Recently I was boggled by the beautiful bonsai collection at the Happoen garden, because they’re not just exquisite—dang, these trees are OLD!
For example, when this bonsai started growing, the Mona Lisa had not yet been painted, surgery was still being performed by barbers, and Spanish ships had just landed in the New World.
When this bonsai was but a sapling, the world was lit only by oil, everyone still swore the sun revolved around the Earth, and thought illness was caused by too much blood, bile or phlegm.
This bonsai witnessed Bonny Prince Charlie making his play for the throne of England, the Rosetta Stone unlocking the secrets of Egyptian heiroglyphics, and people beginning to question whether it was such a great idea for hereditary monarchs to rule the earth.
At the time this bonsai was a seedling, Mozart’s “Requiem” was top of the pops, George Washington was president of the United States, and the slave trade was still horrifyingly legal in all of the Western world.
This fellow saw Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” rise through the bestseller list, the first airplane take off at Kitty Hawk, and the US Supreme Court hand down the shameful Plessy vs. Ferguson decision upholding segregation.
This bonsai was alive for the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, the San Francisco earthquake, and the struggle of women in the US demanding the right to vote.
This little tree was alive before any Western explorer made it to the top of Mt. Everest, and was already growing when The Great Gatsby was published and the wretched sight of the Ku Klux Klan marching 30,000 strong down the streets of Washington DC.
And this one not only witnessed the stock market crash of 1929, it saw Hitler come to power, unleash the Holocaust, and ultimately, righteously, be defeated and reviled throughout history.
Sorry, after the US election last week, I just needed to look at some old trees that are still here after weathering the worst the world can throw at them. Maybe you need some trees too. My hand in yours if you’re like me, and feel like a person without a country now.
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Amazing!
These trees are a testament to strength and perseverance! Thank you for a healing post. May I ask where you recommend visiting for those that are bonsai enthusiasts? We will
be Tokyo for ten days in December. Last day lands on the Setagaya flea market and I’m hoping to find a tenuki or two for our garden there. I’m looking forward to reading your books! Aloha
Wow, I envy you going to the December Setagaya Boroichi flea market! It’s such a treasure trove of shopping joy.
As for bonsai, the ones in the post are at the Happoen garden/wedding hall, which is near Shirokanedai Station. It’s a private garden (a truly beautiful one!) where they take the wedding pictures for the couples tying the knot there, but they’re usually kind enough to let people come in to see the bonsai.
•The Bonsai Museum in Omiya is (temporarily?) closed, but it’s surrounded by a bunch of bonsai nurseries that are well worth seeing (for free!) https://japanagram.me/2022/07/01/japanagram-bonsai-village/
•There’s another bonsai museum I haven’t been to yet—it’s out in Edogawa, so a bit of a train ride—but it looks amazing. It’s called Shunka-en. Here’s a map: https://g.co/kgs/TYUpvjJ.
•There’s also a very fine collection in the Japanese garden at Showa Kinen Park out in Tachikawa (about 40 minutes by train from Shinjuku Station).
Hope you get to see a few choice ones while you’re there!
And I’d be so delighted if you end up enjoying one of my books (The Last Tea Bowl Thief is by far the best one, in my humble opinion.) Have a wonderful time in Japan in December (illuminations!) and I hope you get to enjoy everything on your list.
Janelle,
Thank you for all the bonsai resources! You are so very generous. We are looking forward to Tokyoâitâs such a special way to start off the holiday season (and be ignorant to the current affairs in the USA).
Are you back in San Francisco this time of the year?
ðAloha, Joyce
808.393.5534 (m)
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Sorry for the delay in replying! I am indeed in the thick of family holiday season in San Francisco until New Years, then I fly back to Tokyo. How about you?