Full cascade Japanese black pine (Pinus thumbergii). Japanese for Black pine is Kuromatsu (kuro is black and matsu is pine).
Even though we posted this just four months ago, the title stuck me as appropriate for this national holiday (for some of us at least).
Japanese black pines are sometimes referred to a the king of bonsai. This may be in part due to their natural strength; they tend to have powerful trunks and thick lush foliage. Rugged bark doesn’t hurt either. King or not, the best of the black pines are undeniably among the most powerful bonsai in the world.
All the photos shown here are from the 89th Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition that took place February 2015 in Tokyo. We found them at Michael Bonsai.
Is this Black pine or a semi-cascade or full-cascade? What distinguishes full from semi-cascade, is full cascades reach below the bottom of the pot. In the case the lowest point is just barely below the bottom of the pot.
Short, squat and powerful. Is that a trunk or a massive hunk of living wood with bark and branches?
Another powerful trunk, though this one has bit more of a trunk-like form. And then there are those prized deep furrows.
Another massive, strangely shaped trunk. Do you think the pot a bit too big for the tree?
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