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(Ezo spruce (Picea glehni) have been lovingly cultivated by a certain
group of bonsai artists since the late nineteenth century, but they were
not fully recognized for their potential until around the time of the First
World War when many trees from the north were being brought into Honshu,
the main island of Japan.)
Tomekichi Kato, an outstanding master and second-generation proprietor of the Mansei-En Bonsai Garden (and scion of three contemporary bonsai masters, Saburo, Hideo and Terukichi), was the one first taken with the beauty of the Ezo spruce. He promptly brought them back from Hokkaido and popularized them. (Ezo spruce would not grow vigorously because of the impeded development of their roots and would continue to survive and grow a little because of some small fine roots growing in the upper part of the layer of sphagnum moss. Due to the long winters, the growing season was extremely short. Since the tree must open its buds, become active and achieve its entire growth in the four or five month humid period from the beginning of June to the end of September, it has dwarfed shapes suitable for bonsai. (Collected and returned to Honshu in mid-September, the Ezo spruce would produce beautiful light green new growth the following spring. The trees were initially planted in sphagnum moss to duplicate what seemed to be the most important growing medium in nature. Because of the new growth, one would think they were fine and sell them. As time passed, however, the trees would lose their vigor and by the end of their third containered year, most died. Thousands of trees are said to have perished this way. It would be years before the masters of bonsai found ways to keep the tree strong and responsive to training.) 1
Since the deaths of so many Ezo spruce had been taking a tremendous toll
both financially and emotionally, Tomekichi Kato's colleagues suggested
that he stop dealing in Ezo spruce. (Kato, in the meantime, was one
of the founders of the new Bonsai Village on the edge of the town of Omiya.)
Taken with the beauty of the trees, he experimented continuously to find
a method of somehow fertilizing, watering or potting to prevent the trees
from dying. One day around 1928, he took an Ezo spruce out of its
container while transplanting. He noticed that after taking off the
tattered roots there was rotten sphagnum moss in their midst. The
material that remained looked like the sediment that remains after making
tofu. After carefully removing this he planted the tree in a normal
potting soil. The tree grew healthy. Although the trees grew
naturally in the moss, Kato realized that using sphagnum moss was the problem.
Tomekichi Kato's eldest son, Saburo (born on May 15, 1915), learned the fundamentals of bonsai from his father. Of the many teachings he received, the most memorable lessons was "to create good bonsai, you have first to build good character in yourself." Saburo learned well. And he accompanied the "father of ezo matsu" many times to Kunashiri Island to collect these trees. 2 Tomekichi died in 1946, and his son Saburo assumed the responsibility of Mansei-En nursery. Extreme hardships were suffered by bonsai nurserymen in war ravaged Japan when very few patrons could afford to buy bonsai. However, it was the American GI's of the Occupation Forces who came to Omiya to buy black pine and became interested in learning about bonsai that inspired the nurserymen there to persevere and continue their trade. 3 On February 11, 1965 the thirty-one year old private Kokufu Bonsai Association was reorganized into a public corporation, under the auspices of the Japanese Ministry of Education, as the Japan Bonsai Association. Saburo Kato was one of the founding members. By the mid-1970s the JBA had about 14,000 members and 132 local branch associations. 4 In 1967 Kato co-authored with Nobukichi Koide and Fusazo Takeyama, as the Directors of the Japan Bonsai Association, Masters' Book of Bonsai. (A few years earlier Kato had his own work published, Ezo Spruce, and Forest and Stone-Clasping Bonsai.) (Two years later, Keiko Yamane opened the Keijukai Bonsai School, specializing in grasses and accent plants. She had studied under Saburo Kato at Mansei-en in Omiya since 1964. She was the first woman to study and train in bonsai for a professional career, owning and operating her own nursery, winning many awards for her work.) 5
In 1970, the Osaka World Exposition was the first such exposition to take
place in Asia. The theme of Expo '70 was "Progress and Harmony of
Mankind." Its special features were the many exhibitions and film
and slide presentations about space technology. Seventy-seven countries
participated and fifty million visitors attended.
In 1978, Saburo Kato was invited to teach and demonstrate bonsai in Australia and New Zealand. 7
On April 19, 1980, the First World Bonsai Convention was held in Osaka
during the World Bonsai and Suiseki Exhibition, which ran from April 16-May
6 at the Expo '70 Commemoration Park. Representatives from Japan,
Argentina, England, West Germany, India, Italy, China, Korea, Spain, and
the United States attended.
In 1983 Kato was appointed to be the Executive Director of the Japan Bonsai Association. 10 On November 3, 1985 Saburo Kato was awarded the Ranjuhosho decoration, the Prime Minister's Medal of honor for his exemplary contributions to the development of culture or international goodwill, the promoting of bonsai as an art form. 11 For the 30th Anniversary convention of the California Bonsai Society, Inc. in April 1987, Saburo Kato was the lead demonstrator, representing the 20,000 member JBA. The following year, his book The Beauty of Bonsai was published with English and Japanese text.
The first World Bonsai Convention was held in Omiya, Japan
--
the center of the world's bonsai art -- between April 6 and 9, 1989.
Its theme was "World Peace Through Bonsai." Almost thirteen hundred
enthusiasts from twenty-eight countries gathered for the event at which
three dozen Japanese masters gave lectures and demonstrations. These
included both Saburo Kato and his brother Hideo.
At the BCI convention in 1990 Honolulu, Kato was the headliner with Shinji Ogasawara and John Naka. During the October 1 dedication ceremonies at the National Arboretum in Washington, D.C., Kato presented the deed of the John Y. Naka Pavillion and the deed of the National Collection of North American Bonsai to his longtime friend Naka. The Asia Pacific Bonsai Convention and Exhibition was held in Bali in June of 1991. Organized by the Indonesia Bonsai Society and supported by the Japan Bonsai Association and the Japan Suiseki Association, the event's principal headliner was Saburo Kato. The 2nd World Bonsai Convention, "New Horizons," was held in Orlando, FL from May 27 to 31 1993 in conjunction with the BCI and ABS conventions. Kato, Naka and Yuji Yoshimura headlined for the seven hundred plus delegates who attended. In 1994 from October 21 to 23, the European Bonsai Association held its annual Congress on the southeast coast of Spain. Assisted by younger brother Hideo, Keiko Yamane, and four family friends from Omiya, Saburo Kato was the principle demonstrator before an auditorium crowd of up to 400 persons from Belgium, Colombia, England, France, Germany, Holland, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Monaco, and the US. A tall, impressive forest of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestrus) from Spain on a very large slab using a soil-mix from Japan was the masterpiece created. Interpreters were available at all times for English, French, and Spanish translations. Kato enjoys an established reputation as master of the bonsai group planting and the foremost expert on Ezo spruce bonsai. 13 The 3rd Asia-Pacific Bonsai and Suiseki Convention and Exhibition was held in Singapore between May 25 and 29, 1995. The theme was "Friendship Through Bonsai and Suiseki." Talks were given by Saburo Kato of Japan, Sze-Ern "Ernie" Kuo of the U.S., and a half dozen others, each from a different country. 14
On April 23, 1998, seven more bonsai from private collections in Japan
were gifted to the U.S. National Bonsai and Penjing Museum in Washington,
D.C. Saburo Kato made the formal presentation. Also added at
this time was a magnificent Stewartia monodelphia forest planting
which Kato had created with 39 trees on an American-made slab at the 1993
World Bonsai Convention. It was purchased by Bonsai Clubs International
and donated to the National Collection.
Saburo Kato was a participant and one of the interpreters at the 4th World
Bonsai Convention held in Munich in early June, 2001. 16
In 1980 Hideo Kato (born c.1918), owner of the Yagumo Mansei-en bonsai nursery, received the Prime Minister Award at the 5th Sakufu Bonsai Ten, the annual National Professional Bonsai Master's exhibition. Two years later he taught in four European countries under the sponsorship of the Japan Foundation. For the World Bonsai Convention in Omiya in 1989 he demonstrated the cascade style. Hideo Kato enjoys great popularity for his precise, accurate shaping technique and for his humorous lectures. Specializing in "creative" bonsai-like group or rock plantings, this standing director of the Japan Bonsai Association is well known for his talent to discover and enhance the natural, individual beauty of the tree. 16
In 1991 the book Practical Bonsai, Their Care, Cultivation and Training
by Paul Lesniewicz and Hideo Kato was published.
From May 5 to 9, 1993, the first Russian Bonsai Convention was to be held at the Moscow Botanic Gardens and was expected to attract visitors from all over the old Soviet Union. Hideo Kato of Japan, Craig Coussins of Scotland, and Colin Lewis of England were scheduled to be the speakers. In addition to bonsai programs and exhibit trees, tours of historical note were planned. 19
Born in the early 1940s to the master Saburo Kato and his wife, Hatsugi Kato shares the responsibility with a brother for running the family bonsai nursery, Mansei-en. Hatsugi has worked for his father since completing high school. Although he is a director of the Japan Bonsai Association Cooperative, a Vice-Director of the JBA, and is a sought-after teacher for the JBS, Hatsugi still considers himself a student, everyday studying new things and describing new techniques. As a fourth-generation bonsai grower, he is dedicated to furthering the understanding and practice of bonsai, directing people away from the notion that it is only a rich person's hobby, or an old person's hobby. In 1978 he received the award of the Minister of Education for his white pine, "Kyoko-Yamato." A joint BCI-ABS convention was held from April 3 to 7, 1985 in New Orleans, LA with Hatsugi Kato as the guest artist.
Hatsugi Kato won the first prize
at the Safuku Bonsai Ten professional exhibition in 1990. He has
participated annually and won several other awards there. 20
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