Week 3: Aura
(Benjamin talks about historical objects and landscapes as having auras. Can we include other things as having auras? How so (or not)?)
Many people naturally associate bonsai with dwarfed tree, which is more or less correct. But they fail to take into account that a mature Japanese white pine can grow at least 35 feet high. It's on a hydraulic cart because it weighs hundreds of pounds. The Japanese red pine and this white pine require an engine lift or forklift in order to be repotted.
Picture Sources
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| Yamaki Pine, Pinus parviflora "Miyajima," Yamaki Family, 1625-Present, National Bonsai and Penjing Collection, Japanese Collection (Bicentennial Gift) |
This is the Yamaki Pine from the National Bonsai and Penjing Collection. It was given as a gift to the United States for its Bicentennial celebration. This is probably the most famous of the Japanese Collection. It has been in cultivation for about 400 years and is the oldest tree in their collection. Its story is among one of the most interesting.
Originally, the full story hadn't been known. The Yamaki Pine was just an ancient tree, trained for an exceptionally long time (it began training in 1625). In 2001, the grandsons of Masaru Yamaki, the bonsai master that gifted the tree in 1975, revealed its story.
The Yamaki family had been in possession of the tree during World War 2, during which it was kept in the family nursery in Hiroshima. This tree survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, shielded by a wall.
In 1975, the tree was chosen by the Nippon Bonsai Association (NBA) as a tree to be given to the United States Government for the Bicentennial celebration, along with 52 other trees and 6 viewing stones. It was flown by Pan-American Airlines and United Airlines to the quarantine set by the National Arboretum at Glenn Dale in time to be shown during the celebration next year.
Of the 53 trees sent over for the Bicentennial, only 35 remain.
The only problem with the photo above is that it fails to capture exactly how large this tree is.
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| Two Volunteers Pruning the Yamaki Pine. Photo by National Bonsai Federation |
Many people naturally associate bonsai with dwarfed tree, which is more or less correct. But they fail to take into account that a mature Japanese white pine can grow at least 35 feet high. It's on a hydraulic cart because it weighs hundreds of pounds. The Japanese red pine and this white pine require an engine lift or forklift in order to be repotted.
This bonsai, a living sculpture, has an aura. It might be diminished by a photograph, but it still leaves me in awe whenever I see a photo of it. It's probably because it has lived through multiple generations of people taking care of it, watering it, fertilizing it, repotting it, trimming its branches, thinning its foliage, etc. It was loved for a very long time and it will continue to be loved in the future. That is the Yamaki Pine's aura, its power as an art piece.
I think that all things with a story have an aura. Whether that is a film, picture, sculpture, building, or painting, it's the story or history that gives that object or place power.
http://bonsaitonight.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/1096373340_fV39c-S.jpg
https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b3a44a7e17ba3cdbff49f51/1532359394696-WGH8OSGCVOIMKEEDF3YH/Yamaki+pine+trim+7-2009+%283%29.JPG?format=750w
Book Source
McClellan, Anne. Bonsai and Penjing: Ambassadors of Peace & Beauty. 2016, Tuttle Publishing.
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