Toshio Kawamoto’s Brilliant Classic, Round Three 2/8/15

This planting from Toshio Kawamoto’s Saikei classic is similar to the planting on the cover (below): same trees (cryptomeria), same (or nearly the same) pot and somewhat similar rocky ravine separating two tree and moss covered areas. The main difference is that this one shows a deep ravine with tall vertical cliffs.

The other day we resurrected one of the many brilliant plantings from Toshio Kawamoto’s remarkable classic, Saikei, Living Landscapes in Miniature, so let’s keep going (we could do a lot worse).

We originally feautured this planting in 2010 and again in 2013 (look for another round in 2017). We don’t repeat that many of our posts, especially twice, but Mr. Kawamoto’s plantings are exceptional and his perfectly detailed schematas are completely unique to him, at least in my experience.

How to create a deep ravine saikei
The purpose of this section in Saikei, Living Landscapes in Miniature is to show how to create a deep ravine saikei, just like the one in the photo. In fact, if you look at the drawings, it’s almost as if the author is inviting you to duplicate his work.

 

Front schemata. The pot is 27″ x 19″ (69cm x 48cm) unglazed oval by Tokoname. There are 29 cryptomeria rangng from 4″ to 14″ (10cm to 36cm) and 9 river rocks. The soil is regular bonsai soil (he doesn’t say which regular bonsai soil, but the Japanese almost always use akadama or an akadama mix for conifers). The other materials are moss, river sand and white sand.

Bird’s eye view. Notice how the opening in front is off center. If it were directly centered and straight it would appear contrived. Notice also how the ravine narrows and curves around and disappears from sight and then opens up into a pool. Viewed from the front, this creates a sense of mystery and the appearance that it just goes on and on into a vast landscape, rather than being restricted to the finite area of the pot.

The cover of a remarkable book. It’s out of print, but easy to find online.