Kazuya Morita
Above: Kazuya Morita holding the "Chain of Blue Mountain Friendship." Photo by Yuji Tamura of the NBA
"Chain of Blue Mountain Friendship"
I am sad to report that on September 14, 2003, Kazuya Morita passed away. While his business card humbly indicated that he was on the "Editorial Staff" of the Nippon Bonsai Association, in fact Mr. Morita was chosen by Saburo Kato to play a hugely important role in the bonsai world.
Last fall, on behalf of the National Bonsai Foundation and the American bonsai community, it was my honor and pleasure to present to Mr. Morita an Eel River stone as an expression of our deep gratitude to him for his many contributions to the bonsai community. My transmittal letter stated:
"The Foundation and the American bonsai community are extremely grateful to you for all of the warm and friendly hospitality that you have shown to so many American bonsai enthusiasts when we have visited Japan, and for all of your efforts on behalf of the Nippon Bonsai Association to foster international friendship, goodwill and understanding through bonsai.
"The Foundation and the American bonsai community are extremely grateful to you for all of the warm and friendly hospitality that you have shown to so many American bonsai enthusiasts when we have visited Japan, and for all of your efforts on behalf of the Nippon Bonsai Association to foster international friendship, goodwill and understanding through bonsai.
"Over the past decades, you have made one of the most important contributions toward the expansion of bonsai worldwide. Without your gentle guiding spirit, bonsai would not be as popular as it is today, and would not be thought of as an art form capable of fostering international friendship, goodwill and understanding.
"You have also been a great supporter of the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum here in Washington, D.C. Without your support and encouragement, the Museum would not be the international center of bonsai it is today.
"So, I hope that when you look upon this suiseki, you will feel the love and affection that we, the American bonsai community, feel toward you. You embody the true spirit of bonsai, and we shall always remember what you have taught us."
A photo of the stone is shown below. It was collected by Harry Hirao on the Eel River and given by him to Marybel Balendonck who kindly donated it to NBF so that it could be presented to Mr. Morita. The diaza was made of cherry wood by Richard Conrad.
Below are pictures of Mr. Morita at one of his favorite suiseki collecting spots in Japan.
Mr. Morita loved suiseki, and enjoyed going on collecting excursions in some of Japan's rivers. After receiving the Eel River stone, he sent me a letter expressing his feelings about the stone and also his deep respect for Saburo Kato:
"Looking back upon my past, I have spent 30 years of my life wandering along the rivers in the mountains seeking suiseki. And I think at last I have met the Suiseki I have dreamt of. I am enchanted by this Suiseki with its mild, profound sheen of green, river-given skin, which is undoubtedly a natural masterpiece -- its modesty attracts me most.
"I feel very honored with the words you wrote to me, as I am just a bonsai coordinator who works at Master Kato's direction.
"My last quarter century has been filed with making many friends world-wide through bonsai, and it has been my privilege to have known many people, which began with my encounter with the great bonsai master, Mr. Saburo Kato, in my younger days.
"I am blessed to know from your letter that this Suiseki is condensed with the chain of friendship -- Mr. Laughlin, Mr. Hirao, Ms. Balendonck, and many folks who gifted me.
"I am very pleased to call this Suiseki, "Chain of Blue Mountain Friendship." When I was young, a Japanese movie titled "Blue Mountain Chain" featuring innocent youths dreaming of tomorrow was a great hit. "The Suiseki reminds me of this film and those days. It reflects brilliantly all of your warm hearts. This is my treasure of friendship, and whenever I have a chance, I will show it to Japanese suiseki amateurs.
"The Eel River stone links the West and East over the Ocean, and I truly realize this is an utmost award to me and this Chain of Blue Mountain Friendship is always with all of you in my mind."
"I think I am going to send thank-you letters (enclosing a photo of the Suiseki and me) to Mr. Harry Hirao and Ms. Marybel Balendonck.
-- Kazuya Morita
About Kazuya Morita
From Mr. Yuji Tamura
Translated by Hiromi Nakaoji
Mr. Kazuya Morita was born in Feb. 15, 1928. He passed away in Sep 14, 2003 at the age of 75. He used to work for the Mainichi Newspaper Company after his graduation from university. He was asked to work for the Nippon Bonsai Association and started working in 1980. He had been working as the editor-in-chief for the NBA's magazine "Bonsai Shunju." 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. In particular, the success of the 1st World Bonsai Convention in Saitama, Japan in 1989 could not have been achieved without Mr. Morita's great effort. He was one of the persons who supported the establishment of WBFF.
Mr. Morita went through an operation for lung cancer in the summer of 2002. He was steadily recovering and he participated in the Kokufu-ten in Feb. of 2003. He took some rest during the hot summertime of 2003, but he was preparing to visit some autumn Bonsai exhibits which he had been discussing with his colleagues. All the NBA staff members were surprised to hear of Mr. Morita's sudden change of condition.
Mr. Morita was a well-known Bonsai hobbyist. He was introduced as a hobbyist 30 years ago in a Bonsai magazine. He never tried to enter Kokufu-ten, but he participated in many bonsai exhibits held by NBA. He was a man of details; he seemed to be good at Zoki (deciduous) tree bonsai.
However, for the last 10 years, Mr. Morita was more involved in Suiseki. He loved the suiseki, called Hakkai-seki, from Niigata. When the weather was good, he used to take bullet train to search for good suiseki in rivers and mountains. His older and younger brothers like suiseki and they all used to go out together for the search of good suiseki.
Other than bonsai and suiseki, he liked bowling very much. He participated in Senior Championship and did pretty well. He also enjoyed Karaoke, singing. He did not drink much, but he loved singing and he has his favorite Karaoke Bar. He once sang at the Omiya Sonic Stage with live band.