![]() His student, Charyl Manning, wrote that "John's haiku is as beautiful as his bonsai. Alongside his bonsai art, Naka was a dedicated poet, and the haiku cited in his inscriptions was featured in volume 48 of the American Bonsai Society Journal. ![]() By 1990, they had been issued in French, German, Italian, and Spanish translations. ![]() They provide encyclopaedic coverage of equipment, cutting and pruning techniques, aesthetic choices, and methods for achieving desired growth. The present works are known as the bibles of bonsai among masters and students alike. In 1985, Emperor Hirohito awarded Naka Japan's highest honour for a non-citizen: the Fifth Class of the Order of the Rising Sun. His masterpiece, Goshin - "one of the most widely recognized examples of the art form in the world" (Huntington) - is displayed at the United States National Arboretum in Washington DC. Following a period in 1946 spent studying under Sam Takekichi Doi in Los Angeles, he founded the forerunner to the California Bonsai Society in 1950 and began to exhibit works and lecture around the world. Considered one of the greatest practitioners of the art, John Yoshio Naka (1914-2004) popularized bonsai in the West in the second half of the 20th century. Tree will sleep and I will dream: Spring is tomorrow". Each inscription quotes a poignant haiku of the author's own composition: "Last leaf has fallen. First editions, first printings, presentation copies, inscribed by the author on the half-titles to the bonsai master Richard Cantrell, with his ownership signatures and blindstamps.
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