Fifth-generation bonsai master’s 400-year-old shimpaku juniper among seven stolen, couple pleads

A prized 400-year-old shimpaku juniper was among seven bonsai taken from the open garden of fifth-generation bonsai cultivator Seiji Iimura and his wife Fuyumi in Kawaguchi City, Saitama, north of Tokyo, last month. The couple, who keep roughly 3,000 bonsai on display and had welcomed visitors without gates or cameras, appealed publicly for the thieves to care for and water the trees.

Iimura, 53, and Fuyumi run a display the couple described as an open garden of about 5,000 square metres, a scale consistent with housing some 3,000 specimens; one published account mistakenly described the property as 5,000 hectares, a figure that would be implausible for a private display of this size. The Iimuras alerted Saitama prefecture police after noticing seven trees missing and have since installed surveillance cameras.

Officials and family accounts say the thefts occurred last month in what was described variously as two separate heists and as a series of nights. Iimura said the culprits “knew which trees to steal” among thousands and that the thieves appeared to have professional knowledge of bonsai value. He stressed the trees are identifiable by unique stem patterns, saying, “No matter how much you cut the trees, one cannot change the stem patterns,” a factor he hopes will aid tracing if the specimens are resold.

CNN provided the most detailed inventory: the haul included one 400-year shimpaku juniper, three miniature pine goyomatsu and three other, less-valuable shimpaku. The shimpaku measured about 1 metre tall and roughly 70 centimetres wide when taken and had been grown from wild mountain stock that is now rare and difficult to reproduce. That prize tree had been due to be entered in a Japanese beauty competition this month.

Reported valuations vary. The Asahi Shimbun is cited valuing the 400-year shimpaku at at least 6 million yen. Fuyumi gave a family estimate of more than 10 million yen for the single shimpaku, while NBC reported Iimura’s estimate at about $54,000 and placed the seven-tree haul at roughly $63,000. CNN reported the seven trees at a minimum of 13 million yen, with other outlets converting that figure into roughly $118,000 or more in local currencies. These discrepancies reflect different informants and currency rounding.

The human toll is stark. Fuyumi wrote on Facebook that she was “filled with sadness and heartache” and pleaded, “The shimpaku lived for 400 years. It needs care and can’t survive a week without water.” She added that the trees “can live forever, even after we’re gone. I want whoever took it to make sure that it’s properly watered.” Seiji called the 400-year tree “like my own child” and said, “I expect the robber to at least water the plants, otherwise they will die.”

Police have been notified and the Iimur as are cooperating while expanding on-site security. Experts warn that tracing stolen bonsai can be difficult if trees are moved through multiple sales, even though trunk and stem patterns provide unique identification markers. The thefts come amid a reported spate of bonsai thefts this winter and as Japan’s trade in trees, bonsai and potted flowers has grown to about 12 billion yen last year from 4.5 billion yen a decade earlier.

The investigation remains active and the couple continue to publicize the missing specimens in hopes of recovery, while urging anyone who might have information to contact local authorities in Saitama prefecture.