Vol 10, No 1 - Phoenix Bonsai Society

Newsletter of the Phoenix Bonsai Society
Vol. 10, No. 1 – August 2004
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE by Mike Apostolos
This issue of FUJII NOTES is dedicated to the Memory of John Yoshio Naka – Grand Master and Honorary
Sensei of the Phoenix Bonsai Society.
JOHN YOSHIO NAKA
(Aug. 16, 1914 – May 19, 2004)
IN CELEBRATION OF A GRAND MASTER’S LIFE
HE TAUGHT US. HE TAUGHT OUR TEACHERS.
It has been estimated that in all the
international world of bonsai, John Y. Naka was
easily considered among the top five contemporary
greatest masters, the grand masters of the art.
The following is a partial and condensed
version of the Grand Master’s life as posted on the
Phoenix Bonsai Society’s web site and reprinted by
permission of Robert Baran, webmaster and
author. For the full and complete story of this with
its
extensive
bibliography,
please
visit
www.phoenixbonsai.com/JYN.html
Born on August 16, 1914 in the farming
community of Ft. Lupton, Colorado, John Yoshio
Naka was the third child of Kakichi and Yukino
Naka. John’s father had left behind his wife and
children in Japan in 1903 to come to America to
find his fortune. A few years later, John’s mother
came to Colorado to join her husband. John’s
mother was one of the first women to come here
from Japan, so her small child – John, eighteen
years younger than his brother – was a novelty to
his father’s friends, who all pampered him.
When he was eight years old, John’s
family moved to Japan. His father, an only son,
went back to the ancestral home in Kurume on
Kyushu Island to care for his elderly father,
Sadehei, when John’s paternal grandmother died.
John and his grandfather formed a close
relationship, and the latter encouraged the former’s
dynamic zest for life. Sadehei-san taught him
bonsai as well as a repertoire of Japanese
proverbs. One day these philosophies would
continue to roll off of John’s quick tongue.
Being just a boy, John initially could only
watch the old man trim and shape the trees. Then
he was only allowed to do such things as watering
and picking weeds until he was older. John grew
very close to his grandfather, and through him
learned to train and love bonsai. There is a story
that one day, the grandfather picked up a tiny pine
in a pot and said, “Yoshio, how about making
something out of this?” He tossed the little tree to
the boy, but John dropped it. It fell out of the pot
and branches were broken. The boy was in tears.
The old man picked up the battered tree, dusted it
off, and handed it to the boy. Grandfather said,
”Start at that point.” Now, it has been said that
John believed strongly that nothing is perfect in
nature.
Looking back, one wonders if the
grandfather was not deliberately trying to give this
as a lesson to his grandson.
John’s artistic abilities had not gone
unnoticed. He was invited to study landscape
design. It was then that he learned the basics of
the relationship of trees, stones and space. When
he had nearly completed his formal education in
1935, John received notice that he had been
accepted into one of Japan’s most prestigious art
schools. However, his father had heard rumors of
an impending war and feared for his son who was
now of warrior’s age. The family members met
and decided that John should return to Colorado.
All of the other Nakas would spend the rest of their
years on the family farm, less than sixty miles
northeast of Nagasaki.
At age 21 John returned to live in Colorado
with his brother and established a truck farm near
Boulder. There in the springtime he met the young
daughter of his brother’s friend. John and Alice
Toshio Mizunaga married by the end of 1936.
They went on to raise three sons. After several
years of fighting late springs and early frosts plus
hailstorms during the summer, the Nakas decided
that they had had enough of farming. The family
moved to Los Angeles in late 1946, where John did
landscaping with a special emphasis on Japanese
gardens.
His business grew, and he would
continue this until 1968.
In 1947 John met Sam (Tameichi) Doi, one
of the early knowledgeable bonsai men in
Southern California. John began serious bonsai
creation, memories of his days with his grandfather
having not faded. His first bonsai this year was a
five-gallon size Montezuma cypress.
(Five
decades later this vigorously growing and thriving
plant would be residing in a high quality ancient
Chinese container over three hundred years old.)
John and four friends became close,
spending all their time talking about and working
with trees. Mssrs. Naka, Nagata, Furuya, and Doi
decided to show their trees in Nov. 1950 at the
horticulture center in Pasadena.
When they
arrived they were informed that individuals could
not display unless they were sponsored by a club.
Without a moment’s hesitation, the quick thinking
Frank Nagata – himself also long-experienced in
the art – spoke up and said they were a club. “And
what was the name of the club?” Again, without
hesitation or benefit of conference, “The Southern
California Bonsai Club.” They were now allowed to
enter their trees, which did win a trophy and a Blue
Ribbon at the show the next day. A demonstration
was also given then by the group’s youngest
member, John. His inaugural exhibit of trees was
the first time many Americans had the opportunity
to see bonsai in the States after the war. Within
two years John would be teaching, first his
immediate friends, and then others.
newly christened body presented an exhibition of
miniature trees in Los Angeles, with John acting as
show chairman. The exhibit was judged a huge
success and scheduled as an annual affair. (One
of the students he started with this year was Ben
Oki. John quickly realized Ben’s extraordinary
talent and would eventually invite him to assist
John at many conventions across the country.)
By 1960 the annual show was recognized
as the largest such exhibit in the United States. In
Phoenix, Arizona bonsai teacher Paul Matsusaki
had read about the California teacher in a local
newspaper article.
After a series of letter
exchanges, John was invited to come over from
L.A. to present a lecture-demonstration at the
Heard Museum. John would continue almost
annual trips to Phoenix to give workshops to and
supervise digs for both the local (est. 1962) and
Tucson Bonsai Societies (est. 1972) through at
least 1978.
A seven-tree forest of junipers was
arranged by John in 1964 in a 31’ x 22” oval tray.
The four-foot-tall main tree had been lovingly
trained in 1954 and potted alone. The other trees
were selected and potted individually as the spirit
moved him.
John fondly remembered a
Cryptomeria forest near a shrine in Japan and
wanted to emulate the majesty of those trees in his
new creation. John thought of the qualities of the
shrine forest – venerable, holy, solemn, and
sublime – and when encouraged to name this
special bonsai chose Goshin, “protector/guardian
of the spirit.”
At what was the first showing of a “new“
work by John Naka, Leroy Fujii of the Phoenix
Bonsai Society was in attendance. Afterwards,
Leroy ran into John at a restaurant and Leroy
congratulated the teacher on Goshin’s perfection.
John expressed that he was not satisfied with it
yet... (During several of the Phoenix club’s nearly
annual visits to the California Bonsai Society
shows and L.A.-area bonsai nurseries, John’s
private collection was occasionally visited or else a
few moments were gotten with the teacher
between sessions at the show. The 11th Annual
Exhibition in 1968 attracted fifty-eight thousand
people.)
In 1973 John was one of the guest
demonstrators for the five hundred delegates at the
joint Bonsai Clubs International-American Bonsai
Convention in Atlanta, GA. Also this year, Goshin
was increased to eleven trees – “one for each of
my grandchildren” – in a 32” long container. The
first edition of his excellent work, Bonsai
Techniques, was published this year. It had grown
out of a much smaller mimeographed pamphlet
used for his beginning students. With over five
In April 1958, hoping to make itself a
statewide organization, the club was renamed The
California Bonsai Society. John would helm the
club for thirty of the next thirty-two years. The
2
hundred b&w photos and illustrations and sixteen
color plates, this durable book by an experienced
teacher depicted all aspects of the art and remains
a treasured resource.
Bonsai Techniques II was published in
1982. (This one and the first would see translation
into four other languages by the end of the
decade.)
the most popular displays at the 444-acre
Arboretum.)
In his congratulatory speech, Fredric
Ballard, president of the NBF, conferred upon John
the name "Patron Saint of Bonsai." While
experiencing achievements which would fill fifty
computer printout pages, John Naka has remained
a fun loving, unassuming person, ever ready to
come forth with a witticism and a chuckle. His
pupils' favorite saying of his is "Leave Room For
The Birds To Fly Through" the branches of your
bonsai.
John traveled through and taught in over a
dozen countries. And although he had made many
trips to Japan, that country was still the one place
in which this international teacher refused to hold
classes. "They want me to teach, and I tell them
it's like trying to preach to Buddha."
In November 1985, Emperor Hirohito of
Japan bestowed upon John the most prestigious
award for a non-Japanese citizen, The Fifth Class
of the Order of the Rising Sun. Five days later
John and England's Dan Barton headlined in Palm
Springs, CA for the Golden State Bonsai
Federation Convention.
Two years later a compilation of 287
proverbs from John -- and his grandfather -presented in both Japanese and English, Even
Monkeys Fall Out of Trees, was published. The
title refers to the little recognized fact that, yes,
even bonsai masters can make a mistake.
On May 19, 2004, Grandmaster John
Yoshio Naka died three months short of his 90th
birthday. His legacy shall live on.
"His enthusiasm for life and for bonsai was
boundless, and his sense of humor was never
more spontaneous than when he told a story for
the hundredth time and burst out laughing every
time. He was generous of spirit and with his time,
and he had no patience for pettiness or
pessimism. Chief among his attributes was
humility; he never referred to himself as a 'master,'
but as a 'student.' He considered the trees to be
the teachers.”
On October 1, 1990, almost two years
after its groundbreaking, the John Y. Naka Pavilion
was dedicated before approximately one thousand
people
representing
bonsai
organizations
throughout the United States and Japan. The
National Collection of North American Bonsai
(NCNAB) which would be housed in that Pavilion
was also dedicated at this time. Its first holding, as
a matter of fact, was John’s superb forest, Goshin,
donated in March 1984. This was a milestone in a
collaborative effort by the non-profit National
Bonsai Foundation (NBF) and the U.S. National
Arboretum to present bonsai to the public as a fine
art. (The Japanese Bonsai and Chinese Penjing
Collections by this time were and continue to be
Next May, the bonsai world will gather at
the John Y. Naka Pavilion of the National Bonsai
and Penjing Museum in Washington, D.C. as part
of the World Bonsai Friendship Federation's
Convention to commemorate John's many
contributions to bonsai.
PHOENIX BONSAI SOCIETY CALENDAR – 2004 - 2005
SEP 07
SEP 14
SEP 21
SHOW OF TREES; Club Business / Upcoming Events
Demo/Lecture: Bonsai Material – What to Get/Where to Get It
Workshop: Pomegranates – Club Trees/Bring Your Own
OCT 05
SHOW OF TREES; Club Business
OCT 07-24
Club Display @ Arizona State Fair, 19th Avenue & McDowell Road
OCT 12 Demo/Lecture: Bonsai Styles – Styling -- Apexes
OCT 19
Fall Junk Sale
NOV 02SHOW OF TREES; Club Business / Show & Display Wrap-Ups
NOV 04-07
Golden State Bonsai Federation Convention in Santa Rosa, CA.
NOV 09Workshop – Styling Dwarf Nana Junipers – Club Trees/Bring Your Own
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NOV 13-14
Ben Oki Workshop and Baker Nursery Show @ Baker’s Nursery, 3414 North 40th
Street, Phoenix, AZ 85040 (at 40th St. and Osborn, between Indian School and
Thomas Rd.)
NOV 16Workshop – Potting Dwarf Nana Junipers – Club Trees/Bring Your Own
DEC 07
SHOW OF TREES; Club Business
DEC 14 Demo/Lecture/Workshop: Literati Style Bonsai – Bring Your Own Material
DEC 21
HOLIDAY PARTY
JAN 04, 2005
JAN 11
JAN 18
SHOW OF TREES; Club Business
Demo/Lecture: Potting/Re-potting; Potting Pomegranates – Club Trees/Bring Your Own
Preparation for Club Shows/Displays; Open Workshop; Bring Raffle/Sale Trees
FEB 01
SHOW OF TREES; Club Business; Prepare for Chinese Week Show/Display
FEB 08 Guest Speaker – To Be Announced
FEB 11-13
Chinese Week Show/Display – Chinese Cultural Center – 44th St/South of 202
FEB 15
Open Workshop
FEB 26-27
MATSURI Show/Display – Heritage Park – 7th St/South of Van Buren
MAR 01
MAR 08
MAR 15
MAR 17-20
SHOW OF TREES; Club Business / Show & Display Wrap-Ups
Demo/Lecture: Bonsai 101; Intermediate/Advanced Topic – To Be Announced
Open Workshop
Phoenix Bonsai Society California Bonsai Bus Trip
APR 05 SHOW OF TREES; Club Business
APR 12 Demo/Lecture: How to Make a Forest Planting
APR 19 Spring Junk Sale
MAY 03SHOW OF TREES; Club Business
MAY 10Demo/Lecture: Summer Care – Fertilizing and Watering Techniques
MAY 17Open Workshop
JUN 04 End Of Year Party
We have a great set of programs outlined for this season and hope to see everyone in attendance
throughout the year. This season we are embarking on more-in-depth teaching styles through the programs
and the way they are developed. As in the actual Art of Bonsai, nothing is immediate; thus a number of
programs are being carried over to additional meeting times to allow for the proper learning of the Living Art.
We’re sure you will find these programs worthwhile and hope you participate in all of them.
As always – it is expected that all attention be directed to the program at hand to allow the
presenters our full attention and so that others may enjoy and continue their learning experience.
Should you find it necessary to converse with someone – please remove yourselves from the main
room and go to the outside patio area, so as not to disturb the program. Your full cooperation is
appreciated.
ARTICLES
Snack Leader(s) Needed, Apply to the
President, Mike Apostolos: We would like to
acquire a, or a couple of, or a few new Snack
Leaders to be responsible for making sure snacks
make it to every meeting during this season. The
past couple of years, Ardie Apostolos and Max
Miller have been graciously filling this role, sharing
the duties from meeting to meeting. They have
told us they are going to retire this September and
we need to seek new volunteers for the duty. It is
easy and relatively painless – the Snack Leaders
bring snacks to each of the meetings and set up
the coffee and tea supplies from the cabinet in the
back of the room. These are put back at the end of
the meeting. The Club will reimburse you for all
expenses – save the receipt and present it to the
Treasurer. It is much easier if we have at least two
Snack Leaders to share the duties; more could
also work out. Please let me know as soon as
possible if you would like to embark on this fulfilling
volunteer position.
Out of Summer into Fall: Watch your bonsai
carefully this time of year. It can be tricky -- the hot
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days are sometimes drier as the humidity comes in
and out of play on the way to drier times coming
up. Watch your bonsai for watering – they’ll
indicate what to do, but don’t wait too long. For a
number of specimens, this marks the second
growing season for our climate. Air layering can
be done now, as long as you keep it watered and
protected. If you still have wire on any of your
bonsai, check the trees to be sure no scarring
occurs. Again, as this is the second growing
season, it can catch you by surprise. Rotate,
Rotate, Rotate. Be sure to rotate your bonsai
every few weeks to make sure they are getting the
same exposure all the way around the tree. This
assists in healthy and even growth.
Reservations for the sessions, once they are
formally announced and tickets are available, will
be on a first-come, first-served basis with priority
given to Current/Active Phoenix Bonsai Society
Members.
Also, in conjunction with the Ben Oki
workshop, the Phoenix Bonsai Society will hold a
Bonsai Display and Demonstration throughout the
weekend. This is a chance to show your bonsai
and work on nursery stock to style and train into
bonsai. This has been a very popular event and,
as always, depends on the support of our Club
members to make it successful. This is another
opportunity for your Phoenix Bonsai Society to
continue its mission of being an educational and
teaching club and furthering the Art of Bonsai to
the general public.
Watch for upcoming
information. Contact Jim Jefferies, Ken Joens, or
Cheryl Sykora for further details.
Show of Trees: What is it? The First Meeting of
every month of the Phoenix Bonsai Society begins
with Club Business, then moves on to the Main
Feature. This Show of Trees is where Club
members bring their bonsai in and show them,
briefly describing the tree’s age, style, origin, care
requirements, etc. For this year the Show of Trees
will include a review by one of our Mentors. This is
meant as information from an advanced point of
view.
It is not criticism but knowledge and
information available to the bonsai artist/student to
use as he or she determines. Each month a
different Mentor will share thoughts and ideas as
bonsai are reviewed in our Show of Trees. Be
sure to bring your bonsai in to learn more about
them.
Summer Gathering Dinners: Our series of
summer dinner gatherings were another great
success. We would like to thank Marcia Colliat and
Susie Kingston for arranging these social events
designed to keep all of us in touch with each other
during the summer months. Venues visited this
time were Le Madeline; the Wild Thaiger; and Our
Gang. We had around 20 people attend each of
the dinner gatherings for food, friendship and fun.
Thank you also to all those who supported the
events. The committee is compiling places for
future events and next summer.
The Ben Oki Workshop: Mark your calendars for
November 13 and 14 this fall. These will be the
dates for our Annual Ben Oki Workshop and Baker
Nursery Show. Once again, Ben Oki will conduct a
series of workshops at Baker’s. We will have two
sessions on Saturday and two on Sunday. Each
session will be limited to ten participants.
Observers will also be allowed, but only to view
and observe the sessions silently. This year we
will offer an advanced workshop level on Sunday
morning. This session will be for participants to
bring in an existing bonsai and get an intense
evaluation, lesson and lecture on the tree and how
to advance it to the next level. As with all sessions
lunch is included in the price. Also, be sure to
participate in the Saturday evening dinner event in
which we have dinner with Ben Oki at a local
restaurant and add a special finish to a great day.
Be sure to watch for further information on the
costs and exact times. Contact Doug Acker or
Mike Apostolos for additional information.
B.I.G. EVENTS: Once again this Fall we will return
to our B.I.G. Events (Bonsai In the Garden).
These events are Saturday morning brunch
potlucks held at one of our member’s homes to see
their bonsai and further our educational and
learning experiences in this Living Art. We also
seem to have a lot of food, fun and friendship. It is
an excellent opportunity to see what others do with
their trees and various techniques for the care and
styling of bonsai. The events are held from around
8:30 or 9:00 a.m. to around 11:00 or 11:30 a.m.
Again, the format is potluck – bring a dish to share
with everyone. Last year we had the chance to
visit some very interesting collections and learn a
lot of different ideas about people’s specimens and
techniques. If you are interested in hosting a
B.I.G. Event, please contact Marcia Colliat or Susie
Kingston to make arrangements for a weekend.
Keep in mind we need to schedule around existing
events on our Club Calendar.
I hope this issue of FUJII NOTES finds you all in good health and spirits and ready to enjoy another
season of the intriguing aspects of the Living Art of Bonsai. Our year will be filled with many exciting
meetings and events. We look forward to your support and participation in the club, to continue to make the
Phoenix Bonsai Society the successful educational and teaching club that we all enjoy. If you haven’t had a
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chance yet to view the club’s web site, be sure to check it out soon: www.phoenixbonsai.com. Our
webmaster and club historian, Robert J. Baran, is continuing his creative genius on the site. His detailed
research on the life of John Yoshio Naka is very well done and extremely interesting. I would again like to
thank him for allowing permission in this issue to touch on a few of the highlights in a condensed version. As
always, there is information about the Phoenix Bonsai Society, our Calendar of Events, as well as activities
and schedules for several of the other Bonsai Organizations around the Valley and State. If you have any
questions or comments, please contact me and let me know. These can also include any ideas for programs
or events that may be interesting to bring to the club. I look forward to seeing all of you on Tuesday,
September 7, at 7:30 p.m. at the Valley Garden Center on 15th Avenue just north of McDowell Road for our
1st meeting and Show of Trees of the season.
Michael Apostolos, President
Phoenix Bonsai Society
© 2004 Phoenix Bonsai Society
∋
Bonsai of Scottsdale (2000) activities are held primarily at the Via Linda Senior Center, Rm. 2,
10440 East Via Linda in Scottsdale, half a mile south of Shea Blvd. Unless otherwise stated, all
events will be at 1:30 p.m. on the First and Third Saturdays of the Month. Contact Scottsdale
President Tom Ballen, [email protected] / (480) 502-8639 , or Lyn Searfoss, [email protected] /
(480) 905-9238 , for details.
∋
Tucson Bonsai Society (1972) meets at 1 p.m. on the Third Sunday of every month at the Tucson
Botanical Gardens' Porter Gardens facility, 2150 North Alvernon Way. Contact David Meyer @
(520) 749-4155 or (520) 722-2000.
∋
Southern Arizona Bonsai Enthusiasts (2001) meet the FIRST SUNDAY of each month, 12:304:00 p.m. at The Tucson Botanical Gardens, 2150 North Alvernon Way. For information contact:
Doris Cavanaugh, [email protected] / (520) 290-0522 , Pat & Thelma Patterson,
[email protected] / (520) 825-9685 , or Kurt, [email protected] / (520) 321-4173.
This newsletter is named in recognition of Hideo “Leroy” Fujii (1925-1998), student of bonsai for nearly fifty
years, a founding member of our club, and our sensei / teacher for more than twenty-five years. Our club
logo, courtesy of grandmaster John Y. Naka, is based on one of Leroy’s trees. Two pages of some of Leroy’s
other fine creations can be found on our web site.
"Learn from your trees: they are a reflection of you."
-- Leroy Fujii
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PHOENIX BONSAI SOCIETY
c/o Robert J. Baran
4311 Miramar Dr.
Golden Valley, AZ 86413
ADDRESS CORRECTION AND
FORWARDING REQUESTED
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