The Ueno Green Club is the headquarters for the Nippon Bonsai Cooperative a long time professional bonsai organization organized in 1931. The organization is a business corporation and members must be approved and pay a hefty entry fee, plus annual dues. Twenty one years ago there were over 500 members. Today the membership is approximately 250.

Nippon BonaI Association Building

Nippon Satsuki Association Office

Twenty one years ago the Nippon Bonsai Cooperative built a three story building in the center area and removed the long buildings. Then a more modern building was constructed on the left side. The building is owned by the Nippon Bonsai Cooperative, but the land is leased. There is a close relationship with the Nippon Bonsai Association, a non-profit organization established in the early 1960s which was first established as the Kokufu Bonsai Society in 1934. Their headquarter building is located diagonally across the street from the Ueno Green Club. About a half block away is the headquarters for the Nippon Satsuki Association.

Third floor shohin bonsai sales during Kokufu Bonsai Exhibitions

Second floor bonsai sales during Kokufu Bonsai Exhibitions

Outdoor sales area during Kokufu Bonsai Exhibitions

Located next to the Ueno Zoo on a corner lot the land actually belongs to a government organization and the corporation has a long term lease. The area was originally called the “Bonsai Club” and is used for auctions, meetings, exhibitions and selecting trees for shows. Originally there were long buildings around an open area where indoor activities were held. The open area in the center had tables for sales and displaying bonsai.

Since the Nippon Bonsai Association and Nippon Bonsai Cooperative work closely together and membership overlaps, it is a bit difficult to distinguish their differences. However, one organization is a for profit professional corporation and the other is a non-profit association. The Nippon Bonsai Association rents the Ueno Green Club for three days each January from the Nippon Bonsai Cooperative for judging and photographing bonsai for the Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition.

AUCTIONS

The Ueno Green Club building is a modern three story building with very thick walls for earthquake protection. There are elevators which make moving large bonsai for exhibitions, auctions and sales easy. Each floor has been deigned to be partitioned to create individual rooms for meetings, judging, sales and bonsai displays.

SELECTING BONSAI FOR AWARDS AND EXHIBITIONS

PHOTOGRAPHING BONSAI FOR PUBLICATIONS

EXHIBITIONS

SALES DURING THE 2015 KOKUFU BONSAI EXHIBITION

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Yukio Murata, Kyuka-en Bonsai Garden just purchased young Trident maple seedlings for future masterpiece bonsai using Masakuni Tools

Peter Warren helped Minoru Akiyama, a graduate apprentice of Kunio Kobayashi, and his son in law, with this sales area. A large suiseki was sold which was in a wooden storage box with the owner’s name. The new client did not want the previous owner’s name on the box so Peter began to erase the inked name. It was taking considerable effort and someone suggested he use a power tool to sand off the name. Great idea, it worked!

Osamu Fukudata, another graduate apprentice of Kunio Kobayashi watches.

Most foreigners are familiar with the Ueno Green Club as only a sales area during the Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition, but it is indeed much more.

Each of our exciting bonsai tours to Japan includes a private tour to S-Cube, Masahiko Kimura’s studio, Omiya Bonsai Art Museum and the bonsai gardens in Omiya Bonsai Village. There are always new bonsai and other interesting things to see and study.

Mansei-en Bonsai Garden

Hatsuji & Takahiro Kato

Omiya Bonsai Village

  

Shunka-en Bonsai Museum in Tokyo is the home of Kunio Kobayashi who is one of the top bonsai artists in Japan and the world. His garden is a mecca for many, including me because of the high quality bonsai and especially his distinctive formal bonsai displays.

Winter flowering cherry, Prunus campanulata

Japanese five-needle pine, Pinus parviflora

Chinese quince, Pseudocydonia sinensis

Apprentice Jin explaining the magnificent display of a Japanese black pine

Japanese flowering apricot, Prunus mume

Japanese black pine, Pinus thunbergii

Part 2 of Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition was held on February 10-13, 2015 at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum in Tokyo, Japan, following a day closed where 181 bonsai displays were replaced with all new bonsai, except for the four special displays. The Japan Suiseki Exhibition opened on the closed day and the Ueno Green Club sales area was also open for visitors.

These two views may quickly seem similar to Part 1, however all the trees are new. However under close examination a few of the companion plantings were identical, but slightly rotated. I’m not certain because my personal study of Part 2 has not been completed yet, but I think I remember seeing a few display tables from Part 1.

Japanese five-needle pine, Pinus parviflora

Gardenia, Gardenia jasmoindes

Zuisho Japanese five-needle pine, Pinus parviflora ‘Zuisjo.’ Perhaps the reason for the increased number of this choice cultivar is because most are approximately only 50 years old and only now beginning to show aged rough bark. This cultivar is slow to start developing, but once established quickly grows fat. There have been several articles on Zuisho Japanese five-needle pine in International BONSAI authored by Julian Adams who has mastered the cultivation and propagation of this cultivar in the United States.

A colorful companion planting used for a shohin bonsai composition. Again, like Part 1, only five displays were shown.

This shohin Japanese grey bark elm, Zelkova serrata, had the finest twigs I’ve ever seen on a bonsai!

A small size Toyo Nishiki Japanese flowering quince, Chaenomeles speciosa ‘Toyo Nishiki’ with multiple colored flowers. Although red, pink and white blossoms are common for this great cultivar, I’ve often seen red branches grafted onto specimens to improve color distribution.

Chojubai Japanese flowering quince, Chaenomeles japonica ‘Chojubai.’ This species was quite common in both Part1 and Part 2, both as main trees in a medium size display and used as companion plantings. They are often planted on or with stones or in the multiple trunk style because they do not form thick trunks. The word “chojubai” means long life Japanese flowering apricot because the flowers and rough bark are similar to Prunus mume, also the flowers blossom for a long period of time, commonly from autumn through winter to spring.

Kokufu Award Winners

Japanese five-needle pine, Pinus parviflora. This bonsai has an interesting history and I saw it auctioned many years ago for over US $500,000. I’ve got photos of the auction, but recently delete them from my laptop collection of over 40,000 images. I needed to make room for new photos. But, of course I have original photos archived at home.

Trident maple, Acer buergerianum

Chinese quince, Pseudocydonia sinensis

Japanese grey-bark elm, Zelkova serrata

Japanese five-needle pine, Pinus parviflora

After a most successful Joy of Bonsai convention, organizer Louise Leister and Mike Rogers, President of the Kawa Bonsai Society, sponsor of the event, took Diane and me to a special visit to see ancient Bald cypress. The location is out in the wilds, where “men are men and sheep are weary.”

We took three kayaks on the lake which was smooth glass. The weather was a warm 70F with a clear blue sky and no wind, a bit different than the -10F weather we left in Rochester, and will return to tomorrow. The calm water provided for some interesting reflections.

These ancient Bald cypress trees had tremendous character and really showed their age and effects of nature. I wonder how many hurricanes, storms and floods they saw during their lifespans, which have been estimated to be over 1,000 years old. The oldest trees were not all straight and may actually be Pond cypress which have more movement than the common Bald cypress.

Its interesting to note that Bald cypress seed does not germinate in water so they must have grown on land, which is now Lake Disston. The original soil line was at the level where the base of the trunk begins to well. Some of bases were so large our kayak actually went nearly all the way through the cavity. I was quite impressed by the wood texture.

Throughout the trip wild birds seemed to lead us along the shoreline. Although I did not see any, Mike and Louise heard alligators. Good thing they did not mention it to us. All the trees had loads of Spanish moss and most had clumps of Tillandias, a type of Bromeliads. There were many huge bird nests as well. Some of the Bald cypress were full of male pollen flowers blossoming.

Rather than attempting to rationalizing the design of these natural trees, I suggest you simply enjoy the beauty that God provided us with these old picturesque trees to provide inspirations for bonsai.

  

A big thank you to Louise Leister and Mike Rogers who took time from their busy schedule to share the beauty of these magnificent trees with us. And, a special thank you to Diane who did ALL the rowing in our kayak so I could take photos to share. Over 400 photos were taken, but only a few of the most interesting are included in this posting.

Louise Leister

Mike Rogers

The Kawa Bonsai Society of Florida is sponsoring their annual convention The Joy of Bonsai, on January 16-18, 2014, in Bunnell, Florida, near Daytona Beach. Louise Leister did an outstanding job organizing the event. The speakers, Sean Smith, Ted Matson, Mike Rogers and Wm. N. Valavanis will be conducting demonstrations, workshops and critique. There is a wide selection of trees, containers, tools, supplies, suiseki and magazines for sale by a select group of vendors.

Come, join us as the speakers share their skill and knowledge!

At the Winter Silhouette Bonsai Expo Joseph Noga photographed each tree with his large format digital camera and specialized lighting. He had to rent a trailer to bring all the necessary equipment across the state of North Carolina to capture the beauty of the displayed bonsai. But, that’s just the beginning of producing a perfect photograph. Each photograph must be adjusted for perfection. And, adjusting the photograph depends on the final use, digital or printed. They must have specific profiles which depend on the paper, ink and press where they will be printed. All of this takes time and skill, knowledge and dedication which Joe is well known for.

Throughout the last fifty years I have met many photographers and have probably seen more photographs of bonsai from around the world than any other person, and I have the library to prove it. There are many good photographers who shoot bonsai photos. They are skilled and can take beautiful photos of the trees. However their job ends with the photograph and the final result is at the mercy of the printing companies.

In my opinion Joe Noga’s bonsai photographs are the finest I have seen, including Japan, because of their composition, lighting, details and most importantly they are color correct. Joe was a professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York, known world wide for excellence in printing and photography. He spent 38 years teaching in the school of printing and specialized in electronic color imaging and has traveled around the world consulting with printers about color reproduction.

The attached bonsai images from Joe Noga have been adjusted for displaying in this blog. The photo file size used for printing often exceeds 300 MB each.

Joe Noga is also the official photographer for the U.S. National Bonsai Exhibitions and his work can be seen in the four Commemorative Albums. He spends four days photographing nearly 300 bonsai and then three months to adjust the photos so they will print perfectly for appreciation and study. With perfect depth of field and focus the photographs show all details, even fingerprints on the containers after they are cleaned and polished. He is a master of lighting to create highlights so the trees don’t look flat.

All the covers and photographs in International BONSAI are adjusted and prepared by Joe Noga so they will print correctly on specific paper using calibrated ink on specific presses.

Bonsai is also one of Joe’s hobbies and he has studied classical bonsai over 35 years and has made numerous trips to Japan to see their masterpieces. He has displayed bonsai in each of the four U.S. National Bonsai Exhibitions as well as the recent Winter Silhouette Bonsai Expo.

The bonsai community is indeed fortunate to have Joe Noga who spends countless hours photographing our bonsai for enjoyment and study. It is said that bonsai look better alive than in photographs. However, with Joe Noga’s photographs the bonsai often look better than when seen with the human eye because his lighting effects penetrate deep into the bark crevices and foliage of the tree.

Thank you Joe for using your talent and spending time photographing so others can see and appreciate bonsai from across the United States and bonsai world.