All together, the stolen trees were worth more than 10 million yen, or about $90,000. Keeping bonsai trees requires a potent mixture of dedication and skill, commonly creating a deep emotional connection for their owners. In interviews, Iimura and his wife begged the thieves to return the trees, and to make sure to water them in the meantime. Several previous theft victims have mourned their stolen trees in a similar way to the Iimuras, portraying it as a familial loss. “It’s not the money, these plants were like children to me,” Suzanne Berv, of Great Neck, New York, told The New York Times in 1978 after eight of her bonsai trees were taken.

Source: bd News24 February 12, 2019 21:11 UTC