A Great Bonsai Honor & Okatsune’s 500,000 Cuts

Mariusz Folda’s Shimpaku juniper that exhibited at this year’s Kokufu Exhibition and was featured in the Japanese bonsai magazine Bonsai Sekai. Here’s Mariusz’s caption: “I am very happy that the Japanese bonsai magazine BONSAI SEKAI featured the tree that I exhibited this year at Kokufu ten. It is an honour. Thank you one more time to master Masahiko Kimura for all the help and effort in preparing the tree for the exhibition that took one year in the master garden. The tree is now in Poland at IBUKI” (Mariusz’s studio). I’d like to use this post to introduce you to … Continue reading A Great Bonsai Honor & Okatsune’s 500,000 Cuts

The Beauty of Bonsai and Masters Grade Stainless Tools

Looking though our image library for photos to use on our upgraded website (coming soon) and this one jumped out. It’s a Japanese flowering apricot from the The Beauty of Bonsai. We’re in the process of upgrading our Stone Lantern website, and have been spending hours going though our massive digital image library in a quest for suitable photos. Here are a few of the hundred or so we’ve pulled aside for consideration. I hope you like them as much as I do. Continued below… The following notice is for any of you who might be looking to upgrade your … Continue reading The Beauty of Bonsai and Masters Grade Stainless Tools

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

Reviving a Powerful Old Shimpaku Bonsai

After. A dynamic & powerful Shimpaku juniper that belongs to our friend Suthin Sukosolvisit, one of a handful of the most highly talented and accomplished North American bonsai artists. This is our third straight before and after. All three started with superior but neglected junipers and ended with masterful bonsai. And all three were revived and upgraded by highly accomplished and well known bonsai artists; Naoki Maeoka for the previous two and Suthin Sukosolvisit today. Continued below… NEW Sales 20% of Yoshiaki Tools, Turntables, Sieves & Wire plus an extra 10% off orders 100.00+ Before. Great skill is required to … Continue reading Reviving a Powerful Old Shimpaku Bonsai

The Smoke of the Volcano

The Smoke of the Volcano. This famous old collected Shimpaku juniper is called Noble Satake’s Shimpaku. When it was collected it was given the name The Smoke of the Volcano because of its unusual twisting trunk. The fuzzy photo is what happens when you blow an image up from 300 to 770 pixels (see below for the original). I just discovered an excellent article on Morten Albek’s Shohin Bonsai blog (thanks to Bonsai Mary). It’s a history of a particular collected Shimpaku juniper and collecting Shimpaku juniper in general. This article was written by Kazuki Yamanaka and published in Japanese … Continue reading The Smoke of the Volcano

Bonsai in an Unusual Setting, a Wavy Drum Pot & Others

It’s a little surprising that there are so few good shots of bonsai in creative settings. This one was borrowed from Peter Warren’s Surayama, as were all the photos in this post. Spent most of the day trying to catch up the books. Not that much fun, but even less fun if you let things get too far out of control. Anyway, I didn’t leave enough time to put together a new post, so we’ll plunder our archives. This one is from June 2015. It was titled ‘Surayama – Shimpaku, Spruce & Several Others.‘ Continued below… NEW SALE 25% off … Continue reading Bonsai in an Unusual Setting, a Wavy Drum Pot & Others

Three Pines, a Prize Winning Olive & a Great Display by One of Only Two Americans to Exhibit at the 2014 Kokufu

This knotted pine, along with the two pines below, were recently posted by Frank Cucchiara. Frank doesn’t say anything about them (they look like Japanese black pines), but based on what we know about Frank, we can assume they are his. This post was going to be short and simple. Three pines borrowed from Frank Cucchiara. But, suddenly, after a little research, we’ve got a tribute to Frank’s bonsai. Continued below… 8.50 for 500 gram rolls of Bonsai Wire IS Too Good to Pass UP 13.50 less 30% = 9.45 per roll if your total order is 100.00+ then it’s … Continue reading Three Pines, a Prize Winning Olive & a Great Display by One of Only Two Americans to Exhibit at the 2014 Kokufu

Three Juniper Bonsai & One Juniper Bonsai Book

Here’s one that jumped off the page while perusing everyone’s favorite social media site. Looks like a Shimpaku juniper. There’s a lot to like here: the way the living veins merge in an inverted U shape on the trunk (a strange feature that might disqualify the tree from exhibiting in the famous Japanese bonsai shows, but one that you might appreciate for its unconventional effect); the dynamic movement of the trunk from the base to the top and the feel of coiled stored energy in the trunk (it’s the coffee). Then there’s the way deadwood in the middle of the … Continue reading Three Juniper Bonsai & One Juniper Bonsai Book

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?

Great Trees, Great Shots

Sweet Yamadori Shimpaku. Originally from Japan (see text just below). The uncropped original is below. I just discovered a site that features near perfect photos of exceptional Bonsai. In this line of work, that’s a welcome combination. Their name is Bonsai Baison and their tag line is, “We Are the Best Quality Bonsai Importer from Japan” You can visit them on facebook and on their website. Our 2017 BONSAI CALENDARS ARE HERE! and it’s a great time to get yours with our… …20% to 25% off SITE WIDE SALE Another sweet Shimpaku. Like the photo above, I cropped … Continue reading Great Trees, Great Shots