One Bonsai Contest, Two Winners

You may remember this tree, but maybe… …from this angle. Way back on April 232rd we posted a blog titled Win Our $50 Japanese Red Pine Bonsai Contest (& Wire All the Way Out to the Tips). The contest had two parts. Rather than repeat the details here, I’ll just invite you to take a look for yourself. Without further ado, your winners are… Winner #1 is Brian Fields. He sent a link to the photo at the top of this post (from Peter Tea’s blog) almost immediately after the contest was posted. Brian got in just under the wire; … Continue reading One Bonsai Contest, Two Winners

Eccentric Bonsai #6: A Unique Masterpiece

This Kuromatsu (Japanese black pine) won the environment minister’s prize at the 20th Green Festa Kokubunji bonsai fair in Takamatsu’s Kokubunji town, Japan. It is 46 centimeters (18.1″) high and about 80 years old. It is owned by Michiyo Yano from Onohara in the city of Kanonji, Kagawa Prefecture and appears on the Bonsai World website. Eccentric? So what’s eccentric about a small masterpiece that won a major Japanese prize? Two things catch the eye. A large wound First is the large wound on the lower left side of the trunk. Often large wounds are unsightly and spoil the beauty … Continue reading Eccentric Bonsai #6: A Unique Masterpiece

Japanese Bonsai: Small Is Powerful

This powerful kuromatsu (Japanese black pine) won the Culture Minister’s Prize at the 20th Green Festa Kokubunji bonsai fair (has anyone out there heard of this fair?). It is 19″ (48cm) high and about 55 years old. It is owned by Toyoyuki Hamabata from Takamatsu’s Mure town in Shikoku. It appears at Bonsai World, an English language website from Shikoku Japan.