Seiji Morimae visits the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum

We were recently honored by a visit from Seiji Morimae, a renowned figure in the world of bonsai and suiseki. Morimae holds special esteem at both the National Bonsai Foundation and the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum in Washington, D.C., which he has supported for many years.

Curator Michael James welcomes Yaeko and Seiji Morimae to the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum.

As a bonsai expert and board member of the Nippon Suiseki Association, he has made significant contributions to the preservation of Japanese bonsai culture. His deep connection with the museum, particularly as a donor and cultural ambassador, underscores his lasting impact.

Welcoming Seiji and his wife Yaeko for a tour of the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum, we honored his lifelong dedication to bonsai and suiseki while viewing the highlights of America’s renowned national collections. Dr. Richard Olsen, director of the U.S. National Arboretum – along with museum curator Michael James, and National Bonsai Foundation executive director Bobbie Alexander – were on hand to officially welcome the Morimaes. Jack Sustic, Chair Emeritus of the National Bonsai Foundation and Vice-Chair of the World Bonsai Friendship Federation, also joined the group in the welcome. Peter Warren, an international bonsai professional – one of the few who has completed a full six-year apprenticeship in Japan under legendary expert Kunio Kobayashi – accompanied the Morimaes and served as translator.

Among the highlights at the Museum is Morimae’s gift of a “hut stone” suiseki, displayed in the traditional tokonoma setting – a tribute to his commitment to preserving and sharing Japanese culture. He has also donated several first-class bonsai over the years. In the North American Pavilion, Michael discussed how American bonsai has evolved, inspired by influential leaders like Morimae. Dr. Olsen concluded with remarks on the museum’s role in advancing the art of bonsai in America, celebrating Morimae’s impact and support. The event ended with refreshments and reflections on his exceptional contributions to these timeless art forms.

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Morimae's journey into bonsai began more than 50 years ago with a dedication to the art of formal display, also known as keido. He has learned from and studied with revered bonsai artists, including Susumu Sudo, Jiro Fukuda, and Masahiko Kimura, who shaped his approach and artistry. His life has been deeply intertwined with the practice and philosophy behind these forms, and over the years, he has established multiple bonsai and suiseki businesses, including the prestigious Kyoto Bonsai Garden at the Daitoku-ji Temple in Kyoto, Japan.

His connection to the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum has spanned many years, where he has donated both bonsai trees and suiseki stones, helping to enhance the museum’s nationally renowned collections. He has visited the United States numerous times over the past 20 years to share his expertise on the arts of bonsai and suiseki.

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In 2017, during the renovation and rededication of the museum’s Japanese Pavilion, Morimae delivered a speech expressing his gratitude for the museum’s role in preserving bonsai trees gifted to the United States. He shared that these living symbols of friendship between Japan and America are more than just plants—they are a carrier of our stories, a marker of our time, and a reminder of nature’s elegant resilience​.

“This is the magnificence of life,” Morimae said. “I believe that bonsai can teach us about our own lives.  Each of them tells its own humble story, woven of nature, human history, and time itself.”

Seiji Morimae’s presence at the museum is not just symbolic; it speaks to his deep sense of responsibility. As a figure of great respect in the bonsai community, he often plays the role of a "big brother," checking on the museum’s Japanese bonsai collection, much like the revered Saburo Kato before him. This support has helped the museum maintain a high standard of care and presentation, ensuring the continued vitality of its bonsai and suiseki displays.

Morimae’s dedication to bonsai has also been captured in various media, including the U.S. National Arboretum’s Bicentennial Bonsai film. His passion for bonsai and suiseki extends beyond physical preservation; it is about sharing a philosophy of life that bonsai can teach us—about resilience, growth, and the delicate balance between nature and humanity.

Seiji Morimae at the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum in 2024.

Chin Fun Kwok and his family honor the Museum with a special visit

Today, the National Bonsai Foundation and National Bonsai & Penjing Museum welcomed Chin Fun Kwok, along with his wife Florence and daughter Daphne, to celebrate his venerated legacy.

In attendance were Museum Curator Michael James and NBF executive director Bobbie Alexander, who presented Mr. Kwok with a certificate of appreciation on behalf of the NBF Board, honoring his dedication and significant contributions. James also presented a certificate on behalf of the U.S. National Arboretum, which has housed the Museum since its inception in 1976. Also joining the celebration were esteemed former NBF board members Chuck Croft and Joe Gutierrez, as well as Jack Rubenstein, an active bonsai community member and officer of the Northern Virginia Bonsai Society.

Together, we proudly honored Mr. Kwok for his remarkable dedication and countless contributions to bonsai and penjing. Over his 25-year tenure on the NBF Board, Kwok’s leadership, expertise, and love for the art form have left an indelible impact. His engineering insights were instrumental in the design and construction of the Museum’s Chinese Pavilion, which now houses the treasured penjing collection.

The Pavilion, brought to life by Chinese craftsmen, features traditional wooden gates, decorative tiles, a serene moon gate, garden stones, and an exquisite dragon wall. Each winter, it transforms into a walk-in cold frame to shelter temperate bonsai from harsh weather, a practical feature blended seamlessly into its elegant design. Above the towering red doors, golden Chinese characters welcome visitors, inscribed with a message that Mr. Kwok translated for us: "The Garden for the Study of Ornamental Horticulture." This message captures the Pavilion’s essence—a place of learning and appreciation of nature’s beauty.

The Kwok family’s legacy extends further through a special bonsai stand donated in Mr. Kwok’s honor, handcrafted by David Knittle, a distinguished bonsai display artisan whose work is celebrated in national exhibitions.

NBF and Museum staff are deeply grateful to Mr. Kwok for his generosity, vision, and dedication, which have enriched the Museum and inspired the bonsai community.

Influential Bonsai Master: Harry Hirao

In 2009 Harry Hirao posed next to his 2004 gift to the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum, a California juniper that he collected in 1960. Photo from U.S. National Arboretum.

This edition of Influential Bonsai Masters highlights the history of the loving spirit and innate talent Harry Hirao shared with the world.

Hirao co-founded Kofu Bonsai Kai, one of the largest U.S. bonsai clubs, and sat on many bonsai boards across the country, including the National Bonsai Foundation. But his interest and leadership in bonsai wasn’t in full swing until his middle-aged years. 

Though he was born in 1917 in Colorado, Hirao temporarily moved to Japan at 8 years old to receive an education and work on the family farm. But he returned to the United States at 16, befriending young bonsai master John Naka, with whom he adventured through the Rocky Mountains to fish for trout.

At the time, Hirao and Naka were so focused on fishing they didn’t realize they were falling in love with the surrounding precious viewing stones and the unique twists and folds in wild trees. 

Hirao soon met his wife Chiyo (also known as Alyce), and they married in 1941. Ten years later, the family moved to Huntington Beach, California, where Hirao launched a landscaping and gardening business and grew his family.

Fishing remained a hobby for Hirao for many years, but Naka introduced him to bonsai, guiding him through the Mojave Desert where stout, aging trees grew in harsh environments. Hirao and Naka were granted a digging permit to remove junipers growing in the desert, beginning years of field trips through the mountains and intriguing Hirao in the process of transforming the unassuming trees into beautiful bonsai.

LEFT: Hirao and John Naka discussing Naka’s famous forest planting “Goshin,” or “protector of the spirit”

RIGHT: In 2011, Hirao restyled the juniper he gave to the Museum for the new North American Bonsai Collection.

Photos from USNA

He was eventually nicknamed Mr. California Juniper for his uncanny ability to produce masterpiece bonsai from raw California junipers. But something else in the wild finally caught his eye – stones. Hirao and his wife became enamored with suiseki, or viewing stones, and quickly grew their collection. 

Hirao is often remembered as a mountain goat, jumping over ridges and through streams faster than most to find gorgeous stones or unique junipers to turn to bonsai. 

Former NBF President Felix Laughlin said he went on a collecting trip with Hirao once, and before he got out of the car at their destination, Hirao was already leaping and running toward the mountains with a backpack slung over his shoulder. 

“It was so amazing that in his late age, his 80s at the time, Harry was such a bear of a man and just went at the collecting,” Laughlin said. “He loved it so much, and he did so much for California junipers, which were his babies.”

Jack Sustic, a former National Bonsai & Penjing Museum curator and NBF co-president, held a special and long-lasting relationship with Hirao. After meeting during a West Coast bonsai convention, the two became instant friends. Sustic began traveling to California once or twice a year to collect stones or work on trees with Hirao, absorbing bits of wisdom and building their friendship. 

“Harry would say, ‘Don’t rush. If you rush you make mistakes,’” Sustic said. “I always hear his voice when I’m working on a tree or looking for stones – I can hear him telling me to take it slow. Bonsai masters’ advice is often not just for bonsai but for life itself.”

LEFT: At the 2009 Bonsai Festival, Harry directed a bonsai demonstration with assistance from Museum curator Jack Sustic and Museum volunteer LeAnn Duling. RIGHT: Harry Hirao collecting a California juniper from the wild in 2007.

Photos from USNA

Hirao could always make someone feel special, often giving his visitors a viewing stone as a token of appreciation for their time together. Sustic fondly remembers his loving, genuine and kind demeanor, but he said everyone who met Hirao spoke well about the bonsai master. 

“Nobody ever had a negative comment or worry about Harry, and that’s a bit rare these days,” he said. “Harry was like a father, best friend, teacher and confidant all wrapped into one for me. A day hasn't passed that I haven't thought of him.”

The Museum received its first American viewing stone from Hirao, and the Harry Hirao Reception Room opened in the Museum’s Yuji Yoshimura center simultaneously with its John Y. Naka North American Bonsai Pavilion. 

Two of Hirao’s trees have found a home in the North American collection and one of them remains in the Museum’s auxiliary collection. You can view the trees here and read more about Hirao in our 2007 newsletter, “Happy Birthday Harry!”

Hirao on a collecting trip – photo from Jack Sustic