirers and detractors.  He made no concessions to the public.  Claudel's writings deal largely with man's inner spirit, and reveal the influence of his profound and mystical Catholicism.  In his theatrical works Claudel combined extensive use of symbols—primarily religious—and exotic backgrounds with the techniques of pantomime, ballet, music, and the cinema.  He was a diplomat from 1893 to 1936, and many of his works were written during this time, mirroring his global experiences.  He was first vice-consul in New York (April 1893), and later in Boston (December 1893).  He was French consul in China (1895-1909), in Prague (December 1909), Frankfurt am Main (October 1911), Hamburg (October 1913), ministre plénipotentiaire in Rio de Janeiro (1916), Copenhagen (1920), ambassador in Tokyo (1922-1928), Washington, DC (1928-1933), and Brussels (1933-1936).  In 1936 he retired to his château in Brangues (Isère).  During the 1940's Claudel opposed the Nazis, writing a triumphal ode to Charles DeGaul.  He was elected at the Académie française in 1946.  His poetry, at once devout and extraordinarily erotic, was then widely read.  His plays, many long considered unstageable, were finally being performed to enthusiastic audiences.  Said to be a misogynist, an anti-semite and an Islamophobe, he was also regarded as one of the 20th century's greatest dramatists.  At his death his mental powers were as keen as ever until the very end and, some say, his high temper and animosities stayed strong as well.)  (Ever since his death his reputation would fluctuate violently.  In France, the nature, meaning and acceptability of his work remain the subject of debate.  In the UK, however, he has largely slipped from view.
     Why this is important to us: During his one earlier time as French Ambassador to Japan, he was profoundly moved when confronted by a bonsai forest of perhaps half a dozen trident maples.  He was seated upright and lost deep in contemplation in front of a maple tree treated as a bonsai.  "Looking at this deciduous tree," he explained, when asked why, "I cannot help imagining myself in a maple grove.  I feel as if I were hearing the chirrups of birds in the branches."  His appreciative words must have been ample reward for the proud owner of the maple.  (“Paul Claudel,” Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Claudel ; “Defender of the Faith: Paul Claudel,” http://ever-green.addr.com/claudel-1.html ; Ashley, Tim  “Evil Genius, ” http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/features/story/0,11710,1282765,00.html ; “Claudel, Paul,” http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/c/claudel.as ; Kobayashi, Norio  Bonsai -- Miniature Potted Trees (Tokyo: Japan Travel Bureau, Inc.; 1951, 1962, 1966), pg. 16, with a color photo (first frontispiece) of this very same bonsai.  Claudel apparently voiced his thoughts to Kobayashi -- who was the owner?; Scarrow, E.A.  "Bonsai," Bonsai, BCI, Vol. VII, No. 10 , December/January 1968, pg. 7; Samson, Isabelle and Rémy Samson  The Creative Art of Bonsai (London: Ward Lock Ltd.; 1986), pg. 9)