BONSAI  BOOK  OF  DAYS

What Happened On This Date in "Recent" Bonsai History?
 
 

SEPTEMBER


 1 1919 -- Josephine Finneyfrock was born.  [She would graduate from the University of Maryland School of Nursing, receive her certification as a Medical Assistant and work for 37 years for a doctor in  the Washington, D.C. area.  When the physician died, she would continue working for his doctor-son.   In 1970, she, Molly Hersh and Jim Newton would found the Potamac Bonsai Association.  She would serve the P.B.A. over the years in almost every office, and with Molly she would be the behind-the-scenes "glue" for both Washington BCI conventions, 1976 and 1986.  Jo would serve as Corresponding Secretary on the BCI Board from 1978 to 1981.  She would die in 1989.]  ("Bonsai World Suffers a Great Loss" by Jean C. Smith, Bonsai, BCI, Vol. XXVIII, No. 3, May/June 1989, pg.33)

1923 -- Two minutes before noon, as all of the lunchtime cooking fires were going, the Great Kanto Earthquake (8.3 magnitude) struck the 2.5 million person capital city of Japan.  Officially, 142,807 people died or were missing in the five-minute long quake, subsequent fire storm, and thirty-six foot high tidal wave in the main city and suburbs.  Over 250 bridges were ignited by falling cinders.  Three-quarters of Tokyo was destroyed; neighboring Yokohama was practically wiped out of existence.  Ninety of the 237 total aftershocks occurred within the first twenty-four hours.  In the two cities combined, nearly six hundred thousand dwellings were destroyed for an estimated loss of $2.8 billion dollars.  Many landscape gardens were also damaged or destroyed, and at least two temples in the old capital of Kamakura (only a dozen miles away from Yokohama) were collapsed by the quake. 
     Why this is important to us: [Near downtown Tokyo was the Kanda area, where bonsai were grown in the backyards.  It was one of the areas gutted by the earthquake's firestorm.  Following the disaster, the two year old Bonsai Promotion Group would be disbanded (but its magazine, Bonsai, would continue).  Soon after the earthquake, a group of thirty families of professional growers from downtown Tokyo and now under the leadership of Ritaro Shimizu would go looking for a location with cleaner air and water.  Having made a contract with Zensaku Kojima (a landlord and a member of the Diet) to borrow a lot, they group would purchase some land in a forest of stately Japanese red pines, cryptomeria, and cherry-trees which was overrun with grass.  This was near Hikawa Shrine on the way to Nikko.  There they would clear an area of approximately thirty-one hectares in the northern part of Omiya Park, settle, and form a Bonsai Mura or Dwarf Tree Village.  A carpenter, Kin-ichiro Kusakabe, would settle in and begin building houses.  Shimizu, a bonsai master who had had a nursery in Tokyo, would establish the Village's first bonsai nursery in 1925.  A monument to him would be raised in the town.  Tomekichi Katō would be another of the founders there.  The Bonsai Village would subsequently see the arrival and development of many enthusiasts who would go on to become experts of this art.  One of the enthusiasts would be Bimei Chubachi, vice-mayor of Tokyo and a lawyer by profession, who would become a commercial dealer in bonsai at Omiya and help to further popularize the art.  At one time on the city's outskirts, the Village would soon became part of Omiya due to rapid urbanization.  And the town would be hailed as "the center of the bonsai universe" in Japan.] ( Tokyo by Don Briggs, 1969, 51st edition, pp. 82, 117-118; Japan, The Official Guide, Tokyo: Board of Tourist Industry, 1941, pp. 231, 296, 308, 540; Earthquake by Bryce Walker, Alexandria-VA: Time-Life Books, 1972, pg. 152; Bonsai:Trees and Shrubs by Lynn R. Perry, NY: The Ronald Press, 1964, pg. 67; unattributed article "Bonsai of Omiya" in Bonsai, BCI, June 1973, pg. 10; Bonsai by Deborah R.  Koreshoff, Brisbane: Boolarong Publications, 1984, pp. 9-10; Bonsai by Susan M. Resnick, Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1992, pg. 17; "Profile of a Bonsai Internationalist: Saburo Kato" by Ted Tsukiyama, Bonsai, BCI, May/June 1990, pg. 21; "Bonsai Personality -- Kyuzo Murata" by Dr. Juyne Tayson, International Bonsai Digest Bicentennial Edition, 1976, pg. 13; Personal e-mail correspondance between Yukio Murata (Kyuzo's grandson) and RJB on 12/24/2004.)

1964 -- The Japan Bonsai Society was founded for the purpose of expanding, advancing and sharing the bonsai art, to enhance the national sentiment on behalf of this art form, as well as to make a contribution to culture in general.  The original Society was a private group.  [Its purpose was so widely applauded that its growth would be steady and by only Feb. 11, 1965 it would be registered as a public corporation under the auspices of the Japanese Minister of Education.  The Society would assume the important responsibility of establishing policies, promoting understandings and, to a certain extent, enforcing standards of bonsai culture.  An important contribution would be made by the Society in establishing the true bonsai art which had been traditionally cultivated in Japan and it would also serve the advancement of bonsai art throughout the world by raising the level of effort and popularizing this special art form.  The Society would cooperate in displays which would bring much praise during the Olympics in Tokyo and it has supervised bonsai exhibitions on a regular basis at Hibiya park in that city.]  ("On Behalf of the Japan Bonsai Society, Inc.," pg. III , English edition of Bonsai Masterpieces ( Nippon Bonsai Taikan, "Grand View of Japanese Bonsai and Nature in Four Seasons" ), 1972, translated by Yuji Yoshimura and Samuel H. Beach)
 2
 3 1951 -- William N. Valavanis was born in Waukegan, Illinois.  [At age 11 he would begin to pot seedlings and bend them into bonsai shapes.  At age 15, in Charleston, West Virginia, he would begin to exhibit and lecture on bonsai at local garden clubs, and the following year would start the "House of Bonsai" business. The summer of 1970 would be spent studying in the garden of Kyuzo Murata in Omiya, Japan, and the following year Bill would graduate from The State University of New York Agricultural and Technical College at Farmingdale, Long Island, NY with a degree in Ornamental Horticulture.  The next year would be back to Japan to study bonsai with Kakutaro Komuro and Toshio Kawamoto, bonsai chrysanthemums with Tameji Nakajima, and earn a master's teaching certificate in ikebana from the Shofu School.  Returning to his home in Rochester, NY, Bill would have to redevelop the bonsai collection which he mostly sold to finance his study in Japan.  A degree in Floriculture and Ornamental Horticulture from Cornell University would follow in 1976 on the heels of several months study at Yuji Yoshimura 's School of Bonsai in Briarcliff Manor, NY.  During his school days Bill would continue to teach, train and sell bonsai; at Briarcliff he'd conduct introductory and intermediate level bonsai courses.  Returning from another trip to Japan in 1978, the business' name would be changed to "The International Bonsai Arboretum" and Bill would begin publishing the International Bonsai magazine in 1979.  He would continue to teach classical bonsai art.]  (bio, International Bonsai, 1986/No. 2, pg. 13; bio, http://www.pac-sys.com/bonsai/artists/vala2.htm ; see also Interview with Andy Rutledge )
 4 1979 -- Susumu Sudo opened his "Masterpiece Bonsai Garden" on the rooftop of the Ginza branch Mitsukoshi department store in Tokyo, Japan.  Susumo is a young master of the contemporary bonsai world and is proprietor of the famous Chikufu-en Bonsai Garden located in Tochigi Prefecture, about an hour and a half from the capital.  At Mitsukoshi, approximately fifty bonsai are always on display against a bamboo fence or in a large water basin.  Commercial quality, contemporary styled bonsai of various species are offered for sale.  Additionally, a small indoor showroom is used for antique and new Chinese containers, books, and Masakuni bonsai tools.  ("Masterpiece Bonsai Garden Opens" in International Bonsai, IBA, Spring 80, pg. 30)
 5
 6 1991 -- Grandmaster Kyuzo Murata, proprietor of the Kyuka-en Bonsai Garden in Omiya, Japan died at the age of 89.  ("Editor's Note," Journal, ABS, Spring 1992, pg. 28)
 7
 8
 9 1913 -- Kahn Komai was born in Los Angeles, the second son of the founding publisher of "Rafu Shimpo," the premier newspaper of the L.A. Japanese American community.  [He would go on to be a son-in-law to, student of, and translator for  teacher and nurseryman Frank Nagata.  Kahn would open his own nursery in Temple City in 1958, and would himself become an influential figure in Southern California bonsai.]  ("In Memory" by Marybel Balendonck, Bonsai, BCI, September/October 1996, pg. 28)   SEE ALSO:  Jun 19
10 
11 
12 
13  1944 -- Count Yorinaga Matsudaira died at age 70.  Born Dec. 10, 1874, he was Sometime Speaker of the Upper House/House of Peers in Japan.  His interest in bonsai began after the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 [see Sep 1 above], and he became one of the most well-known growers and collectors of miniature bonsai.  His collection eventually reached a thousand specimens of excellent quality, which he and the Countess tended with great enthusiasm.  Whenever he was on a trip, he used to carry some of his favorite bonsai with him in a basket specially designed and made for the purpose.  In 1934 he was named the first president of the newly formed Kokufu Bonsai Association.  [After he died during the war many of his miniature bonsai would be destroyed by the bombings.  Some of them would be carried away from Tokyo to the country, to escape the dangers of war, but these would suffer because his widow was short of help, and some of the bonsai would die.  About two hundred would survive and be brought to Atami.  The Countess would write a short chapter about the collection for the Brooklyn Botanic Garden's 1953 Handbook on Dwarf Potted Trees.  In 1975 a 208 page commemorative book, Matsudaira Mame Bonsai Collection Album, would be published in Japanese which would include over 230 photos of the trees, viewing stones, garden, and the couple.]
Yorinaga Matsudaira

   (Personal e-mail from Yukio Murata to RJB, Apr. 22, 2006; "The Matsudaira Collection of Miniature Bonsai" by Akiko Matsudaira in Handbook on Dwarfed Potted Trees, edited by Kan Yashiroda (Brooklyn, NY; BBG; 1959 revised edition, Twenty-second printing, Oct. 1974), pp. 53-55; Bonsai Masterpieces (Nippon Bonsai Taikan), compiled by the Japan Bonsai Society (Tokyo: Seibundō Shinkōsha Publishing Co., Ltd.; 1972, English booklet), per pg. 74, the Matsudaira's experience with and collection of bonsai began at least shortly before the '23 earthquake; image from May 1934 issue of Bonsai magazine, per William N. Valavanis in e-mails to RJB on Aug 1 and Aug 4, 2008)   SEE ALSO:  Feb 19
14  2003 -- Kazuya Morita passed away at the age of 75.  He had worked for the Mainichi Newspaper Company after his graduation from university. He was asked to work for the Nippon Bonsai Association and started in 1980 as the editor-in-chief for the NBA's magazine Bonsai Shunju (until 1988).  At the same time, he was very active in promoting international exchange and organizing many activities and events when Bonsai was becoming popular internationally.  He played an indispensable role for NBA, particularly for the great success of the 1st World Bonsai Convention in Saitama, Japan in 1989.  He was one of the persons who supported the establishment of WBFF.  A well-known Bonsai hobbyist, he was introduced as a hobbyist 30 years ago in a Bonsai magazine.  He never tried to enter the Kokufu-ten, the world's most prestigious exhibition, but he participated in many bonsai exhibits held by NBA.  He was a man of details and was good at Zoki (deciduous) tree bonsai.  However, for the last 10 years Mr. Morita was more involved in suiseki, especially with those called Hakkai-seki from Niigata.  He and his older and younger brothers all used to go out together for the search of good suiseki.  ("About Kazuya Morita" by Yuji Tamura, translated by Hiromi Nakaoji, World Bonsai Friendship Federation, http://www.bonsai-wbff.org/kmorita.shtml )
15  1973 -- In Tampa, delegates from ten established Florida bonsai societies came to the organizational meeting of the Bonsai Societies of Florida (BSF).  BSF was formed out of necessity because these early clubs wanted to host an International Bonsai Congress and the only way to do it was to get practice.  [So the first Florida State bonsai convention would be organized and held by BSF in 1973.  On July 2-6, 1975 in Miami, BSF would host the International Bonsai Congress '75.  Then Bonsai Clubs International would return twice for their annual convention and in 1993 it would be held in conjunction with the World Bonsai Friendship Federation's World Bonsai Convention in Orlando.  BSF, entering the next century with 28 member societies, study groups and societies at large, was the first statewide bonsai organization in the United States.  When the folks in California and then ten states in the Southeast wanted to form similar organizations, they would look to BSF for help and guidance.].  (The society website: http://www.bonsai-bsf.com/history.html )  SEE ALSO: Feb 25, Apr 29
16  2001 -- A massive forest planting named "New York No Kokoro" was started as a living memorial to those who died in the events of September 11.  Bob Pressler, bonsai artist, teacher and owner of Kimura Bonsai Nursery created this with the help of at least 16 students.  Consisting of an approximately 8' x 4' slab resembling natural stone and roughly shaped like the island of Manhattan, the custom-made base represents the rock solid strength of the people of New York.  Planted on the slab are 110 live, strong, adaptable, and versatile Foemina Junipers varying in size from 4" to 46," along with two hollowed, charred dead trunks 10" and12" high of very old bonsai.  The number of trees stands for the number of floors of the World Trade Center.  [The final planting would be completed on October 14.  The forest would be on display at Kimura Bonsai Nursery until the spring of 2002 to insure a successful recovery from the transplanting and shaping process before traveling to New York City.  The tax-deductible September 11th Living Memorial Bonsai Fund (c/o Kimura Bonsai Nursery, 17230 Roscoe Blvd., Northridge, CA  91325) was established to raise the necessary funds for the transportation, maintenance of, and construction of a permanent display for the piece.]  ("New York No Kokoro (The Heart of New York)" by Bob Pressler, Golden Statements, GSBF, Vol. XXV, No. 1, January/February 2002, pp. 28-29)
17  1990 -- The Fuku-Bonsai Center opened for business on a beautiful 17-acre site on the island of Hawaii.  Founded by David Fukumoto, the center features nine themed gardens, including the Hawaii State Bonsai Repository, whose first tree would be put into place on Sept. 21, 1990  After a year-long shake down period a two-day grand opening celebration would be held Sept. 21-22, 1991.  [A fungus problem which had begun about 1987 was exascerbated in the early 1990s when defective fungticide killed off most of the nursery plants.  The Kona location would be closed and a new facility would be started in Kurtistown by the end of 1995.] ("Big Bonsai News from The Big Island," ABStracts, ABS, November 1990, pp. 1-2; "Fuku-Bonsai Center" by David Fukumoto, Journal, ABS, Fall 1991, pp. 8-11; "Fuku-Bonsai Recovering!" by David Fukumoto, Bonsai, BCI, September/October 1995, pg. 46 )

1997 -- Actor and clown Red Skelton died in a California hospital after a long illness at the age of 84.  A very talented composer, writer, painter, and collector, he also was an avid gardener specializing in bonsai trees.  Some 300 specimens would be trucked from his large Palm Springs home (Sunset Zone 13, Low Desert Areas) to the one in Bel-Air (Sunset Zone 23, Thermal Belts of Southern California's Coastal Climate) when the former's weather got too hot.  When the weather cooled off, the trees were moved back.  ("Ask the Televisionary," TV Guide Online, May 11, 2004, http://www.tvguide.com/tv/televisionary/040511.asp?datediff=760 ;  "Goodnight, Red Skelton And May God Bless...",  http://www.wkvi.com/091897.htm ;  "Red Skelton and Indepak," http://www.indepak.com/skelton.htm )

2005 -- Arthur Douglas "Doug" Hall died.  Born March 9, 1916, Doug and his wife Steph were largely responsible for introducing Bonsai to South Africa.  He had a wonderfully easy way about him and those who remember his talks and his supervision of our workshops will have many happy memories. He co-wrote with Don Black The South African Bonsai Book in 1976 (which was translated into Afrikaans the following year).  A couple of years ago, Doug gave permission for his informative book Growing Bonsais in South Africa to be published.  This book is by far the best manual for beginners in Bonsai, and will therefore enable and allow students in the southern hemisphere to reap the benefits of his acute knowledge of trees.  ("News" by Don and Pam Norquoy, http://www.saba.org.za/news.htm, accessed 10/23/2005)
18 
19 
20  1988 -- Constance Tortorici Derderian died.  She was a founding member of the American Bonsai Society and served as a director for many years.  From 1969 to 1984 she served as honorary curator of the Arnold Arboretum's Larz Anderson bonsai collection.  For her dedicated work in bonsai, in 1979 she received the Gold Medal of The Massachusetts Horticultural Society.  A highlight of Connie's tenure as curator came in the fall of 1982, when three plants from the Larz Anderson Collection were put on display at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts to celebrate the opening of its newly renovated Asian wing.  In June 1987 the newly renovated bonsai house at the Arnold Arboretum, with an improved security system added to a structurally sound Douglas fir building whose new doors provided visitors with an unobstructed view of the collection, was dedicated to her.  ( Early American Bonsai: The Larz Anderson Collection of the Arnold Arboretum by Peter Del Tredici, (Jamaica, MA: Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University, 1989), pp. 12-13; "In Memory," ABStracts, ABS, Vol. 16, No. 4, November 1988; "From Temple to Terrace, The Remarkable Journey of the Oldest Bonsai in America" by Del Tredici (Jamaica, MA: Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University: Arnoldia 64/2-3, 2006), pg. 26)    SEE ALSO: Apr 13, May 12
21
22 1976 -- The Club Peruano de Bonsai was founded on Jorge Lucero's visit to Lima, Peru during his second bonsai lecturing tour of South America.  This particular tour started in Caracas, Venezuela, where he had organized the visit of grandmaster John Naka to that city.  (Lucero was also instrumental in the formation of the Club Venezolano de Bonsai, in Caracas that year, and the Sociedad Conservacionista y de Bonsai, in Valencia, Venezuela the next year.)  He was John's assistant during his presentations there.  John was to return to the U.S. after the visit to Venezuela and Jorge would continue his bonsai lecturing tour to Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina.  But John, with his wife Alice, were so excited about being in South America that he wanted to come with Jorge after Venezuela to Peru and also visit the ruins of Machu Picchu.  (Jorge had planned to do that before starting his tour.)  Jorge hastily arranged Naka-san's trip and while the former was in Colombia, the grandmaster went to Peru and to the ruins.  They then met in Lima and John observed and participated in Jorge's lectures, demonstration and workshops.  The people in Lima did not know Naka-san was coming.  On the first day of activities, John and Alice showed up.  He introduced himself as "Jorge's Junior Assistant".  Needless to say, that group of people was truly excited and all had a great and unforgettable experience.  The group could not have afforded to bring John Naka to speak before them at that or at any other time.  (John would never manage to get back to Peru, although in later years he would visit Venezuela again and also Colombia.   (Personal e-mail from Lucero to RJB Sept 13, 2006)  SEE ALSO: Sep 22, Nov 20

1985 -- " Bonsai," a set of four postage stamps, was issued by the Republic of China (Taiwan).  SEE ALSO: 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, Oct 1, Oct 4, Dec 9.
23
24 1982 -- The National Bonsai Foundation was incorporated under the Washington, D.C Non-Profit Corporation Act.  (Three years after the Bicentennial gift of Japanese bonsai, Janet Lanman talked to Dr. John L. Creech, Director of the National Arboretum, about the possibility of acquiring American bonsai.  Shortly thereafter Creech pursued the idea in a letter to Marion Gyllenswan: "It really calls for an independent body of bonsai authorities to look at the overall situation with private collections of heirloom quality and develop some kind of plan for their preservation, either as part of a national collection or by local public institutions."  Acting on this suggestion, a group of Arboretum volunteers and Yuji Yoshimura's students organized themselves as the National Bonsai Committee.)  [The Board of Directors would initially meet two months later.  The Foundation's first project would be to help develop the design and nature of and raise funds for an American Bonsai Pavilion.]   ("What's Past", http://www.gwu.edu/~jeffstep/bonsai/nbf/past_prologue/pp_pt1-1.html ; personal e-mail from Felix Laughlin to RJB, May 6, 2002)   SEE ALSO:  Mar 20, May 2, Oct 1

2004 -- Scientist, writer, potter, artist, and critic Max Braverman died in Everest, WA.   ("In Memorium," Journal, ABS, Vol. 38, No. 4, Winter 2004, pg. 17)   SEE ALSO: Sep 28
25 1985 -- The First Chinese National Penjing Exhibition began today in Shanghai and would run through October 20.  [A penjing composition by Yangzhao master Qingquan Zhao, "Painting With Eight Horses," would take first prize at this judged exhibition.]   (Karin Albert personal e-mail to RJB, July 15, 2002; Hu, Yunhua Chinese Penjing, Miniature Trees and Landscapes (Portland, OR: Timber Press; ©1987 Wan Li Books Co., Ltd., Hong Kong), pg. 59)   SEE ALSO:  Jan 27
26 1981 -- The two day first-ever National Bonsai Convention of the newly formed Federation of British Bonsai Societies (FoBBS) convened at Keele University, Straffordshire, about forty miles south of Manchester.  Over 250 registrants from most of the then twenty-eight listed clubs in Wales, Scotland and England participated.  Peter Adams and Dan Barton were among the lecturer-demonstrators.  ("Notes From the First British Bonsai Convention" by Robert Burgess, Bonsai, BCI, January/February 1982, pg. 12; "The Start of a New British Tradition" by Lucille Lee Roberts, Bonsai, BCI, April 1982, pp. 86-86.)
27
28 1929 -- Max Braverman was born in Far Rockaway, New York, a part of the borough of Queens.  [He would go on to have a varied life which included, among other achievements, a PhD in Zoology/Physiology from University of Illinois (1955-60); post-doctoral fellow with culture of mammalian cells in Stockholm, Sweden (1961-62); consultant to research unit for radiation therapy at Mercy Hospital, Pittsburgh, PA (1966-70); collaborator on computer applications of research at Los Alamos Scientific Lab, NM (1967-71); and consultant on teaching science in elementary schools for Mountainview Center for Environmental Education in Boulder, CO (1970-77).  Max would become interested in clay in the mid-1960s and become a "functional potter" as opposed to an "artist."  While in Japan to present a paper before an international congress on hydroid development, he would come upon books regarding the virtues of the peasant tradition in both Japanese and Chinese crafts.  These would change his life.  Returning home he would become self-employed as a potter in Taos, NM (1971-77) and Hope, NJ (1977-86).  Then he'd spend six weeks with his family in China and Taiwan in the early-80s studying where the best examples of the ceramic arts were still produced by hand.  It would be in New Jersey where his sculptor wife Kate Bowditch and he were introduced to bonsai, spending a day early on picking Chase Rosade's brains.  Inevitably he would start experimenting with bonsai containers, first for his own use and then for sale.  At a conference in Seattle they would find their hand-made bonsai pots happily received, and thus be encouraged to move West.  Continuing to throw on the wheel, he would be proprietor of the Pine Garden Bonsai Nursery in Arlington, WA (1986-1998).  With his wife he would craft entertaining and informative book reviews for the ABS Journal (in at least 6 issues, Spring 1991-Winter 1992).  In the early days of the Internet Bonsai Club, Max would be among those who attempted to gather regional data for posting to the list so folks beyond his area would be informed of activities.  He would post and host the first suiseki collecting trip to which any potential registrant was invited (ten showed up Aug. 92), and would offer the first suiseki for sale on the Internet.  Difficulties with maintaining thousands of starter plants for five years before they were large enough to market, a damaging winter storm, and realization that the few people who cherished hand-made containers weren't numerous enough to keep even the less than a dozen bonsai potters in the US alive all strained both the business and marriage to the breaking point.  Max then would move on to Xiamen, China.  Located halfway between Shanghai and Hong Kong, this base would allow him trips to Bali and Indonesia while working on other projects.  (Shortly after his move to China his entire collection of pots with Kate's trees would be stolen.  Other pots of his creation would continue to be prized.)  In early June 2002 he would have a slight heart attack, and the following month be moved back to Washington state.]   (Personal e-mails to RJB, June 6, 2002 and Jan. 26, 2003; E-mails between Max and Chris Cochrane, March 8-9, 2002, forwarded to RJB the following day, © Max Braverman 2002, reprinted with permission; "Searching For the Perfect Stone" by Max Braverman and George Heffelfinger, Journal, ABS, Spring 1993, Vol. 27, No. 1, pg. 17)   SEE ALSO: Sept 24
29 2004 -- Daniel Joseph Chiplis died of chronic lymphocytic leukemia at age 51 at his home in Silver Springs, MD.  He had worked for the National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. from 1984 to 1998, serving as assistant curator of the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum, which houses one of the largest collections of the miniature trees.  In 1998, he transferred to the Smithsonian Institution, where until his
retirement last October he helped plan the landscaping of the grounds of the new National Museum of the American Indian.  A native of Indianapolis, Dan's interest in bonsai began in high school.  He graduated from Purdue University and received a master's degree in horticulture from Ohio State University.  He underwent bonsai training in Omiya, Japan, and also studied with bonsai masters John Y. Naka in California and Yuji Yoshimura in New York.  Dan shared his expertise on bonsai as a guest speaker at national and regional gatherings as well as in a column in BCI's Bonsai magazine called "Seasonal Reminders."  He also taught a class called Introductory Bonsai at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Graduate School.  In recent years, he participated and supported "Plunge for Patients," a fundraiser benefiting the Johns Hopkins Patient and Family Fund.  ("Obituaries," Washington Post online, Oct. 4, 2004, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A7361-2004Oct4.html, pointed out by a general posting to Internet Bonsai Club by David J. Bockman, Oct. 5, 2004. )
30 1988 -- The Chinese Penjing Collection at the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. was dedicated and put on public display.  It includes over thirty specimens by Dr. Yee-sun Wu, Mr. Shu-ying and others of Hong Kong which had been donated in 1986.  ( International Bonsai, 1989/No. 2, pg. 22)   SEE ALSO:  Mar 27, May 2



 
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
NOV
DEC


Home  > Bonsai History  >  Book of Days  > September