At first glance I was drawn to this tree. Later, I wasn’t so sure. But then, after a long slow look, I came back to my first thought; the spectacular pot, the deeply striated bark and the tree’s overall simplicity and naturalness won me over. Have we been overly influenced by Japanese bonsai? When I [...]
Hinoki cypress by Dan Robinson. From Gnarly Branches, Ancient Trees. An excellent example of a naturalistic bonsai. Judging from your comments… There are two ways we can gauge reader interest. One is by the number of visits to a particular post (our host keeps track for us), and the other is your comments. Judging from [...]
Here’s an exquisite, powerful old tree that features some wild twists and turns. I found it here. My guess is it’s a Shimpaku juniper that was originally collected in the mountains of Japan. A further guess is that it fell into the hands of one of the Japanese masters. One more guess; it was professionally [...]
Japanese apricot (Latin-Prunus mume: Japanese-Ume). From Classic Bonsai of Japan (Nippon Bonsai Association). My apologies for cutting off the bottom of the pot; my scanner couldn’t quite fit the whole photo. Japan and flowering bonsai The Japanese have long revered flowering trees and flowering bonsai. So much so, that they often overlook what you might [...]
The two photos in this post were taken at the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum in Japan. You can view the uncropped originals and other photos from the Museum at Bonsai Network Japan. Evolution.? Has bonsai evolved as it has moved from Japan (and China) to the rest of the world? If you look at experimentation [...]
A flowering cherry from one of our mystery Japanese books. Check out the pot; there are two things you might notice. First, it’s unglazed, which is unusual with flowering trees (especially in Japan), and second, it’s hand-made rough. Maybe it was chosen because its earthy naturalness goes well with the color and natural aged feel [...]
Talk about maximizing space. This photo is from somewhere in Japan via BonsaiNet on facebook. If it weren’t the guy on the right, you might think we’re somewhere in the 19th century. This one, also from BonsaiNet, has a caption: Kanuma & Abe bonsai nurseries. Share
