Bonsai Blog

Saihate-no-oka by Saburo Kato

2011-12-31T04:01:00.000-08:00

After my last year’s trip to Japan, I posted a blog entry titled “Forest planting by Saburo Kato?” (http://lomov.blogspot.com/2010/05/forest-planting-by-saburo-kato_7825.html). This forest setting was superb (see photo above), it was located in Mansei-en nursery in Omiya and I suggested that it was probably done by Saburo Kato. I wasn’t sure, but not anymore.

After reading Saburo Kato’s book ‘Forest, rock planting and Ezo Spruce bonsai’ I know that my guess was correct. In fact, the photo of this forest setting taken in 1988 is featuring on the book cover itself (see photo below). I also learned that the setting is much more special than I thought. This bonsai is one of Saburo Kato’s most well-known masterpieces called Saihate no oka (The Remotest Hill). All trees are Ezo Spruce (Piciea glehnii) collected by Saburo Kato 70 years ago from Kunashir Island, which is not a part of Japan anymore. The main trunk is about 250 years old! Saburo Kato worked on this forest for three years. When I saw the setting I thought it is on the rock slab, but the book says it’s on a custom made ceramic slab made in Tokoname. I must admit though, this setting looked better in 1988.

Plant choice for bonsai: Sentiment vs suitability

2011-12-25T04:04:00.000-08:00

India is an ancient civilization and in the course of its long history many plants acquired deep cultural significance. Some of them are loved as food, some for their medicinal properties and some for their religious significance. In an individual this significance manifests as sentiments towards certain plants. To an Indian bonsai grower plant’s sentimental value often has a stronger appeal than its suitability for bonsai. A good outcome is possible only when sentiment and suitability coincide. Peepal Tree (Ficus religiosa) is a good example of that (top left picture). This tree is worshiped in temples, its seedlings grow on top of almost every builing in Cennai and it is a great tree for bonsai. In fact, bonsai trees which impressed me the most in Chennai were figs. Some of them are shown in photos above and below.

Bonsai soil for Chennai climate

2011-12-17T17:52:00.000-08:00

The soil used for bonsai in Chennai is very different from what we use in Australia. It is a mixture of red clay, sand and cow manure. Some growers add broken low-fired red brick for better drainage. The sand used in the mix is rather small grain, like the one used for mixing concrete. While we in Australia make our soil mix for drainage, they in India make their soil for water retention. The climate in Chennai can be very hot and dry. Never the less, bonsai growers in Chennai complain that their trees grow too fast! Needless to say, clay and manure provide their plants with ample nutrients. High temperatures all year round don’t allow the soil to be saturated with water for too long, especially in a shallow container. I also think that native plants of Tamil Nadu are adapted to waterlogged soil during monsoon and very dry soil in summer. The soil is too sticky when wet and for repotting they use dry soil mix (see image below),

Bonsai containers in Chennai, India

2011-12-17T15:01:00.000-08:00

It seems that in India there is only one ceramic artist who makes bonsai pots. His name is B.R. Pandit and his studio is at Bhayandar, Maharashtra. In the bonsai community his pots are referred to as ‘Pandit pots’. These pots demonstrate sound craftsmanship and mostly inspired by more ornate Chinese examples. Chinese aesthetics probably appeal to the artist and bonsai growers due to cultural proximity to China. Some examples of Pandit pots are shown in the image below.

Another type of containers I saw used for bonsai is Jaipur Blue Pottery (see pictures below). They are low-fired pots made of white clay and decorated predominantly with cobalt and copper oxides. If someone made them in stoneware and added feet, they would make a beautiful native style of bonsai pots.

Most commonly bonsai and bonsai material are grown in terracotta pots. They are hand-made, unglazed, low-fired flower pots, which sometimes come as shallow planters without feet. They are very unpretentious and sometimes slightly crooked. Old terracotta pots develop a patina of dirt and algae and can look quite wabi sabi (see image below).

Of course, I should mention that a lot of bonsai in Chennai are grown in containers imported from China. Chennai, however, doesn’t have a shop where you can buy them. Bonsai pots are ordered from Bombay or Kerala and buyers have to bear the cost of brakeage during transportation. Apparently, they are transported on the roofs of passenger buses and the brakeage is quite high. As a result of all this, bonsai growers in Chennai have a limited choice of containers.

A go at saikei

2011-12-06T03:02:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was my last bonsai class for this year. The structure of the class was a surprise to all students. The class was divided into two teams and each team was given the same materials to create a saikei landscape. It was compulsory to use a ceramic mountain and nine small-leaved box plants and the rest was optional. The outcome of these efforts is shown below. Apparently, these two miniature landscapes will be auctioned later for charity.

Bonsai garden at Semmozhi Poonga park

2011-11-14T05:44:00.000-08:00

Semmozhi Poonga is a paid entrance park in Chennai. It is run by the Tamil Nadu Directorate of Horticulture and Plantation Crops and it features a bonsai garden. Most of the trees are Ficus microcarpa imported from China. Among them there are trees in containers that are about five years old (see picture above) and trees planted in the ground which are about 40 years old (see picture below). The majority of the potted plants were in local unglazed terracotta containers without feet. I felt that this garden is that it’s bedraggled.

Bharani jars from Kerala

2011-11-12T18:25:00.000-08:00

Dakshanam Chitra is an open air museum of traditional South Indian architecture. Traditional houses displayed there also feature traditional household items. In a traditional Hindu house from the South Indian state of Kerala I saw interesting earthenware jars. Unlike the unglazed terracotta ware used for cooking these jars were glazed earthenware (see the picture). Later, I learned that in Kerala these jars are called Bharani and they are glazed because they are used for preparing and storage of Indian style pickles. To me, these jars emanate what Japanese call wabi. It was interesting to see three different traditional glazes and a very unintentional partial glazing used on the leftmost jar.

Cholamandal Artists' Village

2011-11-10T20:07:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I visited Cholamandal Artists' Village. Fifteen years ago, I met some of the village’s artists and visited their studios through my work. This time, I am just a tourist visiting their art gallery. Some of the art displayed there was of outstanding quality. One artist’s work caught my eye because it had a striking resemblance to suiseki or bonkei. They were ink drawings by K. R. Harie produced in 2009 (see pictures above and below).

Mahabalipuram

2011-11-10T09:07:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, visited the town of Mahabalipuram about 60 km from Chennai. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of the monolithic monuments built in the 7-9th centuries. Stone carving has been a traditional craft in this area for two thousand years. This time, I spent some time observing the work of the stone carvers. Everything except the finishing touches with a pointed chisel (picture “A” above) is done by power tools. First they shape a block of granite for a particular sculpture, by making parallel cuts (picture “B” above) with a diamond blade on an angled grinder. After that all major carving is done by the angled grinders (marked 3 in the picture below) and each artist goes through one or two blades per day. All finer carving is done with diamond bids marked 1 and 2 in the picture below. The bid marked 2 lasts only for 2-3 days, while the bid marked 3 may last for up to two weeks.

Despite of the use of power tools each sculpture takes an amazingly long time to make. For example, picture “A” below shows a sculpture which has been worked on for one and a half months. And those people work long hours. Picture “B” below shows a stature that’s been worked on for at least three months and there is still a lot of finishing work to be done.

Bonsai pots made in October

2011-11-04T23:15:00.000-07:00

The oval pot shown above was made with a plaster mold and then was wood-fired. The iron in the clay completely consumed the glaze and the visible pattern is created by molten ash.
The oval pot shown below was formed on the wheel. No glaze, just iron oxide rubbed into the cracks.

Presentation by Bill Valavanis

2011-10-25T02:40:00.000-07:00

Earlier this month, I attended a presentation and a critique session by Bill Valavanis from the US. He is a well-known figure on the international bonsai scene. He has been doing bonsai for 50 years and has a long list of achievements. His presentation was informative and thought provoking, but not in a big way. There was a bit of self-advertising, but to me, when someone is presenting their bonsai credentials, it always comes down to five words: “show me your best tree”. He probably has some amazing bonsai in his collection, but he hadn't to showcased them well in his presentation. I think his presentation barely scratched the surface of his bonsai knowledge and I would definitely want to learn more from him. He studied bonsai in Japan and for me, the most interesting aspect of his presentation were occasional insights into Japanese mentality and values pertaining to bonsai.

Sydney Bonsai Spectacular

2011-10-08T04:51:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, I saw an exhibition called Sydney Bonsai Spectacular held at Merrylands RSL. This was a joint effort of Sydney’s ten bonsai clubs. It was an interesting show. My favorite tree is shown below. In the past its trunk had no taper. Its owner split the trunk from the bottom and created a shari around the split area. It was a risky move, but it really paid off. It produced desired taper and added a lot of interest to the trunk.

There were quite a few trees with superb potential, which could have been turned from ‘good’ to ‘great’ by a simple change of balance in the branches or just by a greater amount of regular bonsai care. The exhibition also featured a few suiseki some of which are shown below.

Vintage Chinese pot

2011-09-17T02:43:00.000-07:00

I bought a vintage Chinese bonsai pot. The previous owner Dorothy Koreshoff had it for a long time. According to her it is an imitation of Kanton green ware produced somewhere in northern China. It was certainly a mass-produced flower pot of its day. However, this pot tells a story. I instantly fell for the wonderful dragons-and-clouds decoration and beautiful running glaze forming tears all around the base (arrow 1, picture below). In fact, the glaze ran so much that the pot’s feet got completely stuck to the kiln shelf and had to be broken off (arrow 2), which probably was a normal practice. I know that the pot is old because it is wood-fired and mass-produced pottery in China is not wood-fired for many decades. The gloss on the inside surface of the pot (arrow 3) is molten wood ash. Also, only wood-firing produces flashes on unglazed surfaces. The flashing shown at (arrow 4) actually happened because another smaller pot was fired inside this pot. The weight of this smaller pot made the bottom of the big pot sag and it slightly distorted its whole form. All this makes this pot very unpretentious and reminds me of Yanagi Soetsu’s unknown craftsmen and the Mingei movement. The pot has no artist's mark. I also know how this pot was actually formed. The creases on the bottom of the pot shown at (5) indicate that the pot was formed by pressing a slab of clay into a mold. If the pot is old enough the mold could have been made of wood and not plaster. Now, you know what I mean when I say this pot tells a story.

Annual Exhibition of Bonsai Society of Australia 2011

2011-09-16T07:39:00.000-07:00

Once again, I go to the Annual Exhibition of Bonsai Society of Australia. Same place different year. There were very few trees of interest to me. My favorite was the tree shown above. I could see only the demonstration by Pat Kennedy. He showed how to make a free form bonsai pot by making a plaster mold and pressing a clay slab into it. The demonstration was novel, informative and useful. The other demonstrations were by Joy Morton from New Zealand and Pham Bao Khanh Linh.

The funniest reference to bonsai

2011-09-06T15:20:00.000-07:00

From this year’s Father’s Day catalogue of Shaver Shop.

Latest bonsai pots

2011-09-06T06:34:00.000-07:00

Last month I had a few bonsai pots fired. See the photos below.

Round, 12×10 cm, unglazed, wood fired.

Round, 20.5×7 cm, chun glaze, wood fired.

Hexagonal, 11.5×7 cm, celadon glaze, wood fired.

Oval, 19×17.5×8 cm, tomato red glaze, electric kiln.

Oval, 28×23×6.5 cm, white glaze, wood fired.

Square, 10×16 cm, unglazed, wood fired.

Bonsai exhibition of Illawarra Bonsai Society

2011-08-31T05:06:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, I went to the bonsai exhibition of Illawarra Bonsai Society. It is a very active group of bonsai enthusiasts and this year they held their exhibition in a new venue – Sutherland District Trade Union Club. The photos above show some of the better trees.

Another event I attended this month is was Gardening Australia Expo at Rosehill Racecourse organized by ABC TV. Bonsai was represented by just one nursery. The only plants that caught my fancy were Tillandsias (see the photo below). There was also a good choice of reasonably priced gardening tools.

The annual exhibition of Bonsai Society of Sydney

2011-08-25T06:32:00.000-07:00

I mentioned the exhibition of Bonsai Society of Sydney in my last entry, but didn’t say anything about it. First of all, there was a handful of decent trees like the one shown in the picture above (25 years old, 7 years in training). Secondly, it had a strong ikebana presence. In Japan ikebana is bonsai’s big brother and their history is intimately intertwined.

There was an ikebana display and demonstration as well as calligraphy and origami demonstrations. All this gave this exhibition a genuine Japanese flavor, which was a good change. Unfortunately, an average bonsai grower in Australia doesn’t care much for the historical and cultural context of bonsai. This exhibition attempted to expose us to some of this context.

Bonsai demonstration by Hiroyoshi Yamaji

2011-08-24T04:39:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, I saw a demonstration by Hiroyoshi Yamaji at the annual exhibition of Bonsai Society of Sydney. Hiroyoshi Yamaji is a bonsai grower from Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture. This prefecture is Japan’s largest producer of pine bonsai and they have been doing that for more than 200 years. Hiroyoshi Yamaji specialises in field grown Japanese Black Pine, Nishiki cultivar of Black Pine, Red Pine and Trident Maples. The pine trees are grown in the soil with lots of granite rock. It provides very good drainage. The pines in the field are dug out and root pruned every three years. The main finished products are two, five and ten-year-old pine trees. He also grows young miniature pines in pots, which are increasingly popular at the moment in Japan.
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So, what’s a guy like Hiroyoshi Yamaji doing at the exhibition of Bonsai Society of Sydney? Well, the purpose of his demonstration was to promote the 11th Asia-Pacific Bonsai and Suiseki Convention and Exhibition held in November this year in Takamatsu, Japan. He was doing it on behalf of the government of Kagawa prefecture and the exhibition of Bonsai Society of Sydney was a suitable marketing opportunity.

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Anyway, it was a lucky opportunity for a Sydney bonsai community too. He was asked to style an awkward looking procumbent juniper grown in a pot for about 25-30 years. He started with assertive ‘blind pruning’ to unclutter the foliage. It allowed him to see the branch structure and decide on the tree design. After that he wired and positioned main branches. One of the less common techniques he used was branch splitting. It involved splitting a 20 mm thick branch along its length into two equal halfs and wiring them in two different positions. The exposed wood was sealed with cut paste. While styling the tree, he was also quite conscious of propagating bonsai stock. For example, instead of cutting a branch he would wire it to the ground for a chance to take root and creating another tree.
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The demonstration was only two hours and Mr. Yamaji has done quite well by producing a well-designed bonsai-in-training from material with limited potential (see the photos above).

Trident Maple fuced trunk

2011-08-13T22:11:00.000-07:00

Last year, I came up with an ambitions idea of growing a large fused trunk Trident Maple, but I didn’t have the material to do the project, so, I started from scratch. In June 2010, I got the seeds from my bonsai teacher, put them in the fridge for a couple of weeks before sowing them in July. They germinated at the end of August (see the picture below).

One lesson I learned from this exercise is not to sow the seeds too densely. You can see from the image above that although the seedlings look quite healthy, they were not as tall as I hoped them to be.

What I did with some of the seedlings this month to kick-start the trunk fusion is self-explanatory from the images below.

Olive yamadori

2011-08-12T02:35:00.000-07:00

Last month, I participated in an ‘Olive Dig’ organised by my bonsai club. Spent most of the time digging out the specimen shown above. It is an African Olive (Olea europaea africana). For scale: the height of styrofoam box in the image on the right is 20 cm. Speaking of olive yamadori. Last month, my sister was visiting Baku, Azerbaijan and took a picture of the European Olive tree (Olea europaea) shown below. This tree was 150 years old when it was translocated to a busy city square and become its focal point.

Street trees of Tokyo

2011-07-16T03:41:00.000-07:00

It has been one-and-a-half years since my last trip to Japan, but I still feel compelled to blog about it. Not sure if it is a good sign, but I am going to do it anyway.

When in Japan, you don’t have to be a horticulturist to notice that they spend a lot more time looking after their street trees. Some of them just stop you dead in your tracks. The photo above on the left shows an old plum tree featuring large areas of exposed wood on its trunk. The photo above on the right shows a painstakingly manicured Black Pine outside a private gate. Even trees looked after by the local government are impressive. Below are a few examples. The photo on the left shows bamboo used as road side planting. I am not sure what species it is, but most of them are ‘runners’ or ‘clumpers’ and will involve a bit of maintenance to keep them as they are on this picture. The photo in the center shows a pine trained into a pleasing shape, which also allows the passage of street cables. The photo on the right shows a deciduous tree, which has been carefully pruned every year to maintain a compact crown in one of the busy streets of Tokyo.

Gate-shading pine - Mon Kaburi

2011-07-08T04:49:00.000-07:00

When I was staying in Ueno, Tokyo last year, I went for a stroll to explore the surrounds and was blown away by the density of temples in the area. There was practically a temple every fifty meters. Later, I learned that this relatively small area boasts 92 temples. Many of them are small though. In one of them I saw the most amazing gate-shading pine (mon kaburi). One long branch of this three stretched all the way from the temple to the front gate (photo 1) while the other long branch stretched across the entire front side of the temple (photo 2). Old branches of the pine were covered with moss and the tree trunk was ancient.

Visit to Bonsai Farm, Melbourne

2011-07-05T01:09:00.000-07:00

Last week, I visited ‘Bonsai Farm’ nursery in Melbourne and had the most delightful conversation with Lindsey Farr. We talked about vintage bonsai pots and about the future of international bonsai. I bought his ‘’World of Bonsai’’ DVD’s, which was the main reason for my visit. I saw some nice trees there and generally got a good vibe from the place.

I kept thinking about the future of bonsai on the flight home. What are the possible directions for new development? To me, bonsai is primarily a form of sculpture. The fact that it employs some of the most complex artistic media (live plants) is important as well because it restricts the subject of bonsai as artistic work. The subject of bonsai is always a plant. There are bonsai or penching which look like a dragons or Chinese characters, but they still have to look like plants. A bonsai artist is a sculptor who has no choice, but to make statures of trees and nothing else. Trees come in many forms, but this variety is finite. Chinese and Japanese artists exhausted all these forms in the last two thousand years. Masahiko Kimura made a successful attempt to incorporate elements of abstract art, but how far can you go down that road? Can we have a bonsai tree that doesn’t look like a plant?

Moving away from traditional bonsai pot forms is another direction for the future. You can’t make your bonsai tree look like a ‘couch’, but you can make a ‘couch-shaped’ bonsai pot and your bonsai tree may look quite novel in it.Thinking further outside the box: combining bonsai with objects other than rocks and containers. Here is the food for thought, because these objects can be an exquisite art in themselves and they are not going to be restricted in their form by anything...

Demonstrations by Peter Adams, Sydney 2011

2011-07-04T04:10:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, I attended a couple of bonsai demonstrations by Peter Adams from America. He is great at painting bonsai trees and sketching different design options for trees. He has an acute artistic sense and a refined taste for bonsai and bonsai pots. He is trained as a professional artist and his abilities would be rather common in the artistic circles. However, they are rather rare in the bonsai community and he takes full advantage of it. Below, are Peter’s drawings of three different design options for a particular tree.

He can be a harsh critic of something when he speaks in generalities and at the same time hypocritically mellow in his opinions when it comes to specifics. For example, he would look at a mediocre tree and say it is wonderful not to offend the owner. I know that they call it good people skills, but it made some people in the audience think that mediocre trees are wonderful.

He had a career of growing bonsai, which allowed him to accumulate a wealth of horticultural knowledge. Sharing it with the audience was good learning.

The organisers of these demonstrations provided him with the world class bonsai material, however a tree with a tremendous potential is not always the best candidate for a spectacular demonstration. Therefore, there were no amazing transformations. Below, are the before and after pictures of the tree, which is the subject of the three design options drawings shown above.

Peter Adams also showed us some photos of his bonsai collection in the US and I was a bit disappointed. The trees were decent, but none of them had the ‘wow’ factor.

Overall, I did learn quite a few things and it was well worth it.

Wire, unwire and rewire!

2011-06-24T20:45:00.000-07:00

Sydney bonsai enthusiasts are lazy to wire secondary and tertiary branches of their bonsai trees. And please do not tell me that it is inspired by the natural growth habits of our native trees. A picture of paper bark tree here shows that this is not true. This bad influence actually made me feel that bonsai trees in

Japan

had “too much wire” and the branches had “too much movement”. There are no excuses and one has to pay for the wire and spend those long hours wiring, unwiring and rewiring branches. If one doesn’t have time for this then one should have fewer trees. I would rather have five excellent trees than fifty mediocre ones. Unfortunately, the majority of bonsai growers in Sydney prefer the latter.

This week's pots

2011-06-10T17:52:00.000-07:00

A couple of new pots this week (images above). I am pleased with the results, but there is also room for improvement. Obviously they are imitations of Pat Kennedy’s pots and were inspired by the demonstration Pat gave at one of the bonsai exhibitions last year in Sydney. Image below shows one of his pots in the process of being made.

Pidgin Sanskrit

2011-06-10T05:47:00.000-07:00

When I was in Japan I noticed that some of the Buddhist temples had symbols which didn’t look Japanese (see the picture below). My guess was that they are in Pali, but I am not sure and it would have been good to find out.

However, recently I came across another symbol (image 1 below). This time it was in a book which said that it is ‘yakushi’ - Sanskrit for ‘healing Buddha’. I think it is a distorted ॐ (images 2-4 below) – Hindu and Buddhist ‘OM’ incantation. Still don’t know how ‘OM’ became ‘yakushi’ in Japan.

National Bonsain Convention in Freemantle

2011-06-08T03:18:00.000-07:00

A classmate from my bonsai lessons went to this year’s National Bonsai Convention in Freemantle, Western Australia. From the photographs of the trees exhibited there and my photographs taken at the bonsai convention in Sydney last year, I could see that the standard of bonsai in Western Australia is slightly higher. It’s just a handful of trees that made all the difference. I was especially impressed by the fact that some of those outstanding bonsai were Australian natives trained in their natural growth style. It’s an interesting observation considering they have only one or two bonsai clubs and a much smaller number of bonsai enthusiasts.

The best of fall 2011

2011-05-29T02:08:00.000-07:00

I was doing an autumn clean up in my garden and found a few treasures. On the image top to bottom left to right: oak, birch, gingko, maple.

Mushi taji

2011-05-26T06:06:00.001-07:00

When I visited

Japan

last year, I was puzzled by small straw mats tied around tree trunks (see the image above). Is this a horticultural technique? Is it a religious custom? Or is it just a garden ornament? I stumbled across the answer in a wonderful book on Japanese gardens by Motomi Oguchi. This straw mat is called mushi taji. It is put in autumn when insects descend from the canopy down the trunk to the ground for overwintering. Mushi taji tricks insects to overwinter in it and at the end of winter it is burnt. A more elaborate version of it, called fuyugakoi, is used in colder parts of Japan to protect the trees from frost and retain moisture in the soil, in addition to pest control. Fuyugakoi can be quite decorative as well.

Bonsai Study Group Show

2011-05-08T03:58:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I saw exhibition of the Bonsai Study Group at West Pymble Community Hall. It was a relatively small show with the emphasis on small bonsai. For me, the highlight of the exhibition was Pat Kennedy’s bonsai pots stall. Bonsai in Australia may have a long way to go, however we already have high quality locally made bonsai pots. The photo of Chrysanthemum is just random.

New pots

2011-05-06T05:53:00.000-07:00

A couple of pots that came out from the last month’s wood-firing. This time I prepared the glazes myself. The top pot is 16 × 7 cm, celadon glaze. The bottom pot is 12.5 × 11 cm, unglazed with natural ash.

Perth: Lee's Bonsai World vs. Miss Luong's Kitchen

2011-04-14T04:32:00.000-07:00

Is it just me or there is a bit of a competition for advertising space here? And who painted the mural Miss Luong or Mr. Lee?

Worst possible introduction to Bonsai

2011-04-09T16:38:00.000-07:00

I found it at last – the worst possible introduction to bonsai. It is an American product called “Miniature Indoor Bonsai Tree Garden”. I like it because it is wrong in so many different ways! It starts with a ridiculous name and then goes on to tells us that “This box contains one tub of miniature tree seeds pre-planted in a specifically formulated growing medium, plus a dwarf terracotta pot, a propagating cover and suitable compost.” So, that’s how it works!

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(MINIATURE TREE SEEDS) + (DWARF TERRACOTTA POT) = (MINIATURE INDOOR BONSAI TREE GARDEN)

Now that we are armed with the secret bonsai formula, how can we go wrong?

Bonsai Show of Nepean Bonsai Society

2011-04-03T03:40:00.001-07:00

Today, I saw the annual bonsai show of Nepean Bonsai Society held at Penrith PCYC. There were a couple of modest trees, but the display of miniature bonsai pots from the collection of John Marsh stole the show. The photographs say it all.

Another pot

2011-04-02T06:15:00.000-07:00

Last Christmas holidays, I missed playing with clay so much that one day I just sat and started hand-forming a small bonsai pot. It took long to get it fired, but the result is pleasing.

Mediocrity strikes back / New hope

2011-03-30T03:30:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, I visited the annual exhibition of the Bonsai Society of the Central Coast held at Gosford City Arts Centre. I’ve never been to their shows and this exhibition disappointed me. All trees were mediocre and uninspiring. Some trees were untidy and not properly prepared for the exhibition. Some trees exemplified bad horticultural practices. Some rather average trees were labeled as winners of past exhibitions, which indicated that the society rewards mediocrity.

To me the highlight of the visit was the Japanese garden outside the centre. It possesses a certain charm (see photos) and it has a tremendous potential for further refinement. The pavilion and the pond bridge are the star performers in the garden. It also features a nice tea-house styled veranda and a couple of decent stone lanterns. The most obvious area for improvement is the dry garden.

Termite factor

2011-02-25T22:32:00.000-08:00

Last month, I visited Australian Northern Territory and was keen to see examples of naturally dwarfed plants in tropical savanna. It was a wet season, the time when many plants undergo a period of rampant growth. Very familiar young eucalypt trees boasted very unusual one-foot-long leaves. However, I did observe an unexpected natural force which can suppress plant growth even at this time of the year. Termites. The tree on the picture is stunted because it is virtually growing on a termite mound. Whenever any part of this tree dies due to heat, wind, insects, fungi, virus or bacteria it is immediately consumed by termites. I have a feeling that both the tree and the termite mound are quite old. From the trunk line we can see that its apex died back a few times and one of the side branches grew to be the new tree top.

Backyard clay

2011-02-25T04:46:00.000-08:00

I had to dig a few holes in my backyard to put up a shade cloth frame over my bonsai shelves. The top soil layer was quite thin and underneath I found a very fine and pure brown clay. This is Wianamatta Shale clay characteristic to Sydney’s Cumberland Plain. I saved a small lump and used it to make a tea bowl shown in the picture. The shrinkage was nearly 30%, so the bowl turned out to be smaller than I expected. I fired it to earthenware temperature with clear glaze to preserve the original colour of the clay. The result was beautiful and quite similar to red raku ware (aka raku yaki). It also would have been not unlike the red clay ware (shudei) of Tokoname if it was burnished and not glazed.

The loveliest scenes of China

2011-02-16T03:27:00.000-08:00

The most renowned Japanese poet Mitsuo Basho (1644-94) in his poem ‘The Unreal Dwelling’ extols a beautiful vista with pines and mountain wisteria and says: “I could not be but happy – the view would not have blushed before the loveliest scenes of China.” It suddenly struck me that by ‘the loveliest scenes of China’ Basho meant none other than the Huang Shan Mountains – the original inspiration for Chinese miniature landscapes and ultimately Japanese bonsai.

Australia Day Bonsai Exhibition

2011-01-27T02:46:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I saw Australia Day Bonsai Exhibition organised for the first time and held at Merrylands RSL, Sydney. Members of eight New South Wales bonsai clubs put up their trees for the exhibition. This sort of show never happened in Australia before. A national exhibition like Kokufu-ten in Japan or the US National Bonsai Exhibirion is impossible in Australia due to bio-security regulations enforced by the federal government. However, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia could hold their state exhibitions right now, but for some reason don’t. Anyway, the standard of Australia Day Exhibition was better than at usual individual club shows. Below are some trees. All Australian natives: 1- Port Jackson Fig (≈ 90 cm), Banksia (≈ 50 cm) and Baeckea (≈ 30 cm). Picture 4 shows a suiseki from China.

Penching-like grapevine

2011-01-22T04:20:00.000-08:00

Last winter I was visiting vineyards in Hunter Valley and was taken by the beauty of bare grapevine plants. They reminded me of the flat top penching trees characteristic of Yang School of Yangzhou. Some of them had amazing trunk movement with interesting dead wood like the one on the picture.

New tea bowl

2010-12-20T02:53:00.000-08:00

....................................................................................................................................................................... A couple of weeks ago, I got a tea bowl which was thrown by Ian Jones, its foot was carved by me and then it was fired in Ian Jones’ anagama kiln. The tea bowl is alright, but I don’t get tired of saying that it was fired for 5 days with 20 tons of wood!

Tiny monster

2010-12-19T02:32:00.000-08:00

Last month, I caught a 0.5 mm-long red mite on one of my fig bonsai. I assumed it is a pest and asked an expert to identify it. It turned out to be a predatory species Anystis baccarum which is actually beneficial to plants. It preys on plant eating mites. It’s amazing that just one bonsai tree can provide a whole universe for a tiny monster devouring plant pests we can’t even see. Unfortunately, the photograph of this mite mounted on a microscope slide doesn’t do it justice.

First pot made on potter's wheel

2010-11-21T03:57:00.000-08:00

This is the first ceramic object I made on potter's wheel. It was thrown in August, but glaze fired only last week. The decoration was totally random. First, I scribbled Lotus Sutra in Japanese and than drew a butterfly with a flower in the remaining surface.

Bonsai metaphor

2010-11-15T00:13:00.000-08:00

Shoji Hamada (1894-1978) was a famous Japanese potter who worked within Japanese folk art tradition. In 1974 an American art teacher Susan Peterson wrote a book about him where she transcribes her conversations with Hamada. In the following passage Shoji Hamada talks about traditional art and uses bonsai as a metaphor:

....................................................................................................................................................................

“In Mashiko and in Okinawa there are deep unconscious roots of tradition in the earth. For instance, compare dwarf trees in the garden and trees on the hill. If it’s a dwarf tree, when the weather gets a little bit bad you bring it in the house, if it gets dry you give it water. You trim the branches or not as you want. A traditional potter is like a dwarf tree. In the case of the [dwarf] tree you have to be careful about the weather, the other half depends on the care you give it. A tree in the mountains grows by itself. I should like to become such a tree.”

Trasformation in a wood-fired kiln

2010-11-13T17:20:00.000-08:00

Last year, I made a little mame / kusamono pot which was fired in an electric kiln and turned out to be quite uninteresting (top picture). I put it in the reject box and forgot about it. A couple of weeks ago, I looked though the box for pieces that could be refired in a wood-fired kiln. The bottom picture shows the same pot after it was wood-fired.

Pots thrown on a wheel

2010-11-13T04:29:00.000-08:00

I am learning to make ceramics on potter’s wheel and these are first bonsai pots I threw on the wheel. The top picture shows a pot fired in an electric kiln and the bottom picture shows a pot with no glaze fired in a wood-fired kiln.

New Begining

2010-09-26T03:21:00.000-07:00

................................................................................................................................. I finally got a new job!

It took 45 job applications

in a span of four years.

I hope it will invigorate

my scholarly and artistic pursuits.

Early history of bonsai in Russia

2010-09-01T03:11:00.000-07:00

There were Russian settlements in China and Chinese settlements in

Russia

as early as late 17th century. By the end of the 19^th century there were tens of thousands of Russians settled in various parts of China. Some of them were fluent in Mandarin and exposed to various aspects of Chinese culture including penjing. For example, we know of a Russian railway official Alexander Koreshov who resided with his family in a government house in Harbin, Manchuria around 1912. The house had a garden with a collection of penjing and a Chinese gardener who looked after it. These penjing trees made such a deep impression on Alexander Koreshov’s son Vitaliy that after settling in Australia he went on growing bonsai for the rest of his life. He became the founder of the first bonsai club and the first bonsai nursery in that country. ...............................................................................................................................................................
1956 - State Publishing of Agricultural Literature publishes a book titled ‘Indoor Gardening’ which contains a section titled ‘Dwarf Plants’. The section is written by G. E. Kiselev and presents a somewhat distorted view about ‘dwarf plants’. The section is accompanied by four images. One of them shows a 25-year-old Deodar trained in Literati style and planted in a shallow round container. The plant belonged to A. A. Karpenko from Sochi (presently Republic of Georgia).
..........................................................................................................................................................................
1960’s – An article about bonsai in a popular science magazine ‘Nauka i Zhizn’ (Science and Life). The article contained images of high standard Japanese bonsai and raised awareness about this art in the Soviet Union.
.....................................................................................................................................................................
By the end of the 60’s Anatoliy Annenkov, landscape architect at the Nikitsky Botanic Gardens, Crimea and Soviet Union’s leading landscape architect, develops considerable skills in growing and styling bonsai. He was a gifted artist and horticulturist who communicated with bonsai enthusiasts from other countries and used to make his own bonsai pots.
........................................................................................................................................................................
1976 – Japan presents Russia with a gift of 44 bonsai. The collection is housed in a subtropical glasshouse at the State Botanic Gardens of Academy of Sciences, Moscow. The curator of bonsai collection at that time is Tamara Belousova. This collection attracts a small group of bonsai enthusiasts which would form the core of bonsai community in

Russia

.
.......................................................................................................................................................................
1985 - Phyllis Argall’s book ‘Dwarf trees in the Japanese mode’ originally published in 1964 was translated and published in Russian. It was the first Russian language book which provided instructions for cultivating bonsai. It inspired many to take bonsai as a hobby.
........................................................................................................................................................................ 1988 – A group of bonsai enthusiasts who regularly met at the State Botanic Gardens in Moscow decides to form Russia’s first bonsai club.
......................................................................................................................................................................... 1989 – First bonsai exhibition held at the Japanese Garden of the State Botanic Gardens in Moscow.

Best bonsai pot so far

2010-08-31T02:20:00.001-07:00

I was really pleased with this wood-fired bonsai pot that came out of the kiln this month. It is probably this year’s best pot so far. It measures 27×23×7.5 cm. I am planning to replicate the success, but there is always an element of luck when it comes to wood firing.

Root graft

2010-08-25T04:11:00.001-07:00

Easy as 1-2-3, but will the tree survive?

If the graft is successful the nebari should look better in 2 years.

First try on a potter's wheel

2010-08-22T04:09:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, I tried to use potter’s wheel for the first time. After working on it for four hours, left palm of my hand was bruised. At times, clay felt like sandpaper. After a few failed attempts, I have thrown two forms that later will become a coffee mug and a small round bonsai pot. The teacher was very encouraging. The picture below shows a beautiful Moreton Bay Fig I saw on the way to ceramics class.

Japanese style wood-fired ceramic kilns

2010-08-14T01:34:00.000-07:00

During a recent trip to Canberra with a group of potters I saw a number of Japanese style wood-fired kilns. Below is a two-chambered noburigama kiln at Sturt Pottery in Mittagong.

Below are two anagama kilns at Sturt Pottery as well. The top image shows the longer anagama, while the bottom image shows the front of the small anagama.

Below is the photo of a nine-meter-long anagama kiln at Old St Luke's Studio in Gundaroo built by ceramic artist Ian Jones. This kiln is fired for five days with twenty tonnes of pine wood.

Below is a one-chambered noburigama at Old St Luke's Studio.

My first Kokufu-ten album

2010-08-10T20:09:00.000-07:00

I finally got my first Kokufu-ten album! Another “boring” coffee-table book avoided by the rest of my family. It is this year's issue No 84. A couple of observations I would like to share. First, the trees looked more interesting and impressive in real life. Second, the album allows a quick glance at the exhibition and enables us to see general trends. Many trees at Kokufu-ten exhibit ancient maturity and suggest an awe-inspiring length of time and the amount of labor it took to produce them. At the same time, such trees may lack artistic individuality. Look through the album and you will find trees that are almost identical to each-other. Is it a “bonsai copied from another bonsai” situation encouraged by the abundance of mass-produced advanced stock? I still love the book and keep going over my favorite trees.

Jeff Mincham's teabowls 2009

2010-08-10T01:54:00.000-07:00

Last weekend,
I saw an exhibition
of ceramic art
by Jeff Mincham
at Watson Arts Centre
near Canberra.
I especially liked
this triptych
of teabowls:
1 - Morning Glory,

2 - Bitter Winds,

3 - Survival.

They would make

perfect three cups of

tea for a tea ceremony

complementing an exquisite teahouse.

Sakui

2010-07-13T05:04:00.000-07:00

Yamanoue Sōji (1544-90) a tea master and an important chronicler of tea history of his time, once made a remark about a fellow tea practitioner Tsuji Gensai: “Tsuji is not sharp-eyed, and very poor at chanoyu. Even if he becomes the pupil of a great master, a man without sakui remains inept.” Sakui can be translated as ‘creative mind’. I could really identify with this sentiment in my last bonsai class when I asked the teacher: “How can I improve the nebari of this tree?” and before the teacher could say anything his assistant asked: “What’s wrong with this nebari?” I was glad that the teacher just ignored his question and proceeded to tell me what can be done.

1956: First known mention of dwarf plants in Russian horticultural literature

2010-06-06T05:11:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the links in the web site of Phoenix Bonsai Society I stumbled across an interesting passage from a Russian book. Apparently, it is the first known mention of bonsai/penjing in Russian literature. Here is the passage translated to English:
“Dwarf plants are miniature copies of pines, cryptomerias and other trees and shrubs. Dwarf plants are used for creating beautiful miniature landscapes on flower tables. Occasionally, pines, spruces, junipers, rhododendrons and other trees and shrubs grow for decades on mountain cliffs in rock crevices in nutrient-poor soil. Their growth is often measured in centimetres. At present, such plants have become difficult to obtain. Despite the dangers of dwarf plant ‘hunting’ (they grow on vertical cliffs, ravines, rock outcrops, e. g.) they have become rare in nature. For this reason dwarf plants are now grown artificially. There are various methods for achieving small size in plants. The smallest seeds of a cultivated variety are chosen. The seeds are sown in thimble-sized containers with low nutrient compacted soil. The plant is watered just enough to be kept alive. This way, plants are kept weak and develop very slowly. However, the plant growth is reduced even further. The plants are mutilated. The tap root is severed and main trunk is replaced with a side branch. Side branches are regularly pruned, bent, curled and coiled. As a result of practicing these techniques for prolonged periods of time, the plants become ugly and small. Dwarf plant care is aimed at stunting their normal growth, while keeping them alive. Do not keep dwarf plants in warm indoors for too long. Cool environment similar to the conditions in the wild is more suitable for them. Fertilisers are never used. Watering is very limited and carried out just to keep the plants alive. Plants which can be cultivated in dwarf form include pines, spruces, cryptomerias, junipers, rhododendrons, quinces, birches, ornamental apple varieties, maples, bamboos and others.”
Unfortunately the reference is incomplete and goes like this: Kiselev G. E. 1956. Dwarf Plants. In: ??? (Eds) Indoor Gardening. State Publishing of Agricultural Literature, Moscow. p. 278. The author was obviously not a bonsai practitioner and chose not to use the term ‘bonsai’ or ‘penjing’. The passage fails to mention China or Japan as countries where growing of dwarf plants was originally practiced. The passage also contradicts itself: “ugly” plants are used to create “beautiful” landscapes.

Demonstration by Salvatore Liporace

2010-05-22T13:08:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I went for a demonstration by Salvatore Liporace from Italy. I anticipated a demonstration with dramatic transformation of a tree involving unusual styling and dead wood carving. Well, there was none of that. Below is the before and after photos of the tree he styled.

It will take a few years for this tree to become something nice, provided the jin is carved adequately. The demonstration went on a tangent wiring lesson. He said that he takes great care to make wired trees to look good, because he may sell or exhibit them with the wire on. So, he uses copper wire for conifers and doesn't use wire gauges thicker than 4.5 mm. He wires two branches with one strand of wire as much as possible not to have too many wire ends and has all wire ends at the back of the tree. It also allows to use less wire. It is not uncommon to put a kilogram of wire on a 70-cm-tall tree and the cost of wire in Italy is higher than in Australia ($70). He bends the branch first than wires it, so that the wire holds it nice and tight. Unlike all bonsai books say, he wires at an angle a little wider than 45°. A branch he wired as example is shown below.

He also explained a new method for achieving ramification in five-needle pines and demonstrated interesting grafting tecniques for junipers. To make it worse for the people who expected just bonsai entertainment, Liporace said some “harsh words” about the standard of bonsai in Australia and excuses we make about the lack of suitable and aged plant material. He said that we are satisfied with little and I absolutely agree with that. How many times I came from a bonsai exhibition disappointed! He noted that, when bonsai first took off in Italy, they were importing a lot of trees from Japan and China and it took them a while to realise that the local material is as good. Apennine Mountains with their rocky volcanic soils have a lot of excellent bonsai material and now Italian trees are valued higher than the imported ones. He also mentioned that the average size of bonsai trees in Italy is decreasing. If a few decades ago thickness of the trunk to tree height ratio was 1:6, now it is 1:4.

Since selling bonsai is Liporace’s bread and butter, he can’t afford to waste time on redesigning trees. The tree design is decided on right from the time of collection with the aim to get the tree to exhibition standard within 5 years. Things he said made me realise that Europe is becoming like Japan when it comes to bonsai. There is a growing number of people who practice or at least appreciate bonsai. Lots of local and imported plant material. It is common for someone to pay three or four figure price for a bonsai. There are wealthy people who just own bonsai trees and have bonsai practitioners work on them. Liporace said that it costs €200-300 to style a larger tree and it is not unheard of to spend around €1000 to get a tree ready for an exhibition. Customers show him their tree and he gives them a quotation. Large number of bonsai organizations, exhibitions, nurseries and auctions provides bonsai practitioners with lots of things to do. Nothing of the sort exists in Australia, with its small market for bonsai and relatively small number of bonsai enthusiasts.

Forest planting by Saburo Kato?

2010-05-05T05:02:00.001-07:00

Bonsai master Saburo Kato was well known for his forest plantings. When I visited Mansei-en nursery in Omiya, which was owned by him, I saw several forest plantings, but was really impressed by the one on the picture. Could it be a bonsai done by Saburo Kato?

Kencho-ji junipers

2010-04-25T03:57:00.000-07:00

When I visited Kencho-ji temple in Kamakura, I was really impressed by magnificent juniper trees growing along the temple’s main alley. They looked like some sort of Chinese Juniper and one of them had a trunk about four meters in diameter (photo on the left). I took some photos, wandered about how old they are and forgot about them. Two months later I was reading about Kencho-ji and found that these junipers were actually planted by the founder of the temple Chinese Zen master Lan-hsi Tao-lung between 1253 and 1278 from seeds brought from China.

Bilpin Plant Collector’s Fair 2010

2010-04-17T02:57:00.000-07:00

Today I went to the Plant Collector’s Fair in Bilpin. Even though the fair mostly caters to people who want unusual flowers in their garden, I couldn’t resist buying a bunch of them (see the picture). I really enjoyed it and it was definitely worth the trip. As far as bonsai is concerned, the fare may have some rare kinds of plants which could be used as bonsai starter stock. For instance, I picked up a small Bird Cherry. Something I wanted, but never thought would find in Australia. Anyway, if you want to get the best and the least common plants at this fair - get there in the morning of the first day.

Not too much wire?

2010-04-12T22:57:00.000-07:00

Ever since I started doing bonsai I was hesitant to wire plants too much. I just had a self-made supposition that wire suffocates the plant. My trip to Japan helped me to overcome this prejudice after seeing wired plants like the one on the picture. I realised that a lot of beautiful bonsai I’ve seen in Japan, had to be subjected to extensive wiring to become what they are today.

Paper published!

2010-03-22T03:13:00.000-07:00

Today my paper on plant reproductive success in restored habitats is accepted for publication! My very first blog entry made five years ago mentions me doing the lab work for this paper. Also, an entry made in October 2008 features a drawing that’s going to be in it (I like that drawing!).

Tengo-an tea house

2010-03-05T02:59:00.001-08:00

While visiting Tokyo National Museum I took a picture of a view through a window. A few weeks later, I was reading a museum brochure and realised that I actually took a picture of a tea house built more than 300 years ago by Kobori Enshu, one of the most prominent tea masters of Edo period. Although Tengo-an is not his most famous tea house it is exquisite and imbued with sabi quality. It was moved to the museum's garden from Kyoto.

Kamishibai

2010-03-01T02:13:00.000-08:00

One evening the hotel where I stayed in Tokyo organised a Kamishibai performance. It was performed by two university students. I was really impressed with the show and could draw parallels between Kamishibai and other traditional performing arts. Instead of Kabuki’s actors and Bunraku’s puppets Kamishibai has a series of pictures displayed in a small stage. The sound effects are reduced to percussion of wooden clappers. However, the role of narrator is as important as in Kabuki and Bunraku. They reduced everything to basics, but did not compromise on good storytelling!

Bonsai talk in Tokyo

2010-02-20T03:34:00.000-08:00

During my trip to Japan I met an Italian bonsai enthusiast who was also interested in Japanese garden design. This time he visited some Japanese gardens off the beaten track, went to Nagoya to see Tokonoma bonsai pots and then visited Kokufu-ten. He said that Tokyo region is definitely the leading center of bonsai art in

Japan

. Masahiko Kimura is considered as No. 1 bonsai master, with Kunio Kobayashi close behind. However, he pointed out that a shohin master Tomohiro Masumi of Koju-en nursery, Kyoto stands out as one of the leaders in the area of small bonsai. He shared his experience of visiting the studio of one of the most revered Tokonoma bonsai pot makers. His name is Gyozan Nakano. The Italian gentleman actually witnessed the master potter working on one of the larger pots. He said that he makes them by coil building and than burnishes them with a wet brush. I am sure there is a lot more to it, but he was certain that he doesn’t use any press molds. He told me that Gyozan Nakano makes pots only to order. If someone orders a bonsai pot he makes three pots and sells the customer the best one among them. I also asked him about Salvatore Liporace who is coming to Sydney to demonstrate at the National Bonsai Convention this year. In his opinion Liporace is one of the best in Italy, however he also mentioned Othmar Auer a German speaking bonsai artist from Northern Italy. He also introduced me to the Secretary of the Unione Bonsaisti Italiani and some guy form the San Marino Bonsai Club (all three were staying in the same hotel as me). Below is the picture of shohin displays at Kokufu-ten.

Tokyo National Museum

2010-02-17T04:15:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I went to the Tokyo National Museum, which was a strong finish for my trip to Japan. Once again I marvelled at the beauty and diversity of the collection. Here are some of the highlights in pictures.

Ceramics

Lacquer

Calligraphy

Netsuke

Swords

Samurai armour and metal work

There were also wood-block prints by Hokusai, Hiroshige and Utamaro; exquisite old kimono, bunraku masks and lots more.

Bonsai on a dish

2010-02-17T04:00:00.000-08:00

On the last day of my stay in Sawanoya Ryokan I noticed that the tokonoma in the dining area was displaying an Imari wear dish with a bonsai motif on it!

Bunraku

2010-02-15T05:14:00.000-08:00

Today I went to Kokufitsu Gekijo (National Theater of Japan) for a Bunraku performance. The name of the play was Daikyoji Mukashi Goyomi by Chikamatsu Mozaemon. It is a very sad love story and some of people in the audience had tears in their eyes. The skill of the puppeteers was amazing, but the narrators were absolutely outstanding. Below are pictures of the theater building and a couple of scenes from the performance.

Bonsai master Kunio Kobayashi

2010-02-14T14:05:00.000-08:00

Today I went to Shunka-en Bonsai Museum run by a bonsai master Kunio Kobayashi. It was probably the most overwhelming and rewarding bonsai experience I had in Japan. I was met at the entrance by Valentin Brose, one of Mr. Kobayashi’s apprentices who gave me a very detailed tour of the entire museum in English. Valentin told me that Kunio Kobayashi and Masahiko Kimura are considered by many the top bonsai masters in Japan. The museum is absolutely superb. Elegant traditional building, magnificent bonsai, awe inspiring bonsai pots and very hospitable people. Valentin introduced me to Mr. Kobayashi and Peter Warren who studied under Mr. Kobayashi for 7 years. Mr. Kobayashi was positive about my idea of a pictorial English-Japanese Bonsai Dictionary and said that Peter would be the best person to partner up for this project. Valentin served me some tea while Mr. Kobayashi signed his book for me. Then Mr. Kobayashi played a DVD of a TV program featuring him, which was aired last week. After that, he invited me to join him, his other guests and apprentices for lunch. The conversation over lunch started with explaining the tokonoma display in the room and ended with discussing bonsai politics in Japan. Mr. Kobayashi told that bonsai art in Japan reached its peak 30 years ago when Saburo Kato was the Director of Nippon Bonsai Association. He maintained such high standard for Kokufu-ten exhibits, that in some years the winning prices were not awarded. At present, the prices for top of the range bonsai trees and antique bonsai pots are almost half of what it was 25 years ago. This caused some losses to the high end bonsai sellers. The standard of the bonsai exhibits at Kokufu Bonsai-ten has gone down noticeably over these years as well. In Mr. Kobayashi’s opinion, the forefront of bonsai art has shifted from Japan to Europe, particularly Italy.

The museum building includes a tea house with two tea rooms

Some of the magnificent trees in the front garden

The Museum features seven exquisite tokonoma displays

A dazzling variety of glazed bonsai pots

Some of the pots with impressive patina were imported from China in 16th century and are over 400 years old

Some of the bonsai stands made by famous craftsmen

Ginza Morimae

2010-02-13T14:31:00.000-08:00

Ginza Morimae is a phenomena yet to happen in Australia. It is a slick and stylish bonsai shop located in upmarket shopping district of Ginza, Tokyo. Some of its nearby neighbors are Prada, Swatch, Ferragamo and Abercrombie & Fitch. The shop features a stylish display of mostly smaller bonsai, however it also had a couple of impressive larger bonsai. No bonsai enthusiast goes shopping there. It targets people not privy to bonsai art who are in a spending mode and up to an impulse buy.

Kabuki-za

2010-02-13T05:12:00.000-08:00

Today I went to see a hitomakumi (single show) at Kabuki-za, the largest Kabuki theater in Japan (picture 1). The hitomakumi consisted of two short plays. The first one is a dance drama called Tsumeo (picture 2) and the second is a drama called Shunkan (picture 3). Splendid costumes, outstanding performances by actors, narrators, musicians and singers. You don’t have to know Kabuki well to enjoy it. It reminded me of classical Indian dance, ballet, theatric drama and opera at the same time.

Asakusa Kannon Temple

2010-02-13T05:02:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I spent the morning in Happo-en which is a beautiful Japanese garden (picture 1) with two fine tea houses and all other stuff you expect from a Japanese garden. Straw huts, stone lanterns, rock garden, wooden bridges, pond with koi-carp, bonsai, etc. In the afternoon I went to Sensoji (aka Asakusa Kannon Temple) the oldest Buddhist temple in Tokyo (built in 645 AD). The place is very crowded, but you can always find a quite spot (picture 2).

Bonsai old timers

2010-02-12T14:24:00.000-08:00

The Ezo Spruce shown on picture1 was originally lifted as yamadori in the Kuril Islands, Russia, brought to Honshu, and trained as bonsai. This specimen is over 500 years old! The same goes for the Sargent’s Juniper (picture 2). It is over 500 years too! It was collected in Hokaido when this species still could be found in the wild. Wild Sargent’s Junipers are almost extinct in Japan. I saw these bonsai in a public garden.

My first Japanese Tea Ceremony

2010-02-12T13:25:00.000-08:00

Yesterday. I saw a Japanese Tea Ceremony. It took place in a historic teahouse called Muan (picture 2). It was built in Edo period (about 130 years ago) by a wealthy silk merchant, and later moved to its present location in Happo-en garden. Muan is fashioned in a soan style (grass hut) with ceilings made of Japanese Cedar. I was the only guest and it was an informal Urasenke school tea ceremony. The tea master was skilful and her movements were more complex than what I’ve seen on videos (picture 1). The tea was usu-cha (thin tea) and it was good. They also gave me some sweets made of compressed icing sugar. The first cup was served in a Kiyomizu-yaki bowl (picture 3) and then it was followed by the second cup served in a Karatsu-yaki bowl (picture 4). When the tea master saw that I am interested in ceramics, she brought an Akaraku-yaki bowl to show me (picture 5).

Bonsai in everyday life

2010-02-12T05:26:00.000-08:00

In Australia, bonsai is just one of those rare hobbies and people live their lives without ever seeing one. In Japan, bonsai is a part of the cultural heritage and you see it in everyday life. Here are some examples.

1. Bonsai in a temple.

2. Bonsai in a window of a noodle shop.

3. Bonsai in a public garden.

4. Bonsai in front of a house.

A trip to Kamakura

2010-02-11T15:49:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I went to Kamakura and visited a some temples and a couple of museums. It was a very cold and windy day, but here are some of the highlights.

1. Engaku-ji – a Zen temple built during Mongolian invasions about 700 years ago.

2. Kencho-ji – the oldest Zen monastery in Japan, founded in 1253 by a Chinese Zen monk. It is ranked as number one Zen temple in Japan.

3. Tsurugaoka Hachimanu – the main Shinto shrine if Kamakura originally built in 1063. The shrine has a small museum with some historical treasures.

4. Kotoku-in – the Great Buddha statue (Daibutsu) built in 1252. Originally housed in a building which was blown away by wind twice.

My whole Kamakura program was delayed because I was asked by some elderly Japanese to have lunch with them in the temple. The rooms inside the traditional wooden building were absolutely gorgeous with exquisite paintings and calligraphy on sliding wall panels. In front of the building was a tea garden and lunch was served in a room used for tea ceremonies. The priest showed me a Hagi-yaki chawan they use for the ceremony and gave me a cha-bana book (flower arrangement for tea ceremony). The food was delicious made by the best bento maker in Yokohama. I was really humbled the kindness of these people. Here is the picture of a flower arrangement in one of the rooms.

Bonsai-cho in Omiya

2010-02-10T04:51:00.000-08:00

Today I visited Bonsai-cho in Omiya-koen. It is a small town near Tokyo famous for its bonsai nurseries. I visited only five of them. Fuyo-en is an old school nursery with a lot of well-tended larger size trees. Kyuka-en is a bit ran down, but still has some nice trees. Seiko-en is very slick and stylish. They have some really impressive trees and they actually charge an entrance fee. Mansei-en has more space and specializes on larger trees or groups of trees. Some of them are very good. Bonsai master Saburo Kato was the 3rd generation owner of this nursery. Toju-en has some nice trees mostly largish pines. Bonsai master Masahiko Kimura studied at this nursery under Motosuke Hamano from 1955 to 1966. None of the nurseries allow taking photos, so my photo album from Omiya is very slim and unfortunately it’s all in the head.

Ueno Green Club

2010-02-09T14:24:00.000-08:00

I also went to Ueno Green Club where they hold an annual bonsai market in conjunction with Kokufu Bonsai-ten. Here are some of the highlights in pictures.

1 – A stall specializing in larger trees.

2 – A stall specializing in medium and small trees.

3 – Advanced bonsai stock from plantation (Japanese Maples).

4 – Advanced bonsai stock from plantation (Japanese Black Pines).

5 – Mame bonsai pots by Heian Kouzan ranging in price between $5,500 and $7,000.

They also had suiseki, books, and lots of different tools including some fancy power tools for carving. Antique bonsai pots were impressive, some are large, more than 100 years old with nice patina, but their prices were shocking.

Opening day of the 84th Kokufu Bonsai-ten

2010-02-09T04:17:00.000-08:00

Today was the opening day of the 84th Kokufu Bonsai-ten – the biggest and the most prestigious annual bonsai exhibition in Japan. There were 269 exhibits. To me such large number of absolutely magnificent trees was too overwhelming. I felt that each tree should have been admired alone without other masterpieces overshadowing it. The standard of the trees was so high that I haven’t seen anything like that in any of the Australian Bonsai exhibitions. Unfortunately, taking photos in the exhibition was prohibited and I managed to take only a few snaps, when security personnel weren’t looking. I was lucky enough to have a little Kokufu-ten adventure and it began when I heard someone speaking in Russian. Turns out it was the lingua franca used by a Lithuanian and a Czech. The Litvanian was Kestutis Ptakauskas of Morning Dew Garden, Lithuania and the Czech was Vaslav Novak of Bonsai Centrum, Czech Republic. They introduced me to their friend Mr. Sun You Won, the Chairman of Korea Small Bonsai Association. I told them about my Pictorial English-Japanese Dictionary idea and Mr. Sun You Won kindly introduced me to Mr. Hiroshi Takeyama, the Chairman of Nippon Bonsai Association and Mr. Susumu Nakamura, the Director of Nippon Bonsai Association (the big boss). Mr. Nakamura spoke English and told me that his son might be able to help me to find a partner for this project. His son Mr. Makoto Nakamura was somewhat critical about the project idea, but when I explained that it would be a very visual book with lots of drawings he asked me to send more details by e-mail. Now the ball is in my court!

Dust Storm

2009-09-23T04:11:00.000-07:00

The top image shows my garden this morning during the dust storm and the bottom image shows it this evening after the storm. The new shade cloth frame I erected a few months ago is prominent in these photos.

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Yesterday's kiln firing

2009-09-13T04:15:00.000-07:00

The pot that I fired yesterday has several cracks and a part of its bottom fell off, but it still holds water and quite functional! I think the initial heating of the kiln was too rapid.

First firing of my kiln

2009-09-12T05:13:00.000-07:00

In the last couple of months I have been building a small kiln to fire bonsai pots and tea bowls at home. Last weekend the kiln was completed and tonight I fired it for the first time. The temperature in the kiln went up to 1180 degrees Centigrade in one and a half hours, which was higher than I expected. I could have achieved even a higher temperature, but I had no pyrometric cones for higher temperatures. I'll open the kiln tomorrow morning. I hope the pot is not cracked.

"Become a bamboo"

2009-07-16T04:11:00.000-07:00

A Chinese artist once described to his disciples the secret of painting: “Draw a bamboo for ten years, become a bamboo, then forget all about bamboos when you are drawing. Once in a possession of an infallible technique, you place yourself at the mercy of inspiration.”

Bonsai, just like any art has two parts to it: the technique and the creative process. The thing about bonsai is that its technique is way more complex than in most other artistic media. It takes years to acquire the horticultural knowledge and experience necessary for it. Nevertheless, there are enough of bonsai enthusiasts who have the technique. There are also enough artists who are capable of creating exquisite bonsai, but they choose to work in other artistic media. Bonsai masters who possess both the technique and the artistic talent are quite rare.

"Willows are green and flowers are red"

2009-07-15T04:10:00.000-07:00

A well known Zen saying tells us: “Willows are green and flowers are red.” It takes each aspect of reality for what it is, and nothing more. I think this is how one should evaluate bonsai. If it is good it will be obvious. If it is not obvious, it is not that good. However, all this doesn’t apply to people who can’t resist liking ugly things.

I recently made a couple of bonsai pots that would convey the feeling of wabi (rustic beauty) and I hope I succeeded to some extent.

Ray Nesci's technique

2009-07-07T02:41:00.000-07:00

I forgot to mention that at Peter Adams' workshop last week, Ray Nesci showed everyone an amazing technique. He forms a tree trunk out of moss and plants many small plants into it as branches. Plant roots eventually reach the soil at the base of the trunk, while the moss rots away leaving a thick and gnarly trunk formed by the roots. It's awesome!

Bonsai by the Harbour 2009

2009-07-05T19:41:00.000-07:00

Last month I attended this year’s ‘Bonsai by the Harbour’ workshop organized by the Bonsai Federation of Australia. The venue was splendid and most presenters demonstrated advanced techniques. My favorite was Rick Roberts who was styling an evergreen variety of trident maple. It was a tree previously grown in the field with a 15 cm-thick trunk base and 2 cm-thick lower branches. He demonstrated methods for bending thick primary branches (Picture 1) and grafting new roots to an existing nebari (Picture 2 & 3).

Peter Adams' workshop

2009-07-04T04:20:00.001-07:00

Today, I attended Peter Adams's workshop. He is an unusual bonsai artist and an entertaining speaker. He hasn't performed any 'miracles' with the trees during his demonstrations, but his visions of final tree designs embodied in most excellent sketches were very impressive indeed. The picture here shows a Chinese Juniper he styled, and the sketch of what he wants it to be in the future.

Irregularity, poignancy and brevity

2009-05-26T20:38:00.000-07:00

I was reading Bernard Leach’s “A Potter in Japan” and found a beautiful passage pertaining to Japanese ceramics for the Tea Ceremony: “They [utensils for the Tea Ceremony] … are made in a land of earthquakes where nothing can be built for permanence and the Tea Rooms are like charming human birds’ nests in rock gardens where nature, irregularity, poignancy and brevity hold sway.” It is said so well that I just couldn't resist quoting it here.

The Exhibition of Bonsai Study Group

2009-05-16T06:07:00.000-07:00

I visited the annual exhibition of Bonsai Study Group today. It is the only Bonsai Club that does their show in autumn. The atmosphere of the exhibition was very nice, a few pleasing trees on display (one of such bonsai is shown in the picture). The demonstration on penjing planting is was interesting too. However, my yearning to see at least one outstanding bonsai wasn’t satisfied. Better luck next time!

Genji Monogatari on autumn foliage

2009-04-26T04:28:00.000-07:00

Day by day, autumn is making itself more and more apparent in my little garden. Cold nights almost completely stopped the growth of my bonsai. Recently, while reading Genji Monogatari I stumbled across an interesting remark made by one of the novel’s characters. It goes: “… Nothing is so beautiful as the brilliant dyes spread over the face of Nature, yet the red tints of autumn are often not dyed to a colour so deep as we desire, because of the early drying of the dew, so we say - such is the uncertain fate of this world.” I wonder whether dew really affects the colour of autumn foliage.

Confucianism and Bonsai

2009-03-16T01:54:00.001-07:00

I recently read a book by R. L. Taylor titled Confucianism to learn about this philosophy/religion in general and to find out the extent of Confucian influence on art in particular. As far as art is concerned, Confucians mostly focused on literature, music and calligraphy. However, I came across a passage written by one of the great Confucian teachers of Japan, Kaibara Ekken (1630 - 1714). He wrote: "..., no living creatures such as birds, beasts, insects and fish should be killed wantonly. Not even grass and trees should be cut down out of season. All these are objects of nature's love, having been brought forth by her and nurtured by her." Confucian ideology is deeply rooted in the mentality of East-Asian people and this passage explains why Chinese and Japanese penching/bonsai growers are so particular about pruning, repotting and defoliating their plants only at certain times of the year. Simply not to kill or hurt them wantonly. Another interesting reference to plants in the book is that juniper and Ginkgo trees have long been associated with Confucianism. Typically, the path connecting the main gate of a Confucian Temple to the Hall of Great Accomplishments, which contains the main altar, would boast juniper and Ginkgo trees along with statues of famous Confucians. It is not surprising that these species are so popular in bonsai culture, despite Ginkgo being not really ideal for bonsai cultivation. The picture shows a juniper and Ginkgo from my garden.

Reinventing the wheel

2008-12-06T00:07:00.000-08:00

I wasn’t happy with the very light colour of fired raku clay I used for making my bonsai pots and I decided to mix it with an iron oxide to make it darker. An oval pot for one of my junipers made of this clay is shown on the first picture. I had a small leftover of this clay and thought what if I smudge it on the surface of another pot to make it look dark while it is made of the usual light clay. Little I knew that it’s a basic pottery technique and the clay I smudged is called slip. However, it is usually diluted to consistency of a glaze and painted on with a brush. The pot that resulted from my first use of slip is shown on the second picture and it will house a small Black Pine.

27th Annual Show of the School of Bonsai

2008-10-21T04:12:00.000-07:00

Three days ago I went to the 27th annual show of the School of Bonsai, Sydney. I understand its primary aim is to showcase the work if the school’s students, but their work is quite uninspiring. Last year’s show was similar, but Ray Nesci’s private collection was opened for public viewing and it has a number of really beautiful trees. This year, a small suiseki display put up by George Reisiss was more impressive than the bonsai trees. The group of trees shown on the picture popped up at this show and at the show of Bonsai Society of Australia this year. It is composed well, but some of its tree trunks have ugly scars which diminish its aesthetic value. Bonsai of this standard is pretty much as good as it gets at Sydney exhibitions this year.

Dillwynia sieberi drawing

2008-10-10T05:16:00.000-07:00

This is my drawing of a shrub I studied for two years. Its name is Dillwynia sieberi. The drawing shows an inflorescence. The flowers are pollinated by bees. Marked "a" on the drawing is the chamber formed by two ‘keel’ petals housing pistil and stamens. Marked "b" is the location of nectaries and marked "c" is one of the ‘wing’ petals. When a bee lands on the flower in search of nectar it pushes the 'wing' petals which open up the chamber to expose pistil and stamens for pollination.

I am growing a Dillwynia plant in a shallow pot in my garden, but I don't think this species makes good bonsai material.

Bonsai Society of Australia Show: 物の哀れありません

2008-09-07T04:47:00.000-07:00

I went to the Annual Spring Show of the Bonsai Society of Australia. There were some decent trees on display (like the Japanese Black Pine on the picture). However, I didn’t see anything exquisite or superb. There was not one tree that evoked “物の哀れ” (mono no aware). My wife encouraged me to buy an Azalea with purple flowers, labeled ‘Redwings’. It was inexpensive and therefore will need a lot of work.

Resurrection of Pink Serissa

2008-08-24T02:21:00.000-07:00

At the end of last year, I got a lovely little Pink Serissa (Serissa foetida). I was just beginning to consider how to train it as bonsai (left picture), when my dog Bella ate it to the ground. The stump of the main stem soon rotted away and I lost all hope for the plant's survival, when suddenly a leaf bud sprouted from something that looked like a surface root. Look at this plant now (right picture)!

趣味は盆栽です

2008-08-21T02:23:00.000-07:00

私は日本芸術品と日本歴史と日本文化好きです。今年は日本語の勉強を始めます。趣味は盆栽ですけど近縁の芸術品好きです。この芸術品は焼き物と日本庭園と水石と日本建築と書道と墨絵と浮世絵です。