Bonsai in Isolated Areas and Harsh Climates
Japan
Story of a Bonsai Survivor
At the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum in Washington D.C., the oldest
tree in the Japanese Collection is a magnificent Japanese White Pine (Pinus
parviflora). In 1976 it was donated by the bonsai master Masaru Yamaki of
Hiroshima, as part of Japan’s Bicentennial gift to the American People.
It is not only its perfection and its age -- estimated at approximately 375 years – which make this bonsai so remarkable, but an event in its history which remained unknown until 25 years after its arrival, in March 2001.
In that month, two grandsons of Masaru Yamaki arrived from Japan to visit the Museum and, for the first time, see their grandfather’s famous pine. This had been given away before they were born. From the two young men, Shigeru and Akira Yamaki, the Curator of the Museum, Warren Hill, learned the following:
Before the death of Masaru, the Yamaki family operated a commercial bonsai nursery in Hiroshima, as they had done for several generations. Since then, the nursery has become a private bonsai collection, maintained by former students of Masaru. Together with their parents, Shigeru and Akira still live in the family home, adjacent to the bonsai garden, which is surrounded by a high stonewall.
Masaru Yamaki learned the art and science of bonsai from his father, Katsutaro Yamaki. Originally, his trees came from Miyajima Island which is just south of Hiroshima. Japanese White Pine bonsai from Miyajima are considered very valuable because they are so rare.
At 8:15 in the morning of August 6, 1945, a man-made cataclysm hit the
city. The atomic blast, as we know, left a wasteland. Less than two miles
away from the epicentre, the Yamaki home nonetheless escaped the worst of
the damage, protected as it was by the strong stonewall. The family were
indoors and all sustained injuries through flying glass as the windows shattered.
Luckily, none suffered any lasting effects.
The great old Japanese White Pine and a large number of other bonsai were
sitting on benches in the garden. Amazingly, not one was harmed!
After World War II, Masaru Yamaki became one of the leaders of the effort to revive bonsai as a commercial enterprise in Japan. For many years, he served as the director of a cooperative association which promoted the production of improved varieties of bonsai in the Hiroshima area. He lived until the age of 89.
Masaru was proud to have donated his Japanese White Pine, one of his most prized possessions, to the American people as part of Japan's Bicentennial gift.
The Yamaki pine is truly a testimony to bonsai friendship, peace and beauty.
Masaru Yamaki's Views on Appreciating Bonsai
Each bonsai has its special quality. Some express changes in the four
seasons, while others express the elegance of nature in a
pot.
Bonsai is not limited to expensive trees in a classic shape. Indeed,
by using excessive wire or growing unnecessary branches in
order to create a classic shape, the artist may fail to express the tree's
essential beauty.
Trees best expressing bonsai no kokoro (the spirit of bonsai) are often
marked by unaffected simplicity. Even if the tree has a slender
trunk, it can still touch one's heart deeply, conveying with overflowing
vitality the beauty of nature in fields and mountains.
edited by WBFF Correspondent, L. K.