NABF Newsletter #8

Feature #3

Bonsai Clubs in Hawaii

By Tim Liu
Honolulu, Hawaii

The State of Hawaii is comprised of four main islands -- Oahu (the state's most populous island, and where the state's capitol, Honolulu, is located), Hawaii (also known as the Big Island because it is the largest island and the one with active volcanoes), Maui (the Valley Isle and the one with Haleakala with its rare silver sword plants), and Kauai (the Garden Isle which is featured in so many motion pictures because of its natural beauty).

On each of these islands are individual bonsai clubs. The Hawaii Bonsai Association is a bonsai organization that attempts to bring all the islands together in the spirit of bonsai. In that regard, it invites the presidents of all the individual clubs on Oahu to attend its meetings. Although many of the presidents and members of the individual clubs are members of the Hawaii Bonsai Association, the distance separating the islands and the costs of airfare between islands make it very difficult for the people on other islands to attend meetings.

The Hawaii Bonsai Association meets quarterly. Its goal and main tenet are to further the art of bonsai through education. It attempts to accomplish that goal through an annual bonsai exhibit (which will be held this year at the Kapiolani Park during the Okinawa Festival on Oahu in Waikiki in September), semi-annual bonsai classes to children at a Japan Day program under the overall direction of the Japan-America Society of Hawaii, annual ABC's of Bonsai classes that run from September through November, and other special programs.

In 2000, the association hosted BCI Convention in Honolulu featuring Warren Hill (USA), Hu Yun Hua (China) and Susumu Nakamura (Japan). This year's special program was a mini-convention in August 2004 featuring renowned Japanese bonsai master Yasuo Mitsuya.

On the other island, the Kauai Bonsai Club usually holds its annual bonsai exhibit at the Kauai County Farm Bureau Fair.

Among the bonsai clubs in Hawaii, both past and present, that people might recognize include the following with island location identified in parenthesis:

• Aloha Bonsai Club (Oahu)
• Big Island Bonsai Association (Hawaii)
• Classic Bonsai Club (Oahu)
• Club 100 Bonsai Club (Oahu)
• Kamana Senior Center Bonsai Club (Hawaii)
• Kauai Bonsai Club (Kauai)
• Lehua Ohana Bonsai Club (Hawaii)
• Mid-Pacific Bonsai Foundation (Hawaii)
• Mililani Bonsai Club (Oahu)
• Pacific Bonsai Club (Oahu)
• Paradise Bonsai Club (Oahu)
• Pearl City Bonsai Club (Oahu)
• Rainbow Bonsai Club (Oahu)
• Hawaii Shohin Club (Oahu)
• Suiyobi Bonsai Association (Oahu)
• Tai Shoji Bonsai Club (Hawaii)
• Valley Isle Bonsai Club (Maui)
• Waimea Bonyu Kai (Hawaii)