Frank Fusaji Nagata, 1890-1980 (Founder of Baikoen Bonsai Kenkyukai)

 

                                                                      Frank Fusaji Nagata was born on April 8, 1890 in Sho, Mizokunchi,                                                                                                           Tottori-ken, Japan. At the tender age of 16, he arrived in San Francisco amdist the                                                                                         devastation of 1906 earthquake and fire. He and Fumiko Kadowaki were wed on February                                                                         14, 1924 after he moved to Los Angeles.

                                                                                 It was during the depression when work as a gardener was scare that he developed                                                                         his interest in bonsai. he was one of a very few, during World War II, to take bonsai into an                                                                         internment camp in Amache, Colorado. After the war he continued his bonsai hobby,                                                                                 almost to an obsession, until his backyard was filled. He was one of the five founders of the                                                                       California Bonsai Society, internationally famous for its annual exhibit at the California                                                                               State Museum of Science and Industry.

                                                                                 In 1953 he retired from gardening to start a bonsai nursery. The Apline Baika                                                                                     (Baikoen) Nursery was one of the first to offer bonsai classes in English. The core of his                                                                               early students formed the Baikoen Bonsai Kenkyukai in the mid 1960's - an organization                                                                           which holds monthly bonsai workshops.

                                                                                 In 1968 the Nagatas retired to Temple City where Frank continued his bonsai interest                                                                       and influence. The idea of a Januaray bonsai show titled, "Winter Silhouettes" featuring the leafless beauty of deciduous trees pleased this gentle teacher of bonsai because his  favorite blossoms, the Ume or Japanese plum, blooms in January. (Baikoen means "fragrance of ume blossoms.) The first public "Winter Silhouettes" show was presented in Janurary 1978.

       In mounting this memorial show, Baikoen looked for their teacher's bonsai colleagues, students and friends from organizations who honored him at the time of his passing, January 8, 1980. However, due to the lack of space, only a limited number of invitations could be extended. An effort was made to include not only the veterns, but also, as Frank Nagata frequently expressed, "to include youthful hobbyists to carry on this unique, cultural art." It is hoped that future shows will include those devoted bonsai friends of his who were not reprsented in this show.