Kokedama: Art Meets Botany in Japan

Kusamono artist Young Choe studied traditional art-ink painting and calligraphy in her native Korea before she moved to the United States. She obtained her bachelor’s in horticulture from the University of Maryland. While volunteering at the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum (where she has served over 20 years), she was able to bring her artistic talent together with her knowledge of horticulture to create Kusamono. She traveled to Japan to study this unique art form with the master Kusamono artist, Keiko Yamane, a former student of Saburo Kato. Young has also worked with native plants at the USDA, NRCS, and National Plant Materials Center in Beltsville, MD. Sshe was a propagation horticulturist at the US National Arboretum where she has now served over 20 years in the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum.