The Bonsai Board: Ann McClellan

Photo by Kenji

The National Bonsai Foundation’s Board of Directors comprises many talented individuals who are passionate about the art of bonsai. Ann McClellan is no exception, so we spoke with her about her contributions to the bonsai world. 

Ann has long been involved with the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum, but she joined the Bonsai Board in 2018. She said her work at the Smithsonian Institution and World Wildlife Fund provided her with an excellent knowledge base to be an ambassador for and to support the Foundation’s mission to promote bonsai and foster intercultural friendship. 

“I care so much about the trees and the Museum and Arboretum, and I felt I could both share useful info and be a conveyer of the NBF message,” she said.

Ann as a child, collecting sap from a sugar maple

Ann's connection to trees dates back to her childhood, having lived among the beautiful trees and glades at the Lawrenceville School in New Jersey. Her family first lived in a house on the school’s golf course.
“It was like living on a boat in the middle of an ocean of trees and grass,” she said. 

Ann said Frederick Law Olmsted, the landscape architect who designed the campus she grew up on as well as other famous outdoor respites, like Central Park in New York City, believed that people benefit from being immersed in thoughtful arrangements of land and plants. Growing up on the campus pay attention to trees her whole life – from the oaks and elms at Lawrenceville campus to the bonsai at the Museum. 

Ann studied history at Goucher College outside of Baltimore but has continued to pursue different subjects as a lifelong learner, including during her 16-year career at the Smithsonian Institution. She first worked in product development, searching for items in the collection that could be reproduced for Smithsonian shops and catalogues.

The Lawrenceville campus in the 50s or 60s, courtesy of Lawrenceville School

“I loved that I could learn about millions of objects including botanical specimens,” Ann said. 

Through this work, she met entomologists and botanists with whom she worked to educate the public about the different specimens and gardens seen throughout the Smithsonian collections. Ann then transitioned to a position at the World Wildlife Fund, where she helped spread crucial information about the value of wildlife conservation, including sustainable horticulture. 

Ann later worked as a freelance writer, which eventually led to her inaugural book called The Cherry Blossom Festival: Sakura Celebration, first published in 2005. She researched, wrote and assembled images for the beautiful ode to D.C.’s annual cherry blossom festival in just six months to meet the publisher’s deadline. 

“That was an intense learning period about trees because, in addition to festival facts and what cherry blossoms mean to the Japanese, I also had to learn about them as trees,” Ann said.

Seven years later, Ann worked with National Geographic to publish Cherry Blossoms: The Official Book of the National Cherry Blossom Festival, to honor the festival’s centennial celebration. With these authoring experiences, Ann was the perfect person to write about the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum, at the suggestion of former Museum Curator Jack Sustic. 

“I was so grateful for the opportunity, and I have loved learning about bonsai and connecting with the trees,” she said. 

Ann worked with Sustic, Museum Specialist Kathleen Emerson-Dell and then-Executive Director Johann Klodzen to produce Bonsai & Penjing: Ambassadors of Peace and Beauty. The book details the history of the Museum’s trees and their instrumental role in international diplomacy, world's fair exhibitions and bonsai interest in the United States. 

“There are lots of books on the market but many are not as beautiful as this one, so I’m grateful for all the people who had something to do with that,” she said. 

Ann has spent many years promoting bonsai and the Museum through her book and continues to garden clubs, plant lovers and the public about the trees and their remarkable stories. She personally connects with the art because the essence of each tree species is distilled into the bonsai. 

“In Japan I saw a 70-foot-tall red pine with the same curved trunk as the Imperial Pine at the Museum, which allowed me to see why the Imperial Pine has such a presence just in its 4 feet,” Ann said. “The fact that a series of people over generations have cared for each of these trees is a message worth sharing.”

Ann (center) with her bonsai book at a receptions for the 2019 American Public Gardens Association Conference  (Courtesy of Olivia Anderson Photography)

She aims to highlight how bonsai practitioners around the world so clearly connect with trees in a deep way – and her efforts don’t go unnoticed. In early 2021, Ann received an award from the Japanese government for her success in promoting Japanese culture and promoting friendly relations between Japan and the United States. 

“To be honored like this is profoundly moving,” she said. “My life has been dedicated to service in a way – nonprofit work, education, ‘edu-tainment.’ These are not things you do if you’re looking to see your name in lights. It’s more about improving other people’s experiences.”

Ann continues to be an active member on the NBF board and is thrilled about plans to renovate the Museum’s exhibit spaces and tree pavilions. 

“It’s exciting to be part of something that has a future, and such a bright one, which I think will make it easier for more people to connect with the trees,” she said. 

Learn more about Ann McClellan and her work on her website. 

Remembering Barbara Hall Marshall

Photo courtesy of Hallmark

The National Bonsai Foundation (NBF) is saddened to announce the passing of one of its most steadfast supporters, Barbara Hall Marshall. Mrs. Marshall died April 21, 2021, in Kansas City, Mo., at age 97.

A lifelong philanthropist, Mrs. Marshall had a keen interest in the small and precise that led her to grow bonsai and become a founding member of the Bonsai Society of Greater Kansas City. She later joined NBF and served on the NBF Board of Directors for many years, eventually being appointed Honorary Director in 1998. 

Mrs. Marshall was a most generous benefactor to NBF and the National Bonsai & Penjang Museum at the U.S. National Arboretum. Donations from Mrs. Marshall provided critical marketing, administrative and programmatic support to NBF over the years, including an internship program, an assistant curator position and the establishment of the John Y. Naka North American Pavilion.

“Barbara’s dedication to bonsai and NBF was truly second to none,” said James Hughes, Chair of the Board of Directors. “Her presence is deeply felt throughout NBF and the Museum, and we would not have reached such great prominence nationally and internationally without her support. It has been an honor and a privilege to have her as an important member of the bonsai community.”

Mrs. Marshall (L) attends a reception at the Museum in 2009. Also pictured: Marybel Balendonck (NBF Longstanding Board Member), Harry Hirao and Mr. Hirao’s daughter.

Mrs. Marshall’s love of art and the people who create it formed the basis for her lifetime of supporting arts education. She became a nationally recognized collector of miniatures and in 1982 co-founded the National Museum of Toys and Miniatures, where her personal collection remains on permanent exhibit. She was involved with many other organizations in and around her hometown, including the Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City Symphony, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and The Land Institute in Salina, Kansas, where she led efforts to construct a research facility in 2018.

The second child of renowned Hallmark Cards founder J.C. Hall and his wife Elizabeth, Mrs. Marshall was involved in the Hallmark Company for more than 50 years. She was a member of the company’s product review committee and later became part of a group charged with making acquisitions for Hallmark’s renowned art collection.

According to her official obituary, Mrs. Marshall attended Bradford Junior College and graduated from the University of Kansas in 1945. She was predeceased by her husband, Robert A. Marshall, and is survived by three daughters, two grandchildren and one great-grandchild, among other family members. 

Like many bonsai and penjing enthusiasts, Mrs. Marshall was fascinated by the grand stories we can capture in miniature form — whether through a fine-scale dollhouse or a small tree in a pot. We will always be in awe of Mrs. Marshall’s dedication to the arts and deeply proud that she chose to share her generosity with NBF. Her influence and passion for bonsai will live on through NBF’s mission and the beautiful trees in the Museum’s national collection. 

Seated: John and Alice Naka. Standing (left to right):  Marybel Balendonck, Kay Komai, Barbara Marshall, and Cheryl Manning. The group gathered at a luncheon organized by the Japanese government to honor Frank Goya (one of John's first students) in March of 2004.

NBF Celebrates National Volunteer Month

Museum volunteers enjoying the snow in 2017

In celebration of National Volunteer Month, the National Bonsai Foundation is paying tribute to the heartfelt, dedicated volunteers who assist the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum’s full-time staff in caring for the timeless and breathtaking trees in the national collection.

NBF is grateful for these volunteers who help make up the heart and soul of the Museum, infusing the spirit of bonsai into everything, from their technical duties to events and meetings that support the Museum.

But who are Museum volunteers, and what do they do? 

Volunteers assist with the maintenance of the Museum's bonsai and penjing collections. Their duties range from cleaning to pruning and wiring trees. Typically, the Museum receives the help of 10 to 15 volunteers annually, and they generally work 4 to 6 hours per week. While some volunteers come and go, others have volunteered for decades and have even been involved with the Museum since its inception. 

Museum Curator Michael James said past years have yielded an average of 2,000 annual volunteer hours. James said each volunteer offers the Museum a unique skill set and personal experiences in horticulture and the art of bonsai. 

“The volunteers are generous enough to give something so valuable as their time,” he said. “The stories they tell are like pages from a horticultural history book.”

Volunteers Janet Lanman and Jim Rieden join Hughes, Museum specialist Kathleen Emerson-Dell and other bonsai club members in a discussion about bonsai. Photos courtesy of Jim Hughes.

Jim Hughes, NBF’s board chair and a former Museum curator, said constantly maintaining the show-ready condition of bonsai for public display is very labor intensive. The volunteers’ many hands help full-time Museum staff make light work of the hundreds of trees within the Museum’s collections.  

“Volunteers help get the job done, week in and week out,” Hughes said. “As curator, I found them to be an invaluable resource that is skilled, dedicated and appreciative of their unique opportunity to work on these storied trees.”

He said some of his closest links to the local bonsai community during his time overseeing the collection from 2005 to 2008 were built around his weekly contact with Museum volunteers, who were bonsai club leaders and steadfast NBF supporters.

Volunteer Tom Inglesby helps Hughes repot the Ponderosa pine in the Museum’s grow out area. 

Hughes added that his role as NBF’s board chair provides him with a heightened awareness of the significant contribution that these volunteers make to the Museum and the U.S. National Arboretum, in lieu of paid staff. 

“Historically, in addition to their time and efforts at the museum, many of them are faithful NBF donors,” he said. “We are thankful to all of them for their hard work at the Museum and their philanthropic support of NBF's mission to promote the art of bonsai and penjing.”

A few of the volunteers Hughes worked with were original founders of the Museum and started their own local bonsai clubs that still thrive today. 

“I am thankful I’ve had the opportunity to personally meet and work with these individuals that established the Museum as a national showcase of this beautiful art form,” he said. “I hope we can do them the honor of continuing to safeguard the legacy we have inherited.” 

The Museum has been closed since mid-March 2020 and hopes to reopen soon, when it is safe for volunteers to return. Their enthusiasm for the national collection, bonsai and the related horticultural and artistic endeavors brings a vibrance to the Museum and NBF, and they have been greatly missed. 

While we have had many volunteers over the years and are grateful for their service and giving, our current list of active volunteers is below.

Jennifer Amundsen

Josh Berer

Ross Campbell

Jack Chapman

Sundara Chintaluri

Young Choe

Scott Clinton

Olivia Cook

Chuck Croft

James Dail

Elizabeth Dame

Robert Drechsler

LeAnn Duling

Matthew Ferner

Pierre Gerber

Brian Gottlieb

Joseph Gutierrez, MD

Richard Hammerschlag

James Haworth

Nia Imani

Tom Inglesby

Richard Kang

David Lieu

Stephanie Mark

Garret Miller

Lee Palmer

Theodore Pickett, Jr.

Julie Pascu

Mike Rainwater

Steve Smith

Akiko Sprague

Lori Sullivan

Janice Vitale

Alexander Voorhies

Richard Winchester

The Bonsai Board: Ross Campbell

Ross Campbell, NBF secretary/treasurer elect, pictured with his yew bonsai.

At the National Bonsai Foundation, we are grateful to our Board of Directors for their support, ingenuity and bonsai knowledge. Get to know the directors in our spotlight series, The Bonsai Board, highlighting their bonsai experience and why they joined NBF. 

Read about Board Chair Jim Hughes here and Chair-Elect Dan Angelucci and Secretary/Treasurer Jim Brant here. 

For this edition, we interviewed Ross Campbell, who joined NBF in August 2020 and became secretary/treasurer elect later in the year. Campbell worked for 34 years as a senior analyst for the U.S. Government Accountability Office, reviewing and evaluating programs at federal agencies. He has penned reports to Congress on topics like ecosystem management, invasive species control and honeybee health. 

Campbell grew up in Detroit, Michigan, a Sister City to Toyota in the Aichi Prefecture of Japan. In an exchange program between the two cities, he traveled to Toyota to immerse himself in Japanese culture through tours, travel and staying with a Japanese family. He saw shrines, temples and examples of Japanese artistic hobbies, but he was most impressed by the combination of managed and natural styles in Japanese gardens. 

“Just about everyone I came across, young or old, had some interest in a historical or cultural practice like ikebana or martial arts,” Campbell said. “They really put a lot of effort, energy and skill into each garden.”

He moved to Washington, D.C. in 1985 and encountered the U.S. National Arboretum. The National Bonsai & Penjing Museum rekindled his interest in the art and culture he saw in Japan. Campbell then bought his first bonsai, a juniper sold at the Eastern Market on Capitol Hill. 

He joined and eventually presided over the Washington Bonsai Club, which met at the Arboretum. Campbell is a Brookside Bonsai Society member and newsletter editor and served as the Potomac Bonsai Association treasurer for many years. 

He said he is most drawn to bonsai because bonsai artists connect with nature, forests and trees in their natural setting. Campbell prefers more naturalistic bonsai styles rather than abstract – he wants his bonsai to be more representative, not suggestive, of real trees. 

“You can’t exactly play with or tinker with an actual forest, but you can do that with a bonsai and try to put that large forest experience into something you can hold in your hands,” he said. “I can’t draw, I can't paint, but I’m hopeful that through this bonsai hobby I can develop some artistic skills.”

Campbell and his son Ian in front of John Naka’s Goshin. Campbell’s family took annual pictures in front of the tree to show how his son and the tree had grown. 

Campbell enjoys both the group activity of bonsai and the relaxing practice of working one on one with his own bonsai. 

“I enjoy being with people and seeing or talking about their techniques, but ultimately it is most satisfying for me to be making progress just me and the tree at home,” he said. “It takes your attention and concentration but allows you to shut out stress and difficulties, slowly letting the process unfold and seeing things change over the seasons and years.”

One of Campbell’s most memorable experiences at the Museum was when Curator Michael James asked him to help perform some maintenance on John Naka’s famous “Goshin” on Campbell’s second day as a volunteer at the Museum. 

“It’s not like I had a pruning saw or even concave cutters in my hand, but the fact I was able to perform even minor work on such an important bonsai was very unexpected, fun and a bit tense,” he said. 

In winter 2019, Campbell became a Museum volunteer to improve his bonsai technique and help the Museum continue to thrive. 

“People who don’t know anything about bonsai come through the Museum but are clearly captivated by the collections,” he said. “NBF keeps that opportunity available, and if I can do anything to help NBF or the Museum, then that’s what I want to do. I’m glad I’ve been able to support the Museum as a visitor and now as a board member.” 

Museum Curators: Michael James

The National Bonsai & Penjing Museum couldn’t house the finest bonsai in the world without a dedicated, talented and knowledgeable leader. In our next installment of Museum Curators, we’re helping you get to know our current curator, Michael James, who is all of those things and more.

Horticulture was a natural career path for James, whose family owned and operated a small produce business out of Maryland called Blueberry Hill. His first bonsai encounter occurred around 1996 when he was in college – a silver maple forest planting at a community fair The beauty and intricacy of the small grouping of trees astonished him.

 James studied art at the Maryland Institute College of Art, where he delved into the art and practice of bonsai in his free time. He then decided to pursue a plant science degree at the Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

“I realized that the most important thing is to learn the science behind it and the ‘why’ and ‘how’ plant cultivation can be done,” James said. “Whether it be higher yields or better tasting fruits or beautiful foliage, it can be done with knowing the physiology and plant sciences.”

Instead of waiting for a job opening or to be recruited, he reached out to the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum for a volunteer position in the summer of 2001. James initially saw his time at the Museum as a place to learn bonsai with the best trees and instructors in the world, but he never thought he would procure a full-time job. He eventually became a permanent employee in 2002, after helping the Museum host that year’s World Bonsai Friendship Federation convention.

James planting blueberries with his late mother around 1981

In 2005, James returned to his family’s produce farm in Maryland, where he remained for the next decade. But he eventually found his way back to the Museum in 2014, working as the assistant curator to former Curator and NBF Co-President Jack Sustic. James was finally appointed curator in June 2018. 

The allure of bonsai and a curatorship

James’ favorite part of growing bonsai is watching the trees thrive and change over the years. Bonsai is such a lengthy process that Museum staff constantly make decisions that will be seen 15 or 25 years later, but James said watching the results of previous years of work is very rewarding.

 “We’re coaxing these trees to their future forms over a very long timeframe, and even though it’s subtle and very slow, you see those forms taking shape,” he said.

 James said some of the most exciting times at the Museum have been when he worked on trees with international bonsai master John Naka. Naka would share his vision for the styling and future appearance of his famous tree planting Goshin or exchange laughs with staff and other bonsai artists.

 “He was always making a joke, like pinching at a spruce with chopsticks and pretending to eat it, or other corny little things,” James said.

 To James, bonsai has always been an important facet to horticulture and agriculture production. He said cultures that produce their own food, like the United States, pave the way for more luxury and time for the arts, including bonsai.  

 “Bonsai turns science into a form of art that is relatable and a balance between both culture and science,” he said. “Some plants produce fruit and could technically be eaten, but these are living things that often speak to the soul, rather than feeding the belly.”

James working on Goshin as a museum volunteer under the direction of John Naka, 2001

 James said he tries to approach the styling of each tree with an unbiased mind, channeling the influence of the bonsai’s creator to maintain the integrity of its design.

 “When working on Goshin, I have to be thinking about what Naka would do to that tree,” he said. “The trees are in a different state than years ago, more developed and refined, but their creators would still utilize the same principles and individual characteristics they applied from the start.”

Most of James’ bonsai education has been through the Museum, but he has traveled around China and Southeast Asia to study the styles and inspiration for bonsai and penjing. James added that the diverse collection within the Museum – which holds bonsai from China, Japan and throughout North America – allows him to study the nuances of different plant species, from training techniques to growing specifications.

 “The Museum is a hub – all these incredibly educated bonsai artists pass through here when traveling to work on trees and explain their ideas of styling and bonsai culture,” he said. “In the branches and trunks, you can see what creators saw in them and what they were intending on in their form that translates out the branches as the trees continue.”

James is one of a few essential workers keeping the trees thriving while the Museum is closed to the public. Leave him a comment below to share your appreciation for his hard work and great leadership! 

National Bonsai Foundation Introduces 2020-21 Board of Directors

National Bonsai Foundation Introduces 2020-21 Board of Directors

We are thrilled to announce the National Bonsai Foundation 2020-21 Board of Directors! James Hughes is our new Board Chair. Read about his curatorship at the Museum and his background in our August blog posts. Marybel Balendonck, one of the founding NBF directors, will retain her position as vice president. 

We also have some new faces in officer positions. Help us welcome Chair-Elect Daniel Angelucci and Secretary/Treasurer James Brant. 

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Daniel Angelucci, Chair-Elect

Daniel Angelucci will serve as the NBF chair-elect for two years, followed by a two-year term as the NBF board chair. Angelucci has been practicing bonsai for 36 years. 

He was first introduced to the art when he lived in Flint, Michigan, and came across a bonsai demonstration at a local mall. Angelucci was inspired to buy books about bonsai to learn more. 

In 2008, his interest in bonsai took off after he joined the Ann Arbor Bonsai Society and the Four Seasons Bonsai Club of Michigan. The clubs exposed him to nationally recognized groups, like the American Bonsai Society (ABS), and bonsai artists like Jack Wikle and former NBF Co-President and Museum Curator Jack Sustic. 

Angelucci first joined the NBF board as a member in 2018. He decided to apply for the chair-elect officer position to contribute a varying skill set to the operations in support of the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum.

“It seemed to me that about 90 percent of the people who were on the board of the Foundation were bonsai professionals in some form or another,” he said. “I’m mediocre in bonsai art at best, but I thought I might have something to offer with regard to the time and talent I accrued in my financial and business backgrounds.” 

Now fully retired, Angelucci brings to the NBF board an extensive background in wealth management and investment strategy, with educational certificates from Duke, Harvard, Yale, Wharton and University of California, Berkeley.

He is a longtime friend of the arts, serving on the Board of Directors of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and holding memberships in NBF, ABS, the Ann Arbor bonsai society and Pittsburgh Bonsai Society. 

As chair-elect, Angelucci will focus on forging relationships with U.S. bonsai professionals and broadening the awareness of the Museum to maintain its significance as a U.S. national treasure. 

“There’s so much history in the original gift that the Japanese gave to the United States and in trees like the Yamaki pine, which survived the Hiroshima bombing,” he said. “It would be a travesty if we were not able to maintain the health of trees like that.” 

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James Brant, Secretary/Treasurer

James Brant will serve as Secretary/Treasurer for two years, then step into the full position of Secretary/Treasurer for two more. 

Brant taught various levels of education, from elementary school to adult evening school, for 31 years in Pennsylvania, retiring in 1999. He became involved with bonsai in the 70s, starting classes at Rosade Bonsai Studio in 1978. 

Brant has served several positions in the Pennsylvania and MidAtlantic bonsai societies and is a member of the Bonsai Society of the Lehigh Valley, Second Sunday Study Group and Delaware Valley Bonsai Study Group. He has served as coordinator for the Delaware group and Bonsai Kaido Ken Shu Kai Study Group. 

Brant has also instructed children’s bonsai classes and presented programs on wintering and bonsai display. He received the 2002 Bonsai Clubs International Meritorious Service Award. 

He was honored and pleased to join the board after being asked to fill in for a departing member. Before the joint Secretary/Treasurer position was created this year, Brant served solely as the NBF treasurer and has been a board member since 2005. 

Brant said some of his most memorable moments from the last 15 years at NBF were the compilation and publishing of Bonsai Master John Naka’s sketchbook, which you can find on our website, and the renovation of the Japanese exhibit.

In his new position, Brant hopes to provide NBF with a continuity of service and contribute to the Board’s goals in as many ways possible. 

“My wife Linda and I have met some truly wonderful people, and traveled to some remarkable places to spread the fellowship of bonsai,” he said. “Bonsai – and, to a degree, NBF – is a hobby that has given my life meaning, serenity, fellowship, and learning all rolled into one.” 

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Here is our full 2020-21 Board of Directors. We can’t wait to see what this year will bring under the stewardship of these devoted individuals!

OFFICERS

• James Hughes (‘22) - University Park, MD, Chair of the Board

• Daniel Angelucci (‘22) - Harrison Township, MI, Chair-Elect of the Board

• James Brant (‘22) - Royersford, Pennsylvania, Secretary/Treasurer

• Marybel Balendonck (’23) - Fullerton, California, Vice President

DIRECTORS

• Ross Campbell (‘23) – Silver Spring, MD

• Milton Chang, PhD (‘23) – Los Altos Hill, CA

• Christopher Cochrane ('22) – Glen Allen, Virginia

• Julie Crudele ('22) – Annapolis, Maryland

• Edward Fabian, ('21) – Niceville, Florida

• Joseph Gutierrez, MD, FACS ('21) – McLean, Virginia

• Karen Harkaway, MD (‘21) – Mount Holly, New Jersey

• Richard Kahn, PhD (‘22) – Alexandria, VA

• Cheryl Manning ('21) – Los Angeles, California

• Ann McClellan ('21) – Washington, DC

• Carl Morimoto, PhD (‘21) – San Jose, CA

• Pauline Muth ('21) – West Charlton, NY

• Doug Paul (‘21) – Kennett Square, PA

• Glenn Reusch (’21) – Rochelle, Virginia

• Deborah Rose, PhD (’22) – Beltsville, Maryland

• Stephen Voss ('21) – Washington, DC

EX-OFFICIO

• Charles Croft – President, Potomac Bonsai Association

• Mark Fields – President, American Bonsai Society

ICYMI: We profiled our recently retired board members! Reflect on their legacies with us here. 

Special gratitude and appreciation for retiring board members

At the annual National Bonsai Foundation Board of Directors meeting in August, we had the pleasure of honoring three directors who have retired from the board: Larry Ragle, Bill Valavanis and Jane Yamashiroya. We are grateful for the directors’ dedication to fostering a worldwide appreciation of peace and friendship through the art of bonsai. Please join us in reflecting on their contributions to the bonsai community over the years.

We have opened up the comment board below should you like to share your messages.

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Larry Ragle (1982-2020)

Larry Ragle joined NBF so he could contribute to the mission of elevating and expanding the value of bonsai on a global scale. He was one of the original board members when NBF was founded, and both he and his wife Nina have been very involved in the bonsai community. Ragle felt his directorship was an important step to honor his sensei, bonsai masters John Naka and Harry Hirao.

He sees NBF as the soul of the National Bonsai Museum and thanks NBF Vice President Marybel Balendonck for her encouragement and guidance. Ragle appreciates the heartwarming support he and NBF received during fundraising events that honored bonsai masters like John Naka, Harry Hirao and George Yamaguchi. 

“It has been a delight to see the Museum become a reality and watch all the improvements with so many dedicated volunteers,” he says. “It has been an honor to have played a small part, along with the rest of the bonsai community and beyond, to help make NBF the quality organization it has become.”

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Bill Valavanis (1998-2020)

Bill Valavanis originally joined NBF to help promote the Museum and bonsai through his extensive connections in the bonsai community. Valavanis’ favorite memory as a director is when he served as National Chair of the selection committee to assemble the initial 56 trees that formed the Museum’s collection of North American Bonsai more than 30 years ago. 

Valavanis fondly remembers when he and bonsai master Yuji Yoshimura compiled a list of 16 recommendations to revitalize the Museum’s collections and facilities. Valavanis is the third and only living inductee into the U.S. National Arboretum National Bonsai & Penjing Museum’s National Bonsai Hall of Fame. 

“Although I am no longer a director, I will continue to support and assist NBF to sustain the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum,” he says. “I am honored I had the opportunity to share my experiences and knowledge gained during my 58 years of bonsai study with NBF for more than three decades.”

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Jane Yamashiroya (2010-2020)

Jane Yamashiroya and her husband Roy became hooked on bonsai after attending a class on bonsai basics. They joined a bonsai club and spent their spare time improving skills. Eventually Ted Tsukiyama invited them to join the Hawaii Bonsai Association and informed them about NBF. 

Yamashiroya would come to serve as HBA’s president and as a bonsai instructor and international consultant for the World Bonsai Friendship Federation, all the while attending myriad bonsai conventions, getting to know bonsai senseis and joining the NBF board. The highlight of her tenure was traveling to Japan, China and South Korea to raise funds for the renovation of the Japanese Pavilion.

“It was an honor and a privilege to have served on the NBF Board,” Yamashiroya says. “When I began, there were only a few women in the beginner’s class but now it is equally divided. I hope to motivate the new members to carry the torch and go beyond Hawaii to study and expand their skills.”

We are grateful for all of the hard work and thoughtful consideration these three board members have contributed to the NBF governing body over the years. We hope our strong relationships with them will continue to blossom. 

At our annual meeting we also paid tribute to the work of Dr. Carl Morimoto, who has served as an NBF director since 2006 but stepped into the Vice President role in 2011. As of August 2020, Dr. Morimoto has retired as vice president, but we are pleased that he will remain on as a director. 

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Dr. Carl Morimoto, Vice President (2011-2020)

Bonsai master Harry Hirao encouraged Dr. Morimoto to join NBF so he could support the maintenance of the bicentennial bonsai gift from Japan. Being involved with NBF gave him opportunities to visit the Museum and see the bonsai close up. He is appreciative of working with the NBF executive committee and Museum staff, especially when supporting former NBF President Felix Laughlin in the communications and customs observed in Japan.

“The Museum’s Japanese white pine, or Yamaki pine, is known as the ‘Peace Tree’ because it survived the Hiroshima atomic bomb,” Dr. Morimoto says. “I also survived the bomb in Hiroshima, so I feel some destiny in being one of the NBF directors supporting the Museum.”

Influential Bonsai Masters: Yuji Yoshimura

All photo credit: Bill Valavanis

Summer 2020 is officially the summer of the bonsai blog series! We’re launching another string of blogs to highlight the fascinating history and teachings of some of the most influential bonsai masters. For our first edition, we spoke with Bill Valavanis, a National Bonsai Foundation director and bonsai artist, about his time training under Yuji Yoshimura.

Valavanis dubs Yoshimura his “Japanese father” from whom he learned on the weekends while studying horticulture during college in the 1960s. He said Yoshimura felt like a god to him when they first met, as Yoshimura’s book The Japanese Art of Miniature Trees and Landscapes – later reprinted as The Art of Bonsai: Creation, Care and Enjoyment – is considered a “bonsai bible.” The book is the first authoritative source for bonsai artists written in English.

Yoshimura began his bonsai work under his father’s tutelage. He and Alfred Koehn, a notable authority on Japanese art, organized and produced the first beginner’s bonsai course at Yoshimura’s family nursery in Tokyo in 1952. 

The first bonsai instructional class in 1952.

Yoshimura’s father, who rekindled the craft of classical bonsai, was the most influential person in his bonsai career. Valavanis said Yoshimura’s family remained anchored in Japan, but he wanted to spread the art of bonsai around the world. He traveled to Australia, Hong Kong, England and across the United States, where he and his family lived for many years.

But Yoshimura sacrificed the stability of his relationships when he left home. One of his younger brothers took over his garden after he left, Yoshimura’s wife and one daughter eventually moved back to Tokyo and Yuji was highly criticized in Japan for teaching the “Yanks” in America – but Yoshimura loved the United States. 

“He found Americans very friendly,” he said. “He went through a lot of students but he would take care of them, tell them extra things, treat them nicely and encourage them.” 

Yoshimura’s daughters and granddaughter with the U.S. National Arboretum director.

Yoshimura took Valavanis to Japan to meet other influential bonsai figures. Upon returning to the United States, Valavanis lived with him for almost a year to study the classical Japanese style of bonsai. He said Yoshimura would personally demonstrate wiring or care techniques, unlike many current apprentices learning bonsai in Japan, who are often left to grasp concepts by themselves. 

“He taught me the basics and introduced me to the Japanese fine quality classic bonsai,” Valavanis said. “He showed me where I can improve, get more information and how to study.”

Former U.S. National Arboretum director John Creech and Yoshimura in 1973.

Yoshimura relied on old, historic books – some of which he took from his father in Japan – for bonsai knowledge and left Valavanis his library when he retired. He is known for his strict teaching style, adhering to traditional Japanese designs – his father’s influence – and curt lessons. 

“Once when I was cleaning the kitchen floor, I put back our two chairs and went out to do something, but my chair was missing when I came back,” Valavanis said. “I put it back two or three times, but finally I got the hint time for me to leave.”

Yoshimura attending a bonsai convention.

Even after the two parted as roommates, Yoshimura routinely visited Valavanis’ garden, helped him establish a bonsai magazine and remained a teacher and friend until he died in 1997. 

Valavanis said the most important takeaway from Yoshimura’s teachings is to do what he thinks is right and avoid too much influence from other artists. He took that advice with him to start the first American bonsai exhibition, the highest level show in the United States, which is now in its seventh year. 

“He told me to stand on his head or shoulders to take the art higher,” Valavanis said. “He wanted me to use what he had and go improve.”

For more on Yuji Yoshimura, you can head to Valavanis’ blog posts here and here. If you have any personal stories or memories with Yoshimura, tag us in them on social media: Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.