The photo is from a series of photos on Morten Albek’s Shohin-Europe website, titled Mansei-en 2011. Mansei-en is the name of Saburo Kato’s bonsai garden and Morten Albek is the author of Majesty in Miniature, Shohin Bonsai (Stone Lantern Publishing). Mr. Kato died in 2008 (Phoenix Bonsai has an excellent biography). Morten is, as far as I know, alive and well in Denmark .

Growing better shohin roots and trunk
Morten Albek has just posted a practical guide to growing better roots and trunks. It’s for Shohin bonsai, but you can apply the techniques to larger bonsai as well.

One of a series of photos by Morten Albek on growing better shohin roots and trunk.

Bill’s remarks
Here are Bill Valavanis‘ remarks that he sent along with the photo.

Hi Wayne,

I’ve just returned home from Japan and saw your post on my friend’s bonsai, the Million Dollar specimen.

The million dollar bonsai WAS actually sold and at the current exchange rate on the sale day was $1,282,000. The tree is a grafted Miyajima Japanese five-needle pine which has not been on display since the 1940′s, but I’m not sharing that photo with you. It is approximately 300 years old.

Seiji Morimae (S-Cube) sold the tree and in fact his face is in your photo in the background, but attached is a full size old photo of the bonsai when I first saw it on November 14, 2009. At that time Mr. Morimae had just ordered a custom made fine-quality container from Japan. Yes, the this large size bonsai is very powerful when actually appreciated in person.

The bonsai was sold to a private collector from Fukushima Prefecture, not one of the 400 Chinese who attended the ASPAC Convention. Many of the prices were inflated because of the Chinese buyers, especially the containers.

You mentioned that you did not know if this bonsai was worth 1 million dollars or if Kimura’s bonsai were worth even more. Please remember that this bonsai has been in careful loving training and care for 300 years. Most of Kimura’s famous masterpieces have not been in training for more than, say, 40 to 50 years. Time and respect for age are important factors when evaluating, and pricing, bonsai which most westerners fail to appreciate.

Hope this answers some of your questions.

Bill

A little follow-up
When I responded to thank Bill I mentioned that some of the trees that Kimura had worked on were venerable specimens that had been handed down over the years and that some of these might have values that way up there too. Here’s Bill’s reply:

The value of Japanese bonsai is not as high as it used to be in the past because of the declining market. Yes, Mr. Kimura has worked on many old and famous bonsai masterpieces and their prices may have similar high value. But to actually get their value in yen is another topic. Mr. Morimae sold his bonsai.

The 3rd US National Bonsai Exhibition is coming soon
Speaking of Bill, this is probably a good time to remind you that there are only six more months until the 3rd US National Bonsai Exhibition. This might also be a good time to remind you that the wonderful photo albums from the first two Exhibitions are still available at Stone Lantern. Their numbers are limited and they will not be reprinted.

$1,000,000 for a bonsai?
I’ve heard of million dollar bonsai before, but don’t know if I’ve ever seen one (in person or in a photo). We don’t really know what this one sold for, but still, an asking price of 1.3 million dollars is a little mind-boggling. I wonder if this makes some of Masahiko Kimura‘s most famous bonsai worth even more than a million dollars. Speaking of artists, I don’t know who the artist is for this one. Anyone?

More ASPAC bonsai
As is usually the case, Jonas of Bonsai Tonight has kept his eye and his camera on the ball. You can visit Bonsai Tonight for more of Jonas’ great photos from the 11th Asia-Pacific Bonsai and Suiseki Convention & Exhibition.

On White pines (and others)
It just so happens that our rather famous (written in all modesty) Masters’ Series Pine book is available right now at Stone Lantern.

Though we know this is a monster tree, still it’s difficult to get real perspective. Because the man’s head is in focus (more or less), you can surmise that he’s pretty close to the tree. That’s one hint. Another is provided by Jonas of Bonsai Tonight, when he says “The pine is big, really big.” A third hint is that, it is true that large bonsai are larger and much more powerful in person than in photos. Just how much more powerful is difficult to comprehend until you see the real thing.

is a good way to keep Bonsai Bark coming
&
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Koyo Heavy Duty Bonsai Shears (list 29.00)
are now deeply discounted at 17.95

Over 100 Bonsai Tools deeply discounted at Stone Lantern

Shohin Bonsai (list 24.95) is now deeply discounted at 9.95

Over 50 Bonsai Books deeply discounted at Stone Lantern

Okatsune World-Class Garden & Bonsai Pruning Shears
come in 2 sizes:
7″ size (list 66.50) now deeply discounted at 47.80
8″ size (list 79.90) now deeply discounted at 59.00

Quality Gardening Tools deeply discounted at Stone Lantern

Japanese Gardens in a Weekend (list 14.95)
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Over 100 Japanese Gardening & Other Books deeply discounted at Stone Lantern

Bow and arrow
Once you get beyond the fact that the bark and shape and even the foliage (at a glance) on this Pemphis look so much like the common Juniper pro-nana (that made-yesterday little bonsai imposter that flooded our Holiday malls last century), you might notice that there’s an unmistakable bow and arrow effect going on here. True, the bow has been softened considerably by Robert in his simulation, but the arrow remains. Perhaps Robert left it the way it is because it’s the feature that makes this otherwise unremarkable tree unique.

Robert’s critique

This is bonsai presents a good opportunity to talk about visual balance
Visual balance in art is not the kind of balance you get by weighing something with a scale. It’s more a visual illusion you sense from a composition (continued below).

The original as submitted by Hamman Harris.

In the case of this bonsai, you get the sense that it’s falling down to the left. In other words, it lacks visual balance.

-       The container with its round bottom, along with the shape of the pedestal, create a very unstable appearance, rather than a solid well anchored feeling.

-       The bow shaped right trunk forcefully drives the weight down and to the left.

-       The unbroken flow of foliage without any gaps, creates a very strong directing line that further transfers the visual weight to the left.

-       The crown is too big and the foliage pad is too dense.

-       As mentioned above, there is a lack of empty space (gaps) between the foliage pads.

Solution

-       Flatten the bottom of the container and use a rectangular pedestal. Both of these changes contribute to a more stable feeling.

-       Refine the foliage by making it more irregular, creating more gaps and opening up the crown. Turning some branches into jin will also help to decrease the illusion of too much weight.

-       Partially cover the bow shaped trunk on the right with some foliage. This will help to decrease the illusion of the too much force down and to the left.

By following these steps, the overall composition is improved and a better visual balance has been created.

General comments
There is more than one way to design any bonsai and my critiques and recommended solutions might not always fit your taste and personal preferences, but I always try to give my opinion based on artistic and horticultural principles.

To understand my concepts better, please read my books Vision of My Soul and Mission of Transformation which are available at Stone Lantern.

The advantages of Shohin (small) Bonsai
On the back of our Stone Lantern book Majesty in Miniature; Shohin Bonsai (by Morten Albek) it says “When compared to large bonsai, Shohin cost less, take less time to develop, take less space, are easier to move, and are less apt to be over-watered. Perhaps best of all, Shohin-bonsai are a delight to behold.” I’ll second those observations (I wrote the original, so why not?).

This small Viginia creeper by Harry Harrington (bonsai4me.com) is designed to show off the spectacular foliage.

This is the second time we’ve shown this Spiraea japonica (also by Harry Harrington). There are a couple reasons we returned to it: first, it’s a very sweet tree, and second, how many Spiraea bonsai have you seen?

Morten Albek’s Shohin Bonsai. Published by Stone Lantern. Retail 24.95, our low price 14.97.

Rare indeed
You don’t see too many mixed bonsai forests, and my guess is that you’ve never seen one with this many varieties (above). They may all be the same species for sure (Acer palmatum), but they aren’t all the same. How many varieties can you count?

We’ve shown this mixed forest in Bonsai Bark before. It’s one of my favorites (though it would be nice if the photo were larger). It’s from Saburo Kato’s Forest, Rock Planting & Ezo Spruce Bonsai (published by The National Bonsai Foundation and distributed by Stone Lantern).

A different kind of mix
The planting at the top of this post contains only one species. This one contains five species (six varieties in all) of trees, two of which are Japanese maple varieties. The six are (left to right):  Japanese maple (Acer palmatum), Japanese beech (Fagus crenata), Dwarf stewartia (Stewartia monadelpha), Kyushu azalea (Rhododendron kiusianum), Japanese red-leaf hornbeam (Carpinus laxiflora), and Deshojo Japanese maple (A. palmatum ‘Deshojo’).

This tokonoma with its spectacular scroll, is from Daiza Iwasaki’s house in Japan. A more cropped version of this photo appears in Morten Albek’s book, Majesty in Miniature, Shohin Bonsai. The original completely uncropped photo is below.

Bonsai display
I don’t think too many people pay very close attention to bonsai display. I’m sure there are some who do, but judging from countless photos on facebook and elsewhere, display isn’t a major concern for most people (especially outside of Japan).

Relationships
Display is a lot about the relationship of the elements. Though I’m far from an expert on the subject, there are a couple things that stand out for me in the photo above: The scroll and tree are playing peekaboo in a way that might cause you to feel that they are part of the same mountain scene. Also, with the way it is leaning and the movement of the foliage, the tree leads you into the scroll. The flowering companion below could be a wild flower part way up the mountain (notice how it is just off center). I’ll leave reflections on the vase and all the rest up to you.

Majesty in Miniature
Majesty in Miniature, Shohin Bonsai, Morten Albek’s comprehensive book on the subject of small bonsai (Stone Lantern Publishing), goes into bonsai display in some detail. Actually, Morten sent us a lot more detail, but we thought a 1,000 page book wouldn’t appeal to most people, so, sadly, numerous photos and some text had to be left out.

Scrolls
Though there’s plenty more to say about scrolls and display, for now we’ll just recommend Morten’s book. Or, if you’re ambitious and are interested in making your own, we just put up a new book: How to Make Handmade Wall Scrolls, by Jonathan Maples.

Morten’s original uncropped photo gives you a little glimpse into a part of a Japanese house.

Finished. Most of Masahiko Kimura’s juniper masterpieces start and finish as one tree. Not so this one. The deadwood and each major branch all come from different places. How Kimura put all the pieces together is brilliant and novel.

A few hints
Rather than explain the whole process here, we’ll offer a few hints and leave the rest to your imagination (or, lacking that, you could get your hands on a copy of Bonsai Today issue 63 and see the whole process).

Before. The pieces of the puzzle are gathered together.

The deadwood after Kimura prepares it for the task ahead.

An air layered branch right after separation. The shape of the new roots and the photo above should give you a pretty good idea of the next step.

More Magic
If you’d like to see a whole book of bonsai magic, The Magician, The Bonsai Art of Kimura 2 is on special at Stone Lantern.

It’s somewhere in the northeast and getting closer by the minute. Any day now, any minute now, Gnarly Branches, Ancient Trees will come rolling in.

I’ll stake my reputation
I’ve seen most of the photos and much of the text, and I will stake my reputation (whatever it is) on this being one of the most inspirational and exciting bonsai books ever published.

30% – 40% off Book Sale
It’s a good time to order. Books, tools, bonsai wire, turntables and more on sale now.