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1908 -- Paul Bourne was born in Seattle, Washington. [He would
be exposed during his youth to the art of bonsai through a Japanese neighbor
and on his subsequent trips to China and Japan in the 1930s. In 1948
he would take up residence at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers,
Georgia. Fifteen years later he would begin puttering around making
bonsai. Thus would begin a pioneering journey that strongly influenced
the growth of bonsai throughout the southeastern U.S. and elsewhere.]
("Eulogy To A Bonsai Friend" by Jorge Lucero, Bonsai, BCI, September/October 1995, Vol. XXXIV, No. 5, pg. 51; Bonsai by the Monastery website: http://www.bonsaimonk.com/frpaul.html ) SEE ALSO: Jul 10 1996 -- The National Bonsai Foundation dedicated The Mary E. Mrose International Pavilion and the Dr. Yee-Sun Wu Chinese Garden Pavilion, marking the completion of the major pavilions of The National Bonsai and Penjing Museum at the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. The 4,900 square foot Chinese Pavilion and Garden has a removable roof which will permit year-round exhibits and eliminate the need to move plants indoors during winter months. The traditional tiled formal entrance gate was fashioned in China and installed by seven artisans from Shanghai. The 4,391 square foot International Pavilion includes a traditional Japanese tokonoma, a Chinese Scholar's Studio, and a special place of honor as might be found in a typical American home. Additional features include a research center and information gallery, glass display cases for the National Collection of Viewing Stones, and a Special Exhibits Wing with an atrium for the formal display of bonsai and other related artefacts. The two new pavilions increase by 50 percent the formal bonsai and display area at the Arboretum. ("From the President..." by Martin Klein, Journal, ABS, Summer 1996, pg. 47; "National Bonsai and Penjing Museum Now Complete," Bonsai, BCI, July/August 1996, pp. 18-23) SEE ALSO: Mar 21, Mar 27, May 17, Jun 9, Aug 26, Sep 30, Oct 1, Oct 15
2003 -- Marion Gyllenswan of Nanuet, New York died. (As a friend and student of
Yuji Yoshimura for over fifteen years,
her talents as a bonsai instructor were in great demand. She had been
an organizer, officer and director of both the Bonsai Society of Greater
New York and the American Bonsai Society. She was the latter's treasurer
from its founding in 1967 for two years, then the Business/Advertising
Manager of its
Journal
through 1971. She was very active in
promoting the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum at the National Arboretum
in Washington, D.C. She was the Chairman and first president of the
National Bonsai Foundation, a very hard worker for this institution.
And Volume 3, Tape #6 of the
Masters Bonsai Techniques
videotape series featured Marion demonstrating three styles of Rock Planting Bonsai.) 
Marion Gyllenswan
(Internet Bonsai Club-posted e-mail from William N. Valavanis, May 2, 2003;
Journal, ABS, Vol. 3, No. 2, pg. 2; "Minutes of First
Meeting of Board of Directors of the National Bonsai Foundation, Incorporated,
November 27, 1982," photocopy given by Felix Laughlin to RJB May 2002;
http://torontobonsai.org/Journal/Journal.2001/jun.2001/review.video5_6.htm
)
SEE ALSO: Sep 24
(BCI Bonsai, May/June 1986, pg. 14) |
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1963 -- The Pennsylvania Bonsai Society was founded. [One of
the oldest such clubs in the U.S., it would have active members from
Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. It would maintain a close
working relationship with the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and,
because of this relationship, the Philadelphia area would have its
first bonsai exhibit in 1964. The club would continue to have a
presence at the well-known Philadelphia Flower Show. Early
members of PBS would be instrumental in forming the national group, The
American Bonsai Society (ABS), in 1967. PBS would host two ABS national
symposia in Philadelphia, in 1969 and 1976.]
("Who We Are: PBS History,
http://www.pabonsai.org/History.html
)
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1904 -- Some 560 plants, all imported from Japan, were put on the auction
block over a three day period starting on this date. The sale was
sponsored by the S.M. Japanese Nursery Co. of West Orange, New Jersey and
took place in New York City. A 55-page catalogue was produced for the event
and included captioned illustrations for such trees as Item #340: "
Chabo-hiba
[Chamaecyparis obtusa, hinoki cypress]
. One of the most imposing-looking
specimens in this collection. This grand tree once belonged to the
famous temple Hongauji, Kyoto, the ancient Capitol of the Japanese Empire.
It has been said that owing to its most attractive shape, this specimen
was admired by almost a million people, who made the pilgrimage to this
noted temple of Buddha. It was trained by the several master gardeners
who gave their services to the temple. Trained in the standard Jikka
style. Note: its most graceful branches extended into both sides.
About 100 years old; height, 2 feet, 6 inches. With Chinese pottery
pot on stand." Of the plants auctioned, 135 were these compact hinoki cypress,
59 were maples [Acer species], 38 were Larix kaempferi, 28 were Japanese white pine
[Pinus parviflora], 20 were Chinese junipers [Juniperus chinensis],
9 were Podocarpus species, and 2 were sago palms [Cycas revoluta].
(
Early American Bonsai: The Larz Anderson Collection of the Arnold Arboretum
by Peter Del Tredici; 1989, pp. 5, 19. Photo of #340 on latter page; the
catalogue's front cover is reproduced as the cover of this book; "From Temple to Terrace,
The Remarkable Journey of the Oldest Bonsai in America" by Peter Del Tredici (Jamaica, MA:
Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University: Arnoldia 64/2-3, 2006), pp. 13, 30. The catalogue's
front cover is in color on pg. 12)
1987 -- Shimpaku collector Tetsuya Nakamura died in a fall on Mt. Myouji. (He had been leader of the Itoigawa Collectors' Union which was formed in 1979, and began to emphasize safety as a priority. This organization paid a fee for permission to enter the mountains to the Kotaki Production and Forest Union and its dozen or so members were allowed to enter between April 12 and June 15. Nakamura was a sensible and cautious man who took great care to see that collectors were not injured. He had retired once in 1983. Four years later, after praying at his household shrine as usual, he went to the mountain with his Eisen, a device with claws to put over boots to prevent slipping on ice.) There was still snow in the sunken areas of the rocks. He probably fell because he had changed to a new Eisen with which he was unaccustomed. Naturally dwarfed shimpaku junipers (Juniperus chinensis sargentii) were found growing in the mountains in Niigata Prefecture near the western coast of Honshu. Called Itoigawa Shimpaku in reference to the town there where they were bought and sold after being collected, these specimens have been highly prized by bonsai enthusiasts for a century. ("The Shimpaku Juniper: Its Secret History, Chapter VIII: Supply Diminished, Dangers Increased" and "Chapter IV: Famous Collector, Tahei Suzuki" by Kazuki Yamanaka, Kindai Bonsai Magazine, June 2003, translated by Ikuyo Shisaka for World Bonsai Friendship Federation, http://www.bonsai-wbff.org/shimpaku/shim8.shtml and http://www.bonsai-wbff.org/shimpaku/shim4.shtml ) SEE ALSO: Jun 4 |
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1911 -- Frank Masao Okamura was born in Hiroshima. [He would move to California as a
13-year-old to join his father, who had gone there in search of work. Frank would then
live with a British family while attending high school and go back to Japan briefly to marry.
He and his wife, Toshimi Nishikubo, would return to America to set up a small gardening business
in the Los Angeles area. The business would be lost in 1942 when he, his wife and their two
young daughters, Mihoko and Reiko, would be sent sent to the Manzanar Relocation Camp in the California desert.
The family would live there for three years and eight months, until the war ended. Eager to
leave California after their release, the family would move to New York, where Frank would first take jobs
waiting tables and setting pins in a bowling alley. He would finally be hired by the Brooklyn
Botanic Garden in 1947 to tend its Hill and Pond Japanese garden, which had been vandalized during the war and was in poor
shape. Frank would slowly nurse it back to health. He also would become involved with
the garden's small bonsai collection, which had been in existence for 20 years but had never been
fully appreciated by the staff until American soldiers began returning from Japan with souvenir trees.
Many of the veterans would come to the garden for advice on caring for their bonsai, and their questions
would often be directed to Frank. Eventually, the garden would arrange for him to begin teaching
classes. Though never formally trained in the art of bonsai, Frank would be knowledgeable and
skilled. He taught his many thousands of students that practicing bonsai required patience, sensitivity to nature
and five fundamental qualities: humanity, justice, courtesy, wisdom, and fidelity. Fearlessness might
be added to the list: he would be remembered virtually hanging off precipices in the
Catskills Mountains to get saplings he thought would make good bonsai trees. Frank created countless
examples of bonsai, both at his home and at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, on whose staff he would be until 1981.
Under his care the BBG's collection of bonsai would grow in size and importance. He would lecture nationwide,
often exchanging his services with a local club for a tour of the neighboring areas. He would participate in such
conventions as BCI Cleveland, OH 1971; ABS Norfolk, VA 1971; ABS Kansas City, MO 1975; and the joint ABS-BCI New York
City 1979, where he would headline with John Naka and Yuji Yoshimura. He would write articles on the subject
for the World Book Encyclopedia and Kodansha's Encyclopedia of Japan, and do the ten drawings in the chapter
"Illustrated Guide to Styles" in the BBG's Bonsai For Indoors (1976). (He would even be a guest on the TV
program "What's My Line" in the mid-1960s.) Japanese Emperor Hirohito would award
Frank an Order of the Sacred Treasure medal in 1981 for his work in furthering knowledge of bonsai. Frank's
wife would die in 1987, and he would die at age 94 on Jan. 16, 2006.]
"Indoor Bonsai with Frank Okamura at the show
by the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, NY (photo by Phil Tacktill, NY)" (BCI Bonsai, May 1976, pg. 114) 
"Three bonsai masters enjoying the banquet at the Mid-Atlantic Bonsai Festival in April
(Obituary by Botanic Gardens Conservation International, Jan 18, 2006,
http://www.bgci.org/worldwide/news/0157/;
Designing Dwarfs in the Desert by Robert J. Baran, pg. 32; Outstanding American Bonsai by Randy Clark,
pg. 34) SEE ALSO: Jan 26, May 26, May 29, Jul 10, Jul 16, Aug 3.
1983 in North Bergen, New Jersey. Left to right -- Yuji Yoshimura, Frank Okamura, Japanese gardener & bonsai curator at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and John Y. Naka from Los Angeles, California" (International Bonsai, IBA, 1998, No. 1,pg. 38) |
| 6 | 1991 -- Grenada Grenadines (northern portion of Grenada) issued a set of 8 postage stamps plus four souvenir sheets to commemorate Phila Nippon '91. Walt Disney characters demonstrate Japanese arts, crafts and industries. One of the souvenir stamps, which shows Mickey Mouse as a tea ceremony master, has a small, low and wide bonsai as a decoration just below and to the left of the center of the souvenir sheet. SEE ALSO: Jan 29, Feb 3, Feb 16, Mar 1, Mar 27, Mar 31, Apr 3, Apr 6, Apr 18, May 29, Jun 16, Jul 20, Aug 20, Aug 22, Sep 22, Oct 1, Oct 4, Dec 9. |
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2005 -- Yee-Sun Wu died at the Hong Kong Sanatorium and
Hospital. (Wu had been born in 1905 in Shunde City, Guangdong
Province, China. His fascination with penjing began when he was a
small boy. His father, Wu York-Yu, and grandfather, Wu Yee-Hong,
were both enthusiastic practitioners of the "grow and clip" method of
training penjing, which came to be known as the "Lingnan School" --
established by Yee-Hong. [This method, inspired by the contorted
trees shown in early Chinese paintings, seeks to give strength and an
ancient appearance to a dwarfed tree by allowing its branches to grow
and gain caliper and then cutting them back. The method requires
great patience, dedication, careful attention to detail, and a lighter,
more natural approach to the caring of these plants. The grow and
clip technique contrasts with the technique associated with Japanese
bonsai of wrapping branches with wire to bend them to the desired
shape.] The family suffered through a number of disasters and, as
the oldest son, Yee-Sun left Guandong Province to seek work in Hong
Kong to help support his family. In the midst of the depression
in 1933 he began the Wing Lung Money Exchange. By 1949 Wu' s family
had moved to what was then the British colony of Hong Kong, safe from
the destruction that would result in the mid-1960s during the Chinese
[Mainland] Cultural Revolution. As surviving members of the
aristocratic society Wu and some friends were the repository of the
original aristocratic penjing. Wu's small bank grew into
the highly respected Wing Lung Bank with multi-story buildings in
Central Hong Kong and Kowloon. When his health suddenly declined,
he was forced to rest and he rekindled his love of penjing. He
called himself "Man Lung" which means "scholar-farmer." In 1967,
he and his friends established Man Lung Garden as a place to meet, to
discuss, study, and exhibit. Two years later, he published and distributed
Man Lung Garden Artistic Pot Plants, the definitive book
on Chinese penjing of the Lingnan style, "fearing that the Chinese art
of training pot plants might [otherwise] someday be lost." In
1974 the book was enlarged as
Man Lung Artistic Pot Plants
with the addition of the history and
evolution of artistic pot plants, notes from presentations, and over
100 additional photographs. Some 10,000 copies were donated to
leading libraries, universities, and bonsai lovers all over the world
to commemorate Wu's retirement from the chairmanship of
Wing Lung
Bank. (Son Michael Po-Ko, who took over the reins of the company, had
studied in New Brunswick and lived in Toronto with his wife and their
two children who were born there. Yee-sun himself had previously
visited Canada in 1950 and 1967.) Dr. Wu continued the family
tradition and was the foremost proponent of the Lingnan School.
Over the years, his personal collection in Hong Kong grew to nearly 400
penjing. Many of these he donated to public institutions in
Europe and North America, including the Seventh University of Paris
(France, 5 trees, c.1982),
Montreal Botanical Garden
(Canada, 30 trees, 1985, +20 more in 1987), and the Sun Yat Sen Park in Vancouver
(Canada). Other trees have gone to the Botanical Park of the
Nanjing Institute of the Chinese Academy of Science, the
Hong Kong Baptist College
(2000) and the Former
Governor House of the Hong Kong Government.
All of these penjing exhibitions are open to the public.
(Ironically, in the 1970s Wu had offered the U.S. 50 of his penjing on
the condition that the usual importation procedure of bare-rooting and
fumigation be foregone, as this would have been fatal to these very old
trees. Unfortunately, the U.S. Department of Agriculture refused
to make an exception to its rule even for such a unique offer -- even
though the Bicentennial trees from Japan had been excepted earlier.
Those
trees, however, did yield 23 identifiable pests, so who could say what
exotics might lurk in Wu's tropical plants? After a
few years of negotiation, the Canadian Department of Agriculture did
issue a special phyosanitary certificate for Wu's trees, although two
of his magnificent Japanese black pines were refused to be
imported. The U.S would receive 24 of Wu's trees in 1986 to begin
a two-year quarantine before being put on exhibit.) In addition,
Wu would occasionally host individuals
and groups from around the world who travelled to see his garden on the
beautifully raised terrace fronting his house, which itself was built
on a steep mountainside overlooking Hong Kong harbor. Three
full-time gardeners were employed at his home. The
original Man Lung Garden was forced to close in 1978 when the land was
required for a railway station. In 1990, Wu was honored with a
Fuku-Bonsai International Honor Roll award. By at least the
mid-1990s, he was an inpatient at the hospital where he received
constant medical care. He no longer enjoyed the retired life of a
scholar-farmer working with his penjing in his garden each day. A
new Man Lung Garden was opened at Hong Kong Baptist University in the
year 2000 and penjing lovers can gather to discuss and exhibit and the
public can enjoy beautiful miniature trees. A website (
http://www.manlungpenjing.org)
has begun to put online his fine works, as well as those of other
individuals with the objective of continuing the tradition of
discussion and exchange of information. Wu instructed his son
Norman Po-Man (one of 13 offspring) to take color
photographs and publish a hardcover volume as a souvenir for friends
who share the same interest and who have loved and supported him.
Thus, in 2002, a comprehensive collection of penjing in full color called
Man Lung Penjing
was published. It serves as a commemorative album celebrating over seventy years of
study and as a record of his creative style. The presence of the
Wu Chinese Garden Pavilion (1996) at the National Bonsai and Penjing
Museum on the grounds of the U.S. National Arboretum testifies to both
Dr. Wu's wish to preserve China's seminal role in developing the art
form called penjing by the Chinese and bonsai by the Japanese and to
his vision that in the 21st century the leading country in the art of
penjing and bonsai will be neither China nor Japan but the United States.
Because of his great contribution towards the art of Penjing, Dr. Wu is acclaimed
internationally as 'Pen Sheng' -- the Sage in the art of Penjing.)
Wu Yee-Sun. (Bonsai Magazine, BCI, Vol. XII, No. 5, June 1973, pg. 27) 
"(L. to R.) Alfred Chui, cargo representative for Canadian Pacific Air in Hong Kong; Chen Ming-lun,
Wu Yee-sun's private secretary,
("Dr. Yee-Sun Wu Biography" by Felix B. Laughlin, August 1995, Updated June 17, 2001,
http://www.bonsai-nbf.org/china/wubio.htm
; "How the Chinese Collection Was Established" by Frederic L. Ballard, September
1985, Updated October 4, 1999,
http://www.bonsai-nbf.org/china/assembly.htm
;"Contribution of Dr. Wu Yee-sun to the Art of Penjing,"
http://www.hkbu.edu.hk/spotlight/content/penjing_contribution2.htm
, "YEE-SUN WU, THE SPIRIT OF MAN LUNG PENJING!,"
http://www.fukubonsai.com/5a16.html,
which erroneously gives his birthyear as 1904 and the second edition date as 1976);
Easterbrook, David "Montreal 1988,"
Journal, ABS, Vol. 21, No. 4, Winter 1987, pp. 9-12; Davis, Rosalie H. "A Gift from the East,"
Horticulture,
August 1987, pp. 48-53; "The Tiny Bonsai Trees of Montreal are the Best
in the West -- And That's Certainly Not Going Out on a Limb,"
People Weekly, Apr. 22, 1985, pp. 85-86) SEE ALSO: Mar 16, Mar 27, May 2, Jul 7, Dec 14
Mr. Wu, donor of 30 Penjings of great value; Pierre Bourque, director of the Montreal Botanical Garden; and David Esterbrook, Bonsai specialist of the Botanical Garden and President of the Montreal Bonsai Society." (Bonsai Magazine, BCI, Vol. XXIV, No. 1, January/February 1985, pg. 19, photograph provided by Wilma Swain) |
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1916 -- During the three-day spring flower show of the Massachusetts Horticultural
Society beginning today, Larz Anderson put his collection of dwarfed trees on
public display, apparently for the first time since it arrived in the U.S. from Japan
three years earlier. [The collection would be
awarded first prize and a silver medal.] ("From Temple to Terrace,
The Remarkable Journey of the Oldest Bonsai in America" by Peter Del Tredici
(Jamaica, MA: Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University: Arnoldia 64/2-3, 2006), pg. 22)
SEE ALSO: Apr 13, Sep 20
1988 -- The National Bonsai Collection of Scotland formally opened on a sunny day as Provost Eleanor McLaughlan of Edingurgh cut a raffia strand. In or around 1957, when master butcher Bill Graham of Maybole in the Robert Burns country of Ayrshire retired, he turned his very active mind to a subject which had always fascinated him: the ancient Eastern Art of Bonsai. Books and advice at the time were in very short supply, but gradually over the next several years he developed his knowledge and collection of a staggering 300 trees, often from first principles and often using essentially native species. His unique collection had many visitors. When Bill died in 1983, the trees' care and maintenance posed a major dilemma. Put into the hands of the Local Authority Parks Department of Kyle and Carrick so that some of the trees could continue to be displayed at their Annual Ayr Flower Show (one of the largest horticultural shows in Scotland), the "Graham Trees" were formally and legally gifted by Mrs. Graham in November 1984 to the Scottish Bonsai Association (SBA). This group was initially led by Craig Coussins, who invited Peter Adams to view the trees and offer advice on their development. Many of the trees, however, did not survive the necessary re-potting and rescue. The SBA had begun the process of setting up the first ever National Collection of Bonsai in Britain the year before. In 1986 the SBA was given license to occupy two areas in the gardens at Malleny House, Balerno on the outskirts of Edinburgh -- the Principal Greenhouse and a Shelter -- and the organization became a Charitable Trust. The collection of approximately 36 surviving trees plus a few in the National Collection site itself was awarded a Large Gold Medal that year at the annual Ingliston Royal Highland Show. In early 1988 the first of what would be several pleas went out for additional trees. Alan Roger contributed a 200-year old Chamaecyparis obtusa "nana" in an equally venerable pot to grace the occasion of the formal opening. [Additional trees would be chosen to be accepted into the Collection which features pines, beeches, larches, oaks and other species peculiar to Scotland, as well as a few of the more exotic varieities and the handsome gift of a persimmon from Xian, China, Edinburgh's twin city. In March 2001 the Collection would be the subject of a BBC2tv Programme in the Curious Gardeners' Series.] 
Bill Graham (©2002 Scottish Bonsai Association)
("The National Bonsai Collection of Scotland,"
http://www.scottishbonsai.org/National%20Collection.htm
) SEE ALSO: Nov 22
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1910 -- The Japan-British Exhibition opened in London. [By its
close on Oct. 29, some 8.3 million people would
have toured its grounds and seen one of its most notable exhibits -- the collection of "pigmy trees" presented by the
Yokohama Nursery Company. The 2,000 plants which ranged from age 25 to 300 years included Thuja obtusa,
Pinus pentaphylla, P. massoniana, Larix leptolepsis, Juniperus procumbens, J. rigida,
Tsuga Sieboldii, Cryptomeria japonica, Acers, Quercus dentata, Styrax japonica,
Lagerstömia indica, Punica granatum, Cerasus, Wistaria, Crataegus cuneata,
Zelkova keakii, Euonymus alatus, Hedera, and Bambusa.]
"Pigmy Trees" Exhibited by the Yokohama Nursery Company 
Thuja obtusa, reportedly 125 years old, was awarded a silver cup as the finest example of a pigmy tree. 1929 -- Mikio Oshima was born in Okayama, Japan. [He would become interested in bonsai in 1947 while as an engineer with a construction company. A dozen years later during a job transfer to Nagoya he would study under the well-known teacher, Saichi Suzuki, who lived nearby. Like his mentor, Mikio would specialize in pines, his favorite variety also being the "Zuisho," dwarf Japanese five-needle. (His son would complete a five-year apprenticeship under Saichi's son.) Mikio would author many articles, promote the art on television in his homeland, and act as a consultant on design and training techiques. He would teach year round in his Okayama garden studio, having several part-time apprentices assist him with his ongoing series of experiments on his many trees, whether it be to determine the best way to propagate a variety or the best day in the year to bud prune Japanese black pine bonsai.] 
"Mikio Oshima watering Japanese black pine bonsai."
("Mikio Oshima" by William N. Valavanis,
International Bonsai, IBA, 1983/No. 1, pp. 16-17; Mikio Oshima biography,
International Bonsai, IBA, 1986/No. 2, pg. 13) SEE ALSO: Jan 28
(Photo by W.N. Valavanis) (International Bonsai, 1983/No. 1, pg. 16) 1972 -- The California Bonsai Society held its 15th Annual Exhibition beginning today and running through the 28th. This was in conjunction with the 50th Anniversary of the Museum of Science and Technology which sponsors the event. There was a special feature showing of loaned bonsai from the Japanese Imperial Household. [In conjunction with the show, on May 20 the County of Los Angeles would award John Naka a commendation "for his outstanding contributions to the Japanese-American friendship, by providing the people of Los Angeles and the Nation with the ability to understand and appreciate the beauty and significance of Bonsai Culture."] (Bonsai, BCI, December 1971, pg. 4; Bonsai, BCI, July/August 1978, pg. 197) SEE ALSO Mar 3, Apr 10. |
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1915 -- Tomekichi Katō, an outstanding master and second-generation
proprietor of the Mansei-En Bonsai Garden, welcomed his firstborn son,
Saburō,
into the world. [The child would grow up assisting his father in
clearing the forest for the Omiya Bonsai Village in the mid 1920s, help
develop the techniques for successful cultivation of Ezo spruce (
Picea glehni
) as bonsai in the 1930s, and, after the elder's death in 1946,
manage the family business as a prelude to his eventual international influence
on the art.]
("Saburo Kato: The Gentle Spirit of International Bonsai and Peace" by David W. Fukumoto,
Bonsai Journal,
American Bonsai Society, Vol. 22, No. 4, Winter 1988, pg. 6.) SEE ALSO: Apr 19, Oct 15, Nov 3, Nov 20
1950 -- Brussel Martin was born. [When he would be five years old, he'd be instantly captivated by several species of bonsai his father would bring back from a California business trip. As a teenager, he would begin to seriously study the art of bonsai. What started as an artistic endeavor in his parents' backyard would quickly grow into a business when, in the 1970s, Brussel would found a small nursery (originally in the Memphis suburb of Germantown), begin selling bonsai through the mail, and travel to shows across the country. In the early 1980s he would be making annual buying trips to Asia, supplying his larger nursery in Olive Branch, MS. (This is some twenty minutes south of Memphis, which is in southwestern Tennessee with a Federal Express airport hub.) Beginning in 1987 he would host a Spring Rendezvous with various national and internaltion teachers conducting the workshops. Brussel also occasionally would lecture and demonstrate at various club meetings and other bonsai venues. In 1990 he would donate a Trident maple forest (Acer buergerianum) to the U.S. National Arboretum North America Collection. Brussel's Bonsai Nursery would become the largest importer and grower of bonsai in America on 18 acres with offices, retail store, bonsai library, display gardens, greenhouses, packing facility and shipping area. About 90 percent of the nursery's business would be conducted nationally over the Internet and would have very little walk-in business. Pots, tools and accessories would complement the trees ranging from novice starter material to master specimens. See also this Art of Bonsai Project Interview.] 
Brussel Martin, 061206.
("Brussel's Bonsai Nursery,"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmyRdflQu-g;
Covington, Jimmie "Brussel's Nursery is place for bonsai," May 25, 2008,
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/may/25/bonsai-to-behold-brussels-nursery-is-place-for/?feedback=1;
"The Story of Brussel's Bonsai Nursery," "Product Description,"
http://www.amazon.com/Brussels-Japanese-Red-Maple-Bonsai/dp/B0000DGG55;
"Welcome," "SeaClaire Enterprises,"
http://www.seaclaire.com/;
Shaw, Jess "The History of Brussels Bonsai," article cube
http://www.articlecube.com/Article/The-History-Of-Brussels-Bonsai/388948.)
SEE ALSO: May 23
(Photo by Walter Pall, courtesy of Alan Walker, 05/11/07)
1958 --
Salvatore Liporace
was born in Belvedere Marittimo (Cosenza), southwest Italy
(just above the "toe" of the "boot." [He would establish a school
entirely devoted to bonsai, the Studio Botanico in Milan, in 1986 and it
would become well known as a center of excellence in Europe. His
students, devoted to him and to his philosophy of "becoming one" with the
tree, would successfully compete in the European Bonsai Association New
Talent Contest and the BCI Ben Oki International Design Award competition.
Salvatore would teach bonsai on radio and television, perform demonstrations
and hold workshops -- even at the University of Architecture in Milan and
the University "La Sapienze" in Rome. Contributing articles to European
and American bonsai publications, he would also be a founding member and
board member of the Collegio Nazionale Istruttori Bonsai e Suiseki (IBS).]
"Incoming BCI President Donna S. Banting.
Outgoing President, Jean C. Smith" (Bonsai Magazine, BCI, Vol. XXV, No. 6, November/December 1986, pg. 19) 
Jean Smith, 07/05/2002.
(Fabian, Lynn "Jean Carroll Smith 1925 - 2009", Bonsai Societies of Florida, May 18, 2009,
http://www.bonsai-bsf.com/news/Jean_Carroll_Smith/)
SEE ALSO: Jan 10
(Photo courtesy of Alan Walker, 05/11/07) |
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2004 -- Wilma Swain died. (She was from Washington state where
she graduated with a Masters in Science in Botany. She married a
Canadian biochemist, Lyle A, Swain, and lived in Prince Rupert and
later Vancouver. Wilma loved to travel and studied bonsai for a
year in Japan and China. She became active in the Toronto Bonsai
Society and taught bonsai at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre in
Toronto. She was employed as a junior high school librarian
She was elected to the board of directors of Bonsai Clubs International
in the 1970s. Wilma then served as its recording secretary, 3rd
vice-president (1977-78), 2nd v-p (1979-80), 1st v-p (1981) and
president (1982-83).)
Wilma Swain (Bonsai Magazine, BCI, January/February 1984, pg. 19)
NBF Reception to Honor John Y. Naka, March 7, 1984,
("Bonsai News & Notes," submitted by June Campbell of Canada,
Bonsai,
BCI, Vol. 43, No. 3, July/August/September 2004, pg. 46; "BCI'S Canadian
Vice President," Bonsai, BCI, Vol. XVI, No. 8, October 1977, pg. 240)
front row L to R: Wilma Swain, John Naka, Marion Gyllenswann Bonsai Magazine, BCI, May/June 1984, pg. 27) |
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1961 -- This year's
Chelsea Flower Show
opened to the public today
(to Fellows and Associates of the Royal Horticultural Society yesterday)
and ran until the 19th. Six bonsai trees were imported especially
from Japan for the purpose of being exhibited for the first time at this
famous event in London. [The general public would be so interested
in the trees that Ian Melville Clark, who organized the exhibit, would
arrange a meeting for all interested parties. As a result of this
meeting, the Bonsai Group -- later renamed Bonsai Kai
-- of the Japan Society of London would be formed. From that beginning, the group would exhibit
at the Chelsea Show every year. At the 1973 and 1974 shows the group's
displays would win the top award of a gold medal.]
("Bonsai at the Chelsea Show," Bonsai Journal, ABS, Vol. 9, No. 3, Fall 1975,
pp. 64-65 with three b&w photos from 1974 Show; private e-mail to RJB
from Clare Greene of the RHS, Sept. 19, 2003) SEE ALSO: Nov 6
2002 -- The Katō Stroll Garden was officially dedicated as part of the International Scholarly Symposium on Bonsai and Viewing Stones, which would run through the 19th at the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum at Washington, D.C.'s National Arboretum. The garden, most prominently colored by maples and blooming azaleas, honored the five generations of bonsai enthusiasts of the Katō family in Japan who have done so much to promote the art throughout the world. [Some 161 persons from the U.S., Japan, Canada, Italy, and the Netherlands would participate in the Symposium, which would be rescheduled from the end of Oct. 2001 due to the events of September 11. The Symposium was generously underwritten by Mary E. Mrose.] (RJB and program page from the International Scholarly Symposium on Bonsai and Viewing Stones, May 18, 2002, Washington, D.C.) SEE ALSO: Mar 27, May 2, Jun 9, Aug 26, Sep 30, Oct 1, Oct 15 |
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1993 -- Katherine (Kathy) Shaner of San Jose, CA became the first non-Japanese citizen and the first woman to be awarded
a certificate of Bonsai Master (sensei) by the Nihon Bonsai Kyodo Kumiai. Kathy received one of only three
certificates awarded that year. (She originally had wanted to improve her home landscape and, not finding a course
on Japanese Gardens, registered in 1983 for a local adult education course in bonsai. Through those sessions she
located the Midori Bonsai Club. She and her husband Alex
went on to join ten California clubs to learn under a variety of masters and teachers. The
Golden State Bonsai Federation's then fledging intern education
program made it possible for Kathy, beginning on June 26, 1989, to apprentice with Yasuo Mitsuya, one of Japan's outstanding
artists and highly regarded there as a master of Gendai (contemporary form) bonsai training. Mitsuya-san
had been the very first student of Toshinori Suzuki -- and thus Toshinori's father and teacher Saichi also was involved in
his education. Excerpts from the diary Kathy kept while at the
Toyohashi-City, Aichi
Prefecture nursery, Tokai-en, were published in issues of the GSBF Golden Statements and ABS Bonsai Journal (Eight parts from
Spring 1991 through Winter 1992). Toyohashi is about 148 miles (239 km) west-southwest of Tokyo and 94 miles (152 km)
east-southeast of Kyoto. Activities would include yard work, tree work on mostly conifers (especially black pines and needle junipers, tosho,
sensei's favorite) and varying with the season, going to clients to work on trees, moving trees before approaching typhoons,
prepping trees and stands for shows and taking same to shows, sightseeing, studying old books and magazines; some cooking,
housework, puppies, and various persons' health issues.)
[Returning to the U.S., she would become a sought-after speaker and demonstrator. She would use her knowledge and ability to find the "soul of the tree" (as Mr. Mitsuya would put it) to teach her students in a clear and understandable way. In her own words, to "be able to read the storyline of the tree," and if you understand the story [of how nature shapes the tree], you can get the tree to develop along the lines of that story. Her many bonsai activities would include conducting seminars, full-day workshops, critiques, lecturing on-site and working on private collections throughout the United States. Kathy would be the resident bonsai master at the El Dorado Bonsai School which would open in early 1999. Sitting among the trees on a beautiful 52-acre campus in Placerville, California, this would be the first bonsai school in the United States to feature Japanese-accredited bonsai master instructors. She would also be the curator of the 150-tree Golden State Bonsai Collection-North at Lake Merritt in Oakland, California which would open in the fall of 1999. She would be a featured speaker at the 2004 BCI Convention, the 5th World Bonsai Convention in 2005, the 1st U.S. National Exhibition in 2008, and a guest artist each year at the annual Rendezvous held by Brussel's Bonsai Nursery. Internationally-renown bonsai master Yasuo Mitsuya, teacher to many students in California and other states such as Kenji Miyata, Dennis Makishima, Cheryl Manning, Boon Manakitivipart, David DeGroot, and Gordon Deeg, would occasionally teach in the Golden State alongside Kathy.] 
Kathy Shaner with a Boxwood, 06/18/2004.
(Bonsai Today, No. 27, pg. 4; "Profiles Of The Stars At IBC '94, Part II," Bonsai Magazine, BCI, Vol. XXXIII, No.
4, July/August 1994, pg. 16; Shaner, Kathy "Diary From Japan," "Editor's Note" and "About the Author," Bonsai Journal, ABS, Vol. 25, No.
1, Spring 1991, pp. 18, 21; conversation with Kathy by RJB 06/19/2010, Rocky Mountain Bonsai Society show;
"Kathy Shaner," 5th World Bonsai Convention,
http://www.bonsai-wbff.org/wbc5/presenters/shaner.htm;
"GSBF Bonsai Garden at Lake Merritt,"
http://www.gsbf-bonsai.org/lake-merritt/Mitsuya_atBGLM.htm;
"Special Educational Programs," "Carolina Bonsai Expo,"
http://www.ncarboretum.org/plan-a-visit/event-calendar/carolina-bonsai-expo)
SEE ALSO: Jan 28, May 20, May 23, Oct 11, Nov 6(Photo courtesy of Alan Walker, 05/11/07) 2004 -- Grandmaster John Yoshio Naka died at the age of 89. |
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1916 -- Miyagawa (Makuzu) Kōzan died in Dangozaka, Tokyo. (He had
been born in Kyoto into a potter's family as the 4th son of Nagaheiei (Makuzu
Chōzō) on Jan. 6, 1842. He came from a long line of potters based
in Kyoto and took over the family business in 1860, at the age of eighteen when
both his father and older brother died within a short period. In
1870 Kōzan moved to Yokohama and the following year he opened the
Majuzu Kiln for his workshop. At the time, china
and porcelain were leading export items. Products designed for
export were being created in areas throughout Japan in keeping with
the national policy of "enriching the nation and strengthening the
army" to transform Japan from an isolated feudal state to a modern
nation by the acquisition of modern industrial technology from the
West, the promotion of Japanese culture abroad, and the encouragement
of international commerce. Kōzan
seems to have arrived at his artistic height during the 1880s.
In the earlier days he managed successfully to cater to new foreign tastes
using largely traditional methods, and then when export figures
plummetted by the early 1880s he turned back to the domestic market and
took advantage of newly imported Western technology to create novel
styles of high-fired, glazed porcelain designed to appeal to the
changing tastes of the Western market. He transferred his Makuzu
Kiln to Hannosuke in 1888. In 1896 he was appointed as an
Imperial Artist. Kōzan
received many awards throughout the Meiji Period. At the 1876
Philadelphia Centennial Exposition he participated for the first time
on the international arena and he received a bronze medal. At the
1878 in Paris International Exposition, he was given the gold; 1879
Sydney, Australia, the silver; 1880 Melbourne, the bronze; 1883 Amsterdam, the
silver; 1888 Barcelona, the silver; 1889 Paris, the gold; 1893 Chicago,
the gold; 1894 San Francisco, the gold; 1900 Paris,
grand prix
; and the 1904 St. Louis, the honorary grand prize. He also
exhibited at the 1905 Liège; the 1909 Seattle; the 1910
Japan-British; and the 1915 San Francisco. [cf.
Expositions
known to have had bonsai present] Plus he participated at a dozen
major exhibitions in Japan and served on a number of societies and
associations to further various arts. He was one of the few
Japanese potters to escape the
first-time-ever criticism in 1900 Paris, which was a watershed for
Japanese ceramics. Art Nouveau was then the new influential design
movement in Europe which advocated singleness of design and unity of
vessel shape and decoration. This stimulated calls for improvement in
design quality within the Japanese ceramic industry and an intense
internal debate over the role and function of ceramics. A pioneer
in the field of ceramic design, Kōzan was stimulated by the Paris
Exposition to extend the creative boundaries of his ware even further. He
continued to produce works of art until his death. Pieces signed "Makuzu
Kōzan" in various hands seem to have been made right up until the
first decades of the 20th century. In the world of pottery, Kōzan
led the field from the start of the Meiji Period to the very end (1868 - 1912).)
[Hanzan (Kōzan's stepson and nephew, born Hannosuke) would take charge of the studio in 1917, although he had much influenced the output from circa 1895. Hanzan would have two sons: Katsunosuke (aka Kōzan III), who would do little to drive the studio forward between 1940 and his death during the bombing raid on Yokohama in 1945 (which would also destroy his kiln and showroom and kill his family and employees), and Tomonosuke (aka Kōzan IV, younger brother to Kōzan III), who would revive the kiln and head the studio until his death in 1959. At that time the Makuzu workshop would close forever.] 
Why this is important to us: One of the greatest potters of the Meiji Era, Kōzan was also renowned in certain circles for his bonsai pots, but he sold them under very special conditions. He only made these pots on order, and only if the buyer promised not to keep any bonsai in them. As a result there were very few bonsai pots made by this remarkable potter, and only a very few exist today. (Bonsai Today, No. 20, pg. 64 which lists name as Shinkatsu Kazan; correction in Bonsai Today, No. 22, pg. 4; "Japanese 'Makuzu Kozan' piece", http://www.gotheborg.com/index1.htm?http://www.gotheborg.com/qa/duckvase.shtml ; Kazuo Seki and Kazuo Yoshida "An Outline of Miyagawa Kozan and his Works," http://tanutech.com/japan/kozan.html ; Pollard, Clare Master Potter of Meiji Japan, Makuzu Kōzan (1842-1916) and his Workshop (Oxford University Press, 2002), pp. 4, 77, 80, 87, 116, 146-150; image from pg. 2) 1984 -- The first episode of a 13-part series "The Art of Chinese Bonsai in Taiwan" was broadcast on public television there. The narration was provided by Prof. Amy Liang and the series was originally shown over a four month period. Part of a government sponsored national plant-beautification project, the series was re-telecast due to an overwhelming viewer response. (The Living Art of Bonsai by Amy Liang, Sterling, 1992, pg. 106) SEE ALSO: Mar 4, Jun 1 1991 -- Bonsai master Saichi Suzuki died in Okazaki, Japan. He was one of the foremost authorities on pine bonsai and introduced the "Zuisho" Japanese five-needle pine. (Valavanis, William N. "Through the Pine Needles," International Bonsai, International Bonsai Arboretum, 1991/No. 3, pg. 3) SEE ALSO: Jan 28, Jan Also, May 14 |
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1975 -- The Massachusetts Horticultural Society in Boston presented
John Naka with their Thomas Roland Medal for his unstinting and
generous efforts for over 25 years to spread the knowledge of bonsai
throughout the United States and for bringing this field of
horticulture to a superior degree of art and refinement.
("John Yoshio Naka: The Life and Times of the Bonsai Master" by Thomas S. Elias,
Bonsai, BCI, Vol. 44, No. 1, January/February/March 2005, pg. 13) SEE ALSO: Oct 5
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1987 -- The first three-day Spring Rendezvous was held at
Brussel's Bonsai Nursery in Olive Branch, MS.
Ben Oki was the workshop instructor. [Brussel Martin's annual Rendezvous would then be held on the Memorial Day week-end and
eventually have several national and international-class instructors for multiple workshops at each event. Workshop
material would be chosen from plants in the over 100,000 sq. ft. (after 2005) of computer-monitored greenhouse space on
the property watered by their own wells.] ("Brussel's Bonsai Nursery," http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmyRdflQu-g; Covington, Jimmie "Brussel's Nursery is place for bonsai," May 25, 2008, http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/may/25/bonsai-to-behold-brussels-nursery-is-place-for/?feedback=1; Steve Alford, Pikes Peak Bonsai Society participant at 2010 Rendezvous in conversation with RJB 12 June 2010.) SEE ALSO: May 15 |
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2007 -- Yuzy Sato died at the age of 85. (After Yuzy was interned (1942) in the
Jerome,
Arkansas relocation camp, he studied horticulture and received his B.A. in that field from
Colorado A&M. Yuzy and Toy were married in 1948 and had 4 children. Yuzy became
interested in stones when he joined the Palos Verdes Gem and Mineral Society
in 1958 and was its president the next year. He went on monthly collecting trips although at that time his
interest was primarily lapidary. He was accomplished at gemstone faceting and had a large
collection of favorites. Toy and Yuzy's interest in viewing stones soon followed.
He and Toy were founding members of California Aiseki Kai.
Yuzy opened a wholesale nursery in LA County. The nursery business may have been his vocation
but stones were his avocation. Stone-collecting gave him a great deal of pleasure after he
retired. He had a complete workshop where he made all the daiza for his and Toy's
extensive collection of stones. The Sato's have a stone in
the National Collection in Washington, D.C.)
(Obituary in California Aiseki Kai's newsletter, Vol. 25, Issue 6, June 2007, pg. 7, http://www.aisekikai.com/resources/june+newsletter+07.pdf.) SEE ALSO: May 2, Dec 28 |
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1990 -- The two day first International Bonsai Symposium opened in
Prague, Czech Republic. Pius Notter and Harry Tomlinson, among others,
demonstrated for two hundred and five delegates from ten European nations.
("The Bonsai Trees of Nowadays" by Blahoslav Lukavec,
Bonsai, BCI, March/April 1991, pp. 3-5.)
2006 -- Japanese master Shinji Ogasawara died. (Ogasawara was born in Hokkaido in 1918, and his family moved to Tokyo during his childhood. At age 15 he was sent out to serve as an apprentice for Tomekichi Kato's Mansei-en bonsai nursery in Omiya. He learned his bonsai fundamentals from Tomekichi and also from the Kato sons, Saburo and Hideo. After serving five years of military service, in 1945 Ogasawara returned to bonsai as a livelihood by making "house calls" to his bonsai customer's dwellings to wire, prune and shape trees for a fee. By 1948, he had established his own bonsai nursery called Seifu-En ("Green Wind") at Takeyama near the ocean. A decade later Ogasawara was elected Director of the Nippon Bonsai Kumiai (Bonsai Nurserymen's Union). Four years after this he moved his nursery Seifu-En to Omiya since the ocean air and strong winds at the Tateyama location were proving unfavorable to good bonsai growing and maintenance. From 1979 to 1984, Ogasawara served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the prestigious Nippon Bonsai Kyodo Kumiai (Bonsai Nurserymen's Cooperative). Elected Standing Director of the Nippon Bonsai Kyokai, he joined the editorial committee of Bonsai Shunju, its monthly magazine in 1982. Seven years later he became Chief Editor of that periodical. In April 1982, the California Bonsai Society's Silver Anniversary was celebrated and Ogasawara used one of Harry Hirao's famous California junipers for his demonstration there. Two years later for a joint BCI-ABS convention in Seattle, WA, Ogasawara was the featured demonstrator, creating a semi-cascade five-needle pine. In the four years since 1986, Ogasawara was invited four times to demonstrate in Italy at the request of Luigi Crespi. That year also saw Ogasawara and John Naka making a demonstration tour of Barcelona and Valencia, Spain. And Ogasawara demonstrated in Pakistan as a guest of the Karachi Bonsai Association in 1987.) 
"Mr. Shinji Ogasawara of Japan, doing a little grooming at the
(Personal e-mail to RJB from Bill
Valavanis, 20 Jun 2006; Tsukiyama, Ted T. "A Bonsai Portrait of Shinji Ogasawara,"
Bonsai, BCI, Vol. XXIX, No. 3, May/June 1990, pg. 24.)
Japanese Embassy [in Washington, D.C.]." (Bonsai Magazine, BCI, Vol. XXV, No. 6, November/December 1986, pg. 19) 2006 -- Master Xu Xiaobai of the Yangzhou school of penjing died at age 97. (Personal e-mail to RJB from Lindsay Farr, 14 Jun 2006, which gives age as 98; screen shot below from episode 3 of World of Bonsai series sent to RJB by Farr, 4 Dec 2006, portrait taken 3 years earlier) SEE ALSO: Mar 15, Apr 20 
|
| 26 | 1971 -- The premier of "Bonsai -- the Art of Training Dwarfed Potted Trees" was held at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. The new color-sound film was produced, directed, and photographed by Ian Clark for the BBG and was the Garden's third educational film. Frank Okamura is the uncredited demonstrator on the 16 mm format, 21 minute long film. (Bonsai Journal, ABS, Summer 1971, pp. 33-34) SEE ALSO: May 5 |
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2005 -- From today through Sept. 6, the Smithsonian's Freer Gallery
of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery presented a special exhibit of
eight antique Chinese Pots for Tabletop Gardens. Honoring the
World Bonsai Friendship Federation convention in Washington, D.C., this
featured pots from the I. C. Su Collection. Two of the containers
were from the Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644), three from the Qing (1644 -
1911; two partly of gilt metal), one from the Jin (13th century+), and
two were undated. See photos here.
("Chinese Pots for Tabletop Gardens," http://bonsai1.com/pots/; See Also
"Fine Chinese Ceramics Imperial Ware," Bonsai Journal, ABS, Vol. 38, No. 4, Winter 2004, pp. 22-22, with 5 color photos)
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| 29 |
1971 -- The World's First International Bonsai Convention and Show
was opened by the Brooklyn Botanic Garden's Frank Okamura in Cleveland
Ohio, sponsored by Bonsai Clubs International and co-hosted by the Cleveland
and Toronto Bonsai Societies.
("The Cleveland Bonsai International,"
Bonsai, BCI, July/August 1971, pg. 6) SEE ALSO: May 5, Jan 30, Feb 28
1991 -- Uganda issued a set of ten postage stamps to commemorate Phila Nippon '91. Walt Disney characters are in various traditional Japanese settings. One of the stamps, which shows Mickey Mouse removing his shoes before entering Minnie's house, has a sinuous trunked bonsai as a decoration on the engawa to the left of Minnie. A second stamp, showing Clarabelle Cow enjoying incense burning, has a larger informal upright bonsai behind her table. A third stamp of interest to us shows Mickey and Minnie enjoying New Year's card and letter writing. Right of center along the bottom edge of this stamp are three layers of foliage which must belong to a bonsai just out of the frame. SEE ALSO: Jan 29, Feb 3, Feb 16, Mar 1, Mar 27, Mar 31, Apr 3, Apr 6, Apr 18, May 6, Jun 16, Jul 20, Aug 20, Aug 22, Sep 22, Oct 1, Oct 4, Dec 9. |
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