Back on His Feet – Isao Omachi Four Years Later

2015. Not only is Isao Omachi back on his feet, but it seems like he hasn’t missed a beat. This magnificent Shimpaku juniper is a pretty good example of what he’s been up to since the Tsunami (I don’t know who made the scroll, but it’s not so shabby either). I cropped the photo for a closer look at the tree and scroll. You can see the whole display below. It has been four years since the devastating Japanese Tsunami. Those of you who were following Bark, Bill Valavanis, Marco Invernizzi or others in our world bonsai community, remember Isao … Continue reading Back on His Feet – Isao Omachi Four Years Later

Omachi Relief Fund: Don’t Let Up Yet

Isao Omachi before the tsunami swept everything away. Don’t let up yet Just a little reminder about the plight of Isao Omachi and his family. It’s not too late to do something to help. As you know, relief efforts commonly suffer from short half-lives. Something horrible happens, we get worked up about people suffering and, in a matter of days, we’ve forgotten and moved on the next thing. Omachi Relief Fund The following was written by Bill Valavanis: Award winning bonsai artist Isao Omachi is one of the rising starts of the Japanese bonsai world. He lives with his wife, … Continue reading Omachi Relief Fund: Don’t Let Up Yet

Eccentric Bonsai: Isao Omachi’s Radical Tree

Check out the meandering living vein on this wonderful crazy work in progress by Isao Omachi. It showed up on facebook the other day and instantly grabbed my imagination and got me thinking about how he could have done it (the living vein part, that is). Perhaps there’s a clue in something that Masahiko Kimura (The Magician) did years ago in a chapter entitled ‘Kimura Flips (a Tree Upside Down)’ in our Masters’ Series Juniper book (below). Here’s the Kimura tree that he flipped upside down. It originally appeared in Bonsai Today issue 21 (out of print). Pirates At least … Continue reading Eccentric Bonsai: Isao Omachi’s Radical Tree

Blazing Bonsai – An Embarrassment of Riches

This blazing bonsai is a prize-winning Shishigashira Japanese maple from a Peter Tea post on the 32nd Annual Taikan-ten bonsai exhibition in Kyoto. This photos shown here are lifted from a December 2012 Bark post titled An Embarrassment of Riches. In addition to the trees, there’s a special bonus offering below… NEW MID-WINTER SITE WIDE SALE Almost All Items Discounted 25% to 40% off List Prices* Some Items as much as 70% off List Prices Visit Stone Lantern Here’s what Matt Reel has to say about this tree: “This Japanese Red Pine has such a broad apex it makes me … Continue reading Blazing Bonsai – An Embarrassment of Riches

Monster Demo Bonsai on a Monster Hydraulic Turntable

That’s famous bonsai master, Kunio Kobayashi on the right, getting ready to tackle his monster demo tree. And yes, that’s a Green T Professional Hydraulic Lift Bonsai Turntable gamely holding the behemoth up. The after shot is below It’s Saturday, a good day to catch up mowing, weeding and trimming outside. Not bonsai (who mows bonsai?) but just our landscape gardens. Anyway, to save time, we’ll resurrect this post from a couple months ago. It’s a bit of an infomercial for our popular Green T Professional Hydraulic Lift Turntables, but the photos are still very good. Time to pay another visit to the recent … Continue reading Monster Demo Bonsai on a Monster Hydraulic Turntable

Spectacular Demo Trees at the 2017 World Bonsai Convention

Isao Omachi, his just finished demo tree and a Green T Professional Hydraulic Lift Turntable at this year’s World Bonsai Convention Today it’s time to drive from the Central Coast back to SF, so I hope you don’t mind if we dig back into our archives. It’s a recent one (May 12th) and a bit of an infomercial, but the photo are still very good. Time to pay another visit to the recent World Bonsai Convention. This time it’s about the demonstrators, their demo trees and the heavy lifting, omnipresent Green T Professional Hydraulic Lift Turntables – the quiet stars … Continue reading Spectacular Demo Trees at the 2017 World Bonsai Convention

Flowering Bonsai & an American in Tokyo

Not a prize winner, but still a mind stopper. Here’s what Bill Valavanis has to say about this remarkable quince: “An unusual cultivar of Japanese flowering quince. This is NOT the Toyo Nishiki cultivar, but rather ‘Takane Nishiki’. Beautiful flowers, unusual container, but I personally do not like the design of the bonsai, so enjoyed the blossoms.” Vacation time is archive time (with some new posts thrown in). This one is from July, 2011. I was looking for something more on Doug Paul’s Kennett Collection (see yesterday). The tree below is his, and the tree above has beautiful flowers and … Continue reading Flowering Bonsai & an American in Tokyo

Famous Bonsai Artists, their Demo Trees & the Omnipresent Green T Professional Hydraulic Lift Bonsai Turntables

Bonsai Master Masahiko Kimura’s rock planting perched on a Green T Professional Hydraulic Lift Turntable at last month’s World Bonsai Convention Time to pay another visit to last month’s World Bonsai Convention. This time it’s about the demonstrators, their demo trees and the heavy lifting, omnipresent Green T Professional Hydraulic Lift Turntables – the quiet stars of the show. Continued below… 2 Day Fertilizer Sale Ends Tonight 40% off our large selection of Bonsai Fertilizers two thing to know… 40% off is a lot… …and don’t blink this special ends tonight (Friday) at 11:59pm EDT That’s famous bonsai master, … Continue reading Famous Bonsai Artists, their Demo Trees & the Omnipresent Green T Professional Hydraulic Lift Bonsai Turntables

Confused about Itoigawa, Kishu & Shimpaku Junipers?

This dynamic Juniper jumped off its digital page on my daily bonsai hunt yesterday. In addition to all its movement, there’s those two perfectly placed foliage clouds. Their gentle downward motion and soft weight help tame the upward thrust of the deadwood. Bjorn Bjorholm’s caption for this Juniper reads: “Itoigawa Shimpaku styled in 2013 during my apprenticeship at Kouka-en.” Today it’s a few dynamic Itoigawa junipers for you. The beautiful & energetic beast above is from Bjorn Bjorholm’s facebook feed. I pillaged the others from our archives. Continued below… SITE WIDE SALE 20% TO 25% OFF EVERYTHING* Don’t Worry! We … Continue reading Confused about Itoigawa, Kishu & Shimpaku Junipers?

A Steady Stream of Excellent and Often Unusual Bonsai

An impressively complex cascading juniper by Isao Omachi. Is it too busy, or would it diminish the tree’s magic if you tried to simplify it? We can count on Isao Omachi for a steady stream of excellent and often unusual bonsai. As a result of this steady stream, we’ve featured his trees well over a dozen times here on Bonsai Bark and I suspect we’ll continue to feature them for as long as we keep posting (going on eight years and still counting). This time it’s three trees from Isao’s recent facebook photos. Two of them are full cascade junipers … Continue reading A Steady Stream of Excellent and Often Unusual Bonsai