Bonsai Adventure & a Pot with a Story to Tell

A muscular old Camellia full of flowers and buds. This photo and the others in this post, were taken by Bill Valavanis during a recent visit to Shunka-en Bonsai Museum in Tokyo Shunka-en Bonsai Museum is the home, studio, gallery and growing area of Kunio Kobayashi. All the photos in this post were taken at Shunka-en a few weeks ago by the omnipresent Bill Valavanis (everywhere is the answer to the ‘Where’s in the Bonsai World is Bill‘ question) STONE LANTERN’S 20% OFF SITE WIDE SALE IS BACK! and we are shipping the same business day on orders received by 2:00pm EST see below More color. … Continue reading Bonsai Adventure & a Pot with a Story to Tell

Great Bonsai Shots – a Story of Time & Human Artistry

A story of time and human artistry. This shot (looks like a Japanese white pine) is from Kunio Kobayashi’s famous Shunkaen Bonsai Museum in Edogawa, Tokyo Prefecture, Japan. When I first saw it, I was sure that it’s from the tree below. After closer examination, I’m not so sure. All the photos in this post are from the Shunkaen Bonsai Museum fb timeline The Shunkaen Bonsai Museum was founded by the great bonsai master, Kunio Kobayashi. Here’s what Mr Kobayashi wrote about the museum… “The Museum was built with the ambition to spread Japanese culture, especially Bonsai in a new way … Continue reading Great Bonsai Shots – a Story of Time & Human Artistry

Old Bonsai & Ancient Trees

This magnificent Juniper bonsai is said to be 800 years old, which makes it a very old bonsai. But not the oldest bonsai we know of and nowhere near the oldest living tree in the world. It resides at Kunio Kobayashi’s Shunka-en Bonsai Museum in Tokyo. We borrowed the photo from Bonsai Empire. Getting another late start and the sun is shining (you’d be surprised how few sunny days we have here in Vermont) so time to get outside. All this is an excuse for recycling this post from March of last year. The tree below is called Old Tjikko. … Continue reading Old Bonsai & Ancient Trees

The Usual Suspects & The Real Mr Kobayashi

This Japanese flowering apricot (Prunus mume) is from the Shunka-en Bonsai Museum. This and the other photos shown here are from Bill Valavanis’ Bonsai blog. If you’ve seen the movie The Usual Suspects, you no doubt remember Mr Kobayashi, a smooth and ruthless professional criminal with a Japanese name and a face that doesn’t match. Just another surprise in a very surprising movie. Anyway, I happened to watch Suspects for about the fifth time the other day, and now a day or so later, I just visited Bill Valavanis (his blog that is) and there he was… the real Mr … Continue reading The Usual Suspects & The Real Mr Kobayashi

Old Bonsai & Ancient Trees

This magnificent Juniper bonsai is said to be 800 years old, which makes it a very old bonsai. But not the oldest bonsai we know of and nowhere near the oldest living tree in the world. It resides at Kunio Kobayashi’s Shunka-en Bonsai Museum in Tokyo. I borrowed the photo from Bonsai Empire. Old Tjikko. This lonely Norway spruce (Picea abies) is said to be 9,500 years old. But the trunk you see in this photo is only a few hundred years old. The tree above is called Old Tjikko. It originally gained fame as the world’s oldest tree, but … Continue reading Old Bonsai & Ancient Trees

Two Very Large & Very Famous Bonsai

This remarkable tree is said to be at least 800 years old and may be one of the most valuable bonsai in the world. I borrowed the photo from Bonsai Empire. Busy today so we’ll keep this short and sweet. Both Shimpaku junipers shown here belong to Kunio Kobayashi, one of the best known and most respected Bonsai artists in the world (it’s hard to argue with a four time winner of the prestigious Prime Minister’s award at Sakufu ten bonsai professional’s exhibition). Mr Kobayashi’s nursery, Shunka En, is located in Tokyo and is open to visitors. Be sure to … Continue reading Two Very Large & Very Famous Bonsai

Back to the Source

Tokonoma with a large pine bonsai and scroll. From Kunio Kobayashi’s Shunkaen Bonsai Museum. Back to the Source I think it’s a good idea to check in on Japanese bonsai now and then. After all, it’s one of the two most important historical sources for bonsai (the other would be China) and still produces a very large share of the highest quality bonsai in the world. Kunio Kobayashi Kunio Kobayashi is one of best known and most accomplished bonsai artists in Japan and beyond. He has received numerous prestigious bonsai prizes and has taught extensively throughout the world. He has … Continue reading Back to the Source