Reprinted; this article was first published in GSBF Golden Statements magazine November/December 1997.
SAN MATEO BONSAI CLUB EXHIBITS TREES DESTINED FOR THE GSBF COLLECTION-NORTH
By Nancy and Marian Eaton * Photographs submitted by Nancy Eaton
A visit to the San Mateo Bonsai Club show each September is always a treat. Over the years, club members, under the direction of their instructor, Mitsuo Umehara, have developed a multitude of excellent bonsai of many species. They specialize in fruiting bonsai, and more trees hung with colorful fruits are to be seen at their show than at any other in northern California. This year, however, the show promised to be more spectacular than ever before because four of the recent donations to the Golden State Bonsai Federation Collection-North were on display, one for the first time ever in public.
As we entered the crowded hall, our eyes were immediately drawn toward the brightly illuminated center of the room where a Daimyo oak with a massive, furrowed and hollowed trunk and long branches that reached for the ceiling stood. This tree, still planted in its original antique Chinese pot, was the gift of Dr. Robert Gotcher of Hillsborough.
The history of the oak as told to us by Dr. Gotcher, is a long and fascinating one. In 1861, Anson Burlingame was appointed United States Minister to China by President Abraham Lincoln, a post that he held until his resignation in 1867. Immediately thereafter, Burlingame was appointed envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary by the Chinese government to lead a Chinese diplomatic mission to the United States and several European nations. This mission resulted in the “Burlingame Treaty,” concluded with the United States in 1868., which recognized China’s eminent domain over all its territories, and to a great extent normalized relations between China and the United States. Through this work, Mr. Burlingame became a
very important person in U.S.- Asian affairs and undoubtedly received many gifts as he traveled from China by way of Japan back to Washington D.C. One such gift was the Daimyo oak (Quercus denrata), presented to Burlingame in Japan, and presented now, over a century later, by Dr. Gotcher to the Collection-North. We know that Mr. Burlingame acquired land on the San Francisco Peninsula in what is now Hillsborough, and although he died before he could build his retirement home there as planned, the nearby City of Burlingame was named for him. The tree has spent a good part of its life in Hillsborough; however, Dr. Gotcher believes that he is only the third owner of the oak since Anson Burlingame acquired it 130 years ago.
Although the tree was apparently not been trained as a bonsai for years, that it is still healthy and growing is a tribute to the care its owners have given it over time. It is hard to guess how many years the oak had been grown in Japan before it came to the United States. The size of the pot suggests that it was a big tree when it was first potted, and it undoubtedly was trained for many years before it was given as a gift. Although we can only speculate about the actual age of the tree, we can be quite sure that it was imported from Japan earlier and still alive in the United States today.
Mr. Umehara knew of the oak’s existence, because he was called in as an expert to repot it about 20 years ago. He and Mrs. Hideko Metaxas were instrumental in acquiring the tree for the Collection-North.
Spectacular as the oak is, a number of years of careful training will be required to bring it back to bonsai proportions. This work will be in the capable hands of Mr. Umehara.
A few words about the oak’s antique pot: it is of Chinese origin, with patterns of flowers and a bird painted in cream-colored slip beneath a transparent brown glaze. Because no drainage holes were made in the pot, we know that it was originally not intended for bonsai. We know that pots like it were often exported to Japan, where bonsai growers drilled each with a single small hole low on the wall in an inconspicuous place to provide drainage. The oak’s pot has such a hole, surprisingly small compared to those thought necessary today.
Although the oak was given the place of honor at the San Mateo show, three very fine donated bonsai were also on display. Two were trees raised by Mr. Umehara from seed planted 37 years ago! One was an informal upright Black pine with a wonderful thick, plated trunk. The other was a group planting of five Japanese white pines. Mr. Tadashi Sakuma, also of the San Mateo Bonsai Club, donated the California juniper styled by Masahiko Kimura at the 1987 Golden State Bonsai Federation Convention in Anaheim.
In a brief ceremony, GSBF First Vice President Seiji Shiba accepted the donated trees on behalf of the Collection-North. He presented certifications of appreciation to each of the donors. (Unfortunately, Dr. Gotcher was unable to receive the due to family emergency.)
Dr. Shiba commended the San Mateo Bonsai Club for its efforts on behalf of the Collection-North, and said that he hoped other clubs would follow their lead in finding trees for the collection. He reported that the City of Oakland had granted the final permissions needed to develop the bonsai exhibition site. Work will begin by the end of the year. He stressed the need for establishing an endowment fund for the Collection-North and urged bonsai enthusiasts to contribute both labor and money to help the long dreamed-about Collection-North become a wonderful , permanent reality.
