Demonstration by Min Hsuan Lo

Another winter is over and it's time for another ‘Tops Weekend’, the annual event held in Sydney by the Illawarra Bonsai Society. You can see my blog posts about some of the previous guest demonstrators at 'The Tops' here: Marc Nöelanders, Robert Steven, Steve Tolley. This year’s guest demonstrator was Min Hsuan Lo from Taiwan. This wasn’t his “first rodeo” in Australia. A couple of years ago he demonstrated at the National Bonsai Convention in Perth. The feedback about him at that time was good and I was especially curious about his demonstration at the Tops. 

During the workshop on Saturday morning, I noticed that in some instances Lo made unorthodox decisions. This observation was confirmed during the Saturday night demonstration. The material Lo chose for the demo was a Juniper which was achingly suitable for an informal upright design (see images below). Previously, Marc Nöelanders and Mauro Stemberger worked with very similar material from the same source and produced almost identical informal upright results. I was bracing myself for another one just like it, when Lo told us that he hasn’t decided what style it’s going to be, but it not going to be informal upright.    

Lo explained his intention with a joke. He said that he feels like a school boy facing typically boring expectations from his farther and it would be almost common sense for the boy to defy such expectations and do the opposite. I think Lo wanted to do something unconventional to stimulate our “artistic muscles” and to show the audience the world of artistic freedom where “left-back-and-right-makes-informal-upright” stereotype is just a small piece of a puzzle. You can see the final result of the demonstration in the right hand image below. It is not influenced by the Japanese conventions. There is potential for future elegance and balance in the design. It is unrefined and unfinished, but I could see the beginning of a tree with individuality and a degree of uniqueness.

In a week since “The Tops” I heard a rumour that “some people didn’t get him”.  Lo spoke with a heavy accent and I could see the audience struggling to understand him. I spent years working in Penang where everyone spoke Lo’s native dialect (Hokkien Chinese). Understanding him was "a walk in the park” for me. He was very relaxed, spent a third of his demonstration talking with lots of humour and at the end he produced something that got my attention. So, I like him.

My workshop with Naoki Maeoka

I write a bonsai blog, but never mention my bonsai in it. Seems dishonest, but my bonsai collection is quite ordinary and I don’t make it a secret. This time, I have to show one of my trees because it got an unexpected makeover in a workshop with Naoki Maeoka this month (see my blog post about Naoki here http://lomov.blogspot.com.au/2015/11/bonsai-artist-naoki-maeoka.html). First, a quick rundown on this tree's prior history. It is a Lebanese Cedar (Cedrus libani). I bought it as a five-year-old starter stock plant from a bonsai nursery in 2007 (leftmost image below). By the end of 2008 I made a number of severe bends to its trunk (image below). In 2012, its growth was stunned by the grubs of the Punctate Flower Chafer (see my blog post about this pest here http://lomov.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/pest-of-month-punctate-flower-chafer.html). Believe it or not, the pot in the image marked ‘2012’ contained 24 fully grown grubs of this beetle. The rightmost image shows how this tree looked like last month. To be frank, I neglected it for the past couple of years.

This month, I took this tree to the workshop with Naoki and the leftmost image below shows it after the workshop. I must say, it was an unexpected outcome. The centre image below shows this tree digitally re-potted. The angle of the trunk is different and the foliage pad is adjusted accordingly. The tree is planted in a nanban style pot made by me specifically for this tree. The pot is slightly too big, but at this stage, I am not willing to reduce the root system any further. The rightmost image shows my impression of the tree’s future look.

Daitoku-ji temple complex: Ryōgen-in

My 2012 visit to Kyoto was packed with cultural experiences, but at the end of it, I had only one regret - I haven’t gone to Daitoku-ji. So, when I got my first day-off during my bonsai residency in Osaka last year, I knew where to go. When I finally got there, I discovered that Daitoku-ji is not a temple, but a complex of 23 temples. I also found that only a few of them are opened to public. The first temple I happened to walk into was Ryōgen-in.

Image above left is the temple’s main gate. The centre image above shows Ryōgen-in’s Hojo or abbot’s residence as you approach it from the entrance gate. Hojo has been built in 1502 and it still remains in its original form. It is believed to be the oldest building in Daitoku-ji precinct. Looking at the photos I took at Ryōgen-in made me confused. I couldn’t understand what is what and where the things were in relation to each-other, so I ended up making a map and unlike other existing maps mine is relatively complete and in English (image below). You can refer to this map as you read this post.

Now I could clearly see that Hojo is surrounded by four gardens on the south, east and north sides. The first I saw was Koda-tei (images below). It runs along the eaves of the study or Shoin on Hojo’s east side.

Koda-tei is narrow and long and it has been named after a river that runs near the temple in China where the founder of Rinzai sect came from. The river here is an allegory for the uninterrupted transmission of Rinzai sect’s ideas. This dry garden is also sometimes called A-un no Seki-tei. The meaning of this name is roughly “The garden of alpha and omega stones” because “A” and “Un” are first and last letters of Japanese alphabet. By the way, the two stones that represent “A” and “Un” were brought from Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s Jurakudai residence.

Further along the south side of Hojo building there is a sudden change of scenery (image above). It is Isshi-dan, a Hōrai-san style garden (image above and images below). In the image above, the tallest group of rocks in the middle represents mythical Mount Penglai or Hōrai-san in Japanese. This is where eight Taoist immortals meet for their elixir of immortality drinking parties. Needless to say, these events are by invitation only and the venue is secret. The group of rocks in the right corner represents ‘The Island of Cranes’ or Turushima, while the group of rocks surrounded by a halo of moss represents ‘The Turtle Island’ or Kameshima. The latter was created only in 1980 to replace a seven hundred year old camellia tree. 

All colours in the garden are natural and subdued (image above left), but the diversity of colours and textures doesn’t allow the viewer to get bored (image above right). Apparently, Isshi-dan’s name was inspired by a comment about the chambers of Ryōgen-in’s founder. His teacher called them “Ryozen isshi no ken”, which means ‘House of the single branch on Vulture Peak’. Was it a compliment? 

The west side of Hojo is has a small moss garden called Keizokusan. It is sort of indistinct and I missed it altogether. A tiny bit of it can be seen in the bottom left corner of the center image above. The main subject of this image is Kaisodō and I am not sure about the function of this building.

The north side of Hojo features Ryogin-tei, a Shumisen style garden, which is attributed to Sōami and believed to be the oldest in Daitoku-ji (images above). Apparently, it has been maintained in its original form for the past five centuries. The garden consists of several groups of rocks surrounded by a continuous sheet of moss. The tallest group in the center is supposed to represent mythical Mount Meru (aka Shumisen). It is a sacred mountain in Hindu and Buddhist cosmology, which is considered to be the center of all universes. Others interpret the center group of rocks as the Buddhist triad (san-zon-seki) representing three Buddhist deities whose identities vary according to different traditions. 

Totekiko (images above) is a courtyard garden jammed between Hojo and the kitchen section or Kuri. It is often named as the smallest rock garden in Japan, but I seriously doubt that. It was built only in 1960 by a well-known garden historian and designer Nabeshima Gakusho. It supposed to illustrate a Zen kōan: “The harder a stone is thrown in, the bigger the ripples”. Despite of its relatively young age Totekiko has become one of the most recognizable icons of Japan. To me, it seemed like a bird’s eye view of a landscape glimpsed through a portal in the floor. Almost magic!

So far, I was talking about the gardens of Ryōgen-in. Now, more about the Hojo building itself. Images above show some of its exterior features, while the image below is a schematic layout of it. Again, I had to make an English version of it myself.

The layout helped to figure out which room I was looking at in my photos.

The image above left shows Rei no ma. The name of this room has been translated as “The Courtesy Room” and I understood its function as a group activities room. This is where monks would hold tea and incense ceremonies (sarei and kōrei). The image above right shows Dan na ma. A Japanese friend explained to me that it functioned as a reception room for special guests, especially those who make large donations to the temple. See the Hojo layout for room locations.

The image above left shows the alcove or tokonoma of the study or Shoin (see the temple map above for its location). Apparently, at one point Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu played a game of chess in that very room and being there made me feel awestruck. The image above centre shows Shicchū. The name of this room has been translated as ‘The Zen Practice Room’ and it functioned as the assembly hall or a lecture theatre. The image above right shows Gekan. It is translated as ‘The Lower Room’. It is also called Shoin no ma which means ‘The Study’. One other name of this room is Kokutsu or ‘The Fox Den’. It was used for receiving important guests.

The remaining rooms of Hojo were not opened to public. However, they are shown on the Hojo layout above and here is how they were used by the temple. Shinzen, translated as ‘Front of the Truth’ functions as the Sanctum Sanctorum of the temple. This is where the most priced relics of the temple are enshrined. Menzō, translated as ‘The Sleeping Storehouse’ and functions as the prayer or meditation hall. Jōkan, translated as ‘The Living area’. It is also called Ehatsu no ma which is translated as ‘The Room of Robes and Bowls’. One other name of this room is Rikutsu and it means ‘The Racoons Den’. This room was used for the storage of monks’ robes and bowls.

I would like to finish this post with some images of calligraphy displayed around Hojo building (images below).

I was spellbound by Ryōgen-in’s elegance and the glamor of its history.

My visit to Kodai-ji temple in Kyoto

One year ago in Japan, I made an impulse decision to visit Kodai-ji temple in Kyoto. My Japanese friends thought it was a bit of an odd choice. However, I already knew that no place of cultural or historical significance in Japan can disappoint me. There was no surprise and Kodai-ji was quite impressive. And now, you have to endure another blog post about zen gardens and teahouses, just because I don’t have anyone to talk about it.

Kodai-ji owes its existence to some of the biggest names in Japanese history. It was built in memory of shogun Toyotomi Hideyoshi by his widow Nene. The construction was financed by Hideyoshi’s successor shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa. Tokugawa killed Hideyoshi’s only son and heir apparent whom he swore to protect. I have no doubt that Kodai-ji is partly a result of Tokugawa’s guilt trip.

The Kuri or abbot’s quarters is the first building you see as you enter the temple (image above).

Walking passed the quarters takes visitors to Iho-an or ‘The Cottage of Lingering Fragrance’ (images above). This adorable teahouse is a real treasure! Surely, I thought, it was designed by someone famous, but all we know about Iho-an is that it once belonged to a wealthy merchant and his trophy wife. 

Next, the path took me to the famous temple gardens (images above) where pond layout and rock placement were designed by eminent Kobori Enshū. As usual the design is all about imaginary cranes and turtles, which is completely lost on me. Enshū’s name has come up in this blog before in posts about Katsura Rikyū Imperial Villa and Nijō-jō Castle. At first, I thought of this garden as rather plain, but then I realised that Enshū did it on purpose. He didn’t want the garden to take away from the actual star performers here: ‘The Reclining Dragon Corridor’, ‘The Moon Viewing Pavilion’ and ‘The Founder’s Hall’ (Garyoro, Kangetshu-dai and Kaisan-do respectively, images above). The pavilion is in the center of the corridor (image above right). The Founder's Hall is the background building in the images above and it is dedicated to Kodai-ji’s founding priest. It is curious that some of the hall's ceiling is made of the ceilings from Hideyoshi’s boat and Nene’s court carriage. One could call it a commemorative recycling. 

Images above show Hashin-tei a dry garden adjoining the Main Hall or Hōjō. What you see in the images of Hashin-tei here is its “standard look”, but sometimes it features temporary displays. The dragon heads in the image below left are used in a spring display where the bodies of these two large dragons are formed with roof tiles.

The center and right images above show some of the interior of the Main Hall.

After a little climb I saw another teahouse (images above). It was Kasa-tei designed by Sen no Rikyu himself. It is ironic that a temple dedicated to Hideyoshi who ordered Rikyu’s death should feature a teahouse designed by Rikyu. Kasa-tei was formerly known as Ankan-kutsu and has been relocated to Kodai-ji from Fushimi Castle in southern Kyoto.

Above are some images of Kasa-tei’s interior. Unfortunately, I haven’t taken good photos of the umbrella-like roof to which this house owes its name. Kasa-tei is actually one of the two teahouses that are connected by a roofed walkway and form one complex. The other teahouse is called Shigure-tei and it looks so different that I did not recongnise it as such. I thought it’s some sort of storehouse and haven’t taken any photos of it. Apparently, there is yet another teahouse in Kodai-ji called Onigawara-seki, but I don’t know whether it is opened to public.

The descent from the hill was though a beautiful bamboo grove (images above). The presence of a few girls clad in kimono made it quite an enchanting experience.

Images above show a little more of Kodai-ji’s charm.

Finally, a few stone lanterns I spotted in Kodai-ji (images above). Stone lanterns are a peculiar interest of mine. Without doubt, the one on the leftmost image is my favorite probably due to its unusual form and decoration.