The Legacy and Culture of Bonsai Provenance: Exploring the Roots and Significance of Iconic Trees

[apic92]

Hello fellow bonsai enthusiasts,

(This thread is the second post after the enthusiastic "Buy a tree in Japan, leave it there" discussion, thank you all for participating in my study!)

The provenance of a bonsai tree, its origin, lineage, and history, is a captivating subject that intertwines art, culture, and heritage. As we explore the roots and significance of our beloved trees, I invite you to reflect on the following interconnected questions:

• How does the provenance of a bonsai tree influence its aesthetic appeal, value, and cultural significance?
• Are there iconic bonsai trees with rich histories and lineages that stand out in your mind, and what stories do they tell?
• How do different cultures perceive and value the provenance of bonsai trees, and how is this reflected in the preservation and transmission of cultural heritage?
• In what ways can we as enthusiasts trace, authenticate, and honor the provenance of a bonsai, ensuring that its legacy is preserved and communicated?

These questions aim to guide us in a thoughtful exploration of the legacy and culture of bonsai provenance. Whether you're drawn to the individual stories behind specific trees or the broader resonance of provenance within the art of bonsai, your insights and experiences will enrich our understanding.

Looking forward to a rich and enlightening discussion!

Best,
Apic92

 

[MaciekA]

The club in Portland Oregon, BSOP, has been around since 1966.

Anne Spencer (who is no longer with us) was a long-time and well-loved member of that club. She was also a diligent grower who kept good notes and spent years developing her trees. Some of her trees diffused out into the community when she passed away, and they continue to be worked on and admired by many.

In particular, her red maple, which today lives at Michael Hagedorn's garden, makes a strong impression on me personally. I saw this tree again a couple weeks ago when we were working on arranging bonsai displays, and used it in some of those displays. During this session, Michael commented that Anne's red maple has certain special characteristics only granted by a very long tenure in a bonsai pot, including finally achieving some reduced feature sizes (twig / leaf) and reliably-diminutive growth. It's an achievement that couldn't happen without Anne, yet she did not live to see the full results.

Every time I hear Anne's trees discussed, it's more than just the trees, it is also the aura of the person, the continuity of her diligence, the continuity of our collective diligence in taking care of her trees (for me as a student, nothing more than a bit of fertilizing), and the way that people speak of what kind of person she was when she was still alive. I never met Anne but she has had a profound effect on how I look at the legacy of what I'm doing. She wasn't a bonsai professional, just a regular cilivian like me. I am inspired by her example and it is goosebump-raising to think about the deep time of bonsai and how long her trees might ultimately live. Just imagine the time lapse of that tree's life as the world changes around it.

It is one thing to ooh and ahh about a cool tree that was imported from Japan and was grown through 5 generations but to me that is an almost abstract distant fact. It is whole other thing to feel the presence and influence of a person, almost as if they are still with us, still reverberating through a community years after their passing. Society has many things going that are technically multi-generational projects, but with a veneer of employment and official roles. Anne's trees don't have that veneer, they feel pure to me.

 

[NaoTK]

There are many ways to come at this discussion, I will just give some background about the highest level of named trees in Japan.

You have to study bonsai a while to recognize and appreciate "named" celebrity trees...Trees that show up in Kokufu over and over with subtle changes to foliage and pot. By watching a given tree over a long time we can map style trends over time. Then when you actually see a celebrity tree in person it is better than seeing a human celebrity.

This book is required reading to illustrate my point (...and its in English!) https://www.ebay.com/itm/224325742956



I will commit copyright infringement for you. Hou-ou is one of my favorites.


Another example. Its interesting how styling changes the pot pairing.

 

[rockm]

Goshin - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

The Bonsai Tree That Survived the Bombing of Hiroshima

Now living in Washington, D.C., this bonsai tree outlasted the atomic blast

www.smithsonianmag.com

World War Bonsai, Remembrance & resilience | Pacific Bonsai Museum

pacificbonsaimuseum.org

HISTORICAL TREE SPOTLIGHT: The Ponderosa Pine — National Bonsai Foundation

While visiting the North American collection, you might notice one bonsai that stands out from the rest – but hardly like a sore thumb. Museum curator Michael James sat down with us to talk about the pine’s history and defining features. Towering sometimes two whole feet taller than its neighborin

www.bonsai-nbf.org

All of these trees are iconic American bonsai (now). Goshin is perhaps the most recognized bonsai in the U.S. made by one of the most important Western bonsai artists. The Yamaki pine is becoming an icon since it's backstory was explained a few years ago. Some of the trees at the Pacific Bonsai Museum should be more well-known, particularly because of the sad history of WWII and Japanese Americans. Dan Robinson's massive collected Ponderosa pine is an icon because it represents the initial steps of American bonsaiists collecting and adapting native material.

All of those trees trace bonsai history in the U.S. They are more than their physical compositions. The first three are particularly notable because they are symbols of resilience and peace.

 

[rockm]

Bonsai in America is only beginning to develop a "bonsai history" with legacy trees handed down generation to generation, due to the initial work of some groundbreaking pioneers working with native species. Trees made by pioneers such as John Naka, Mary Madison, Vaughn Banting, Harry Hirao (to name only a few notables) have become more valuable for their provenance, as well as their design.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/the-case-of-the-cias-bonsai-being-the-true-story-of-a-big-gift-of-a-little-tree/2019/10/01/24e536c0-e461-11e9-a6e8-8759c5c7f608_story.html

Vaughn Banting — Bonsai Blog — National Bonsai Foundation

Our Blog

www.bonsai-nbf.org

 

[pandacular]

One of the recurring things I notice about people who are not engaged with bonsai is that their primary concern with a bonsai is it's age. I would say that this is one of the first things that people "unlearn" as they start to understand the art; it is the appearance of age, not actual age, that is the aim.

I'm not sure what it is exactly, but it seems that the pop culture impression of bonsai, at least in the US, is something like "a really old tree in a pot". To those with a more developed appreciation however, it might more accurately be "an image of a really old tree, formed by a tree in a pot". I'm not sure about the way provenance is dealt with within the community, but that's certainly how it's perceived in pop culture.

To me personally, I think the provenance of a tree is compelling on a personal level. I'm not sure it would affect how I would value a tree, but it is interesting to know who's hands it's passed through. In some of my trees, I find it interesting to perhaps continue the vision of a tree's previous owner. One of my trees was raised and styled as a pre-bonsai by a penjing artist, and I would like to carry some of that legacy into it's final design.

 

[Gabler]

One of the recurring things I notice about people who are not engaged with bonsai is that their primary concern with a bonsai is it's age. I would say that this is one of the first things that people "unlearn" as they start to understand the art; it is the appearance of age, not actual age, that is the aim.

I'm not sure what it is exactly, but it seems that the pop culture impression of bonsai, at least in the US, is something like "a really old tree in a pot". To those with a more developed appreciation however, it might more accurately be "an image of a really old tree, formed by a tree in a pot". I'm not sure about the way provenance is dealt with within the community, but that's certainly how it's perceived in pop culture.

To me personally, I think the provenance of a tree is compelling on a personal level. I'm not sure it would affect how I would value a tree, but it is interesting to know who's hands it's passed through. In some of my trees, I find it interesting to perhaps continue the vision of a tree's previous owner. One of my trees was raised and styled as a pre-bonsai by a penjing artist, and I would like to carry some of that legacy into it's final design.

I agree, but I also don't think the public perception is entirely wrong, either. Anyone can stick a seedling in a pot, but it won't last long. With bonsai, you can keep a tree alive in a pot pretty much indefinitely, provided it doesn't succumb to pests or disease. Thus, the fact that many potted trees are old yet small is a reasonable object of fascination.

Small size isn't exactly the object of bonsai. For bonsai practitioners, it's a matter of cost, convenience, and time. Nonetheless, miniaturization has its own appeal—that's a big part of the fun of model trains—and it's certainly a goal of a subset of bonsai growers—those who prefer shohin and mame.

Also, bonsai as a technique isn't just about creating the image of an old tree. It's about creating an actual old tree, in less time. That is to say, it's about slowing a tree down, so it grows in the manner a mature tree would, but smaller. It's about simulating the phase of tree growth where a mature tree just can't grow any taller, and it has to grow out and down. That's why "finished" trees shouldn't be repotted any more often than strictly necessary. The pot is a part of what slows the tree down to grow in a mature manner. Isn't that why Ryan Neil talks so much about energy balance?

 

[Mikecheck123]

Aren't all Brazilian rain trees in the US from the same handful of seeds?

What a legacy that was!

 

[rockm]

One of the recurring things I notice about people who are not engaged with bonsai is that their primary concern with a bonsai is it's age. I would say that this is one of the first things that people "unlearn" as they start to understand the art; it is the appearance of age, not actual age, that is the aim.

I'm not sure what it is exactly, but it seems that the pop culture impression of bonsai, at least in the US, is something like "a really old tree in a pot". To those with a more developed appreciation however, it might more accurately be "an image of a really old tree, formed by a tree in a pot". I'm not sure about the way provenance is dealt with within the community, but that's certainly how it's perceived in pop culture.

To me personally, I think the provenance of a tree is compelling on a personal level. I'm not sure it would affect how I would value a tree, but it is interesting to know who's hands it's passed through. In some of my trees, I find it interesting to perhaps continue the vision of a tree's previous owner. One of my trees was raised and styled as a pre-bonsai by a penjing artist, and I would like to carry some of that legacy into it's final design.

Everyone who doesn't know bonsai is overly concerned with age. It's is really not all that important, UNLESS the tree is actually very, VERY old. Like over 100-1,000 years (some junipers in captivity are claimed to be that). Actual old trees typically show their age more dramatically and explicitly than "younger trees trying to look old." Actual age cannot be replicated. That is the primary reason old collected material is so valued and sought-after. It also makes those trees more likely to become "legacy" trees handed down to subsequent generations. The Yamaki pine, for instance, spent almost 400 years in a container of one sort or another. Trees in the U.S. are just on the threshold of becoming "generational" trees. The first generation of U.S. bonsaiists is passing. They leave behind quite a legacy in collected trees, but also bonsai with roots that stretch back to Japan. The next generation U.S. bonsaiists (Bjorn, Neal, ect.) are expanding on work those before have done, in some cases using the same trees.

 

[pandacular]

They leave behind quite a legacy in collected trees, but also bonsai with roots that stretch back to Japan. The next generation U.S. bonsaiists (Bjorn, Neal, ect.) are expanding on work those before have done, in some cases using the same trees.

I also think people who don't know bonsai are very interested in the generational trees. Most generational trees, however, have been owned and maintained by... normal people who may not really have that much skill. But this sort of generational collaboration between high tier artists is very interesting.

 

[chicago1980]

There are many ways to come at this discussion, I will just give some background about the highest level of named trees in Japan.

You have to study bonsai a while to recognize and appreciate "named" celebrity trees...Trees that show up in Kokufu over and over with subtle changes to foliage and pot. By watching a given tree over a long time we can map style trends over time. Then when you actually see a celebrity tree in person it is better than seeing a human celebrity.

This book is required reading to illustrate my point (...and its in English!) https://www.ebay.com/itm/224325742956

View attachment 500912

I will commit copyright infringement for you. Hou-ou is one of my favorites.
View attachment 500915View attachment 500916View attachment 500917

Another example. Its interesting how styling changes the pot pairing.
View attachment 500918View attachment 500919

Thank you, I placed an order for this book today.

 

[hemmy]

Are there iconic bonsai trees with rich histories and lineages that stand out in your mind, and what stories do they tell?

The Santa Barbara Club has a significant tree that records the history of forced relocation and detention of Americans in WWII. The tree and excerpt from their website written by the current caretaker, Joe Olson, is below. I believe this is a photo from when it was last shown in 2011. From memory, this pot is ~16” long.





“Amy Kakimoto Olive

This clump style olive is one of the oldest bonsai in constant cultivation in the United States. Amy Kakimoto, a charter member of the Bonsai Club of Santa Barbara, used to tell the story of how this bonsai belonged to her and her husband Ikey when, in 1942, all people of Japanese ancestry on the west coast were ordered on short notice to be evacuated out of their homes to distant “relocation centers”. Amy and Ikey spent the war years in the camp at Heart Mountain, Wyoming. They had quickly given the tree to a Caucasian family in California to take care of. After the war when Amy and Ikey had returned home to Santa Barbara, they retrieved the tree from its war-time caretakers. Amy continued to care for it until I acquired it from her in 2000 when she was thinning out her collection.

Amy had a good sense of humor and was loved by all who knew her. She was born in Kobe, Japan and died in Santa Barbara in 2012 at the age of 101.

Joe Olson”

2011 Bonsai Show

May 21-22, 2011

www.santabarbarabonsai.org