More than a few friends and family members have asked what it was like living as a bonsai apprentice in Japan for 6 weeks. Some days were filled with mochi parties and antique shows. Other days involved lifting, carrying, and more lifting. There was a lot of sitting in the car as we drove as far as Tokyo and Takamatsu, and there was a lot of second hand smoke.

As much as I lived the day-to-day life of a bonsai apprentice, I was a short-timer, and this helped keep my spirits high throughout my visit. I don’t pretend to know what it’s like for Peter Tea or the other Americans studying bonsai abroad. Fortunately for us, they’re doing a great job writing about their experiences.

Peter started the Aichi-en Apprenticeship Program to expose more people to the bonsai life. So far at least four of us have stayed with the Tanakas in their Nagoya home.

Apprentice quarters at Aichi-en

The sum of my furniture: futon, comforter, storage unit, rubbish bin

You’ll notice that the sliding doors and walls offered very little privacy. At any time, the Tanaka’s boys would peek inside to say hi, see if I could play, or stop by for an impromptu computer lesson.

The industrious Hiyuu navigating Facebook

I was fortunate that Peter had been at Aichi-en for seven months when I arrived – plenty of time for him to learn the routine and improve his already considerable bonsai skills. His comfort at Aichi-en insured my comfort there.

Each morning we ate breakfast with the family and then headed out into the sea of bonsai surrounding the house.

Sea of bonsai

We spent much of our time in the workshop. Mr. Tanaka sat just inside the door – I sat to his right, then Peter, and finally the other Mr. Tanaka, a third-year apprentice, sat at the far end of the workshop. Some days were quiet, others were chatty. Snacks appeared around 10:30 and 3:30 each day, as did lunch and dinner at fairly predictable times. What was not predictable, however, was how much time we got to spend in the workshop.

I visited Aichi-en in Fall – show season. This meant that we spent a lot of time with show-related activities that included picking up trees from customers, preparing trees for exhibits, and setting up and later striking the actual exhibits.

At the Daiju-en sales area, part of the 11th Asia-Pacific Bonsai and Suiseki Convention and Exhibition held in Takamatsu

Fall is also pine season. When we weren’t doing exhibit-related work, pines filled the workshop.

Aichi-en workshop

Mr. Tanaka and me appraising a white pine

Debatable wiring technique

The intrepid Mr. Tanaka – no relation to the boss

Workshop time doesn’t necessarily equate to bonsai time. Peter, apprentice-Tanaka, and I, cleaned the workshop every day and performed tasks that varied from packing boxes to painting display stands. The same was true for Mr. Tanaka. His work came to a halt whenever customers visited, and evenings were often filled with projects like the fabrication of root stands.

Mr. Tanaka at work on a root stand

One apprentice-related topic that deserves special attention is food. It’s one thing to have little control over one’s time. It’s another to have little control over what, and how quickly, one must eat.

I was fed very well and I missed the food the day I returned home. But because we had so little control over what, where, and when we ate, our free time often focused on food.

On those special occasions when we had time off – maybe one day per 10-20 days – we often headed across a busy street to a mall that had a great grocery store. Peter and I picked out everything that looked good and then spent the rest of the day snacking. Treats ranged from the healthy, including Japan’s outstanding – and expensive – produce, to all manner of things fried.

Fried treats at the local grocery

Amazing apples – only $7 for three!

Roasted cherry-flavored mochi with red bean paste

The meals rarely left me hungry – the Japanese develop great appetites at an early age.

What are you looking at?

Finding the bottom of the udon bowl

Peter vs the Taiyaki – waffle batter with red bean paste inside

Our precious days off gave us the opportunity to catch up with friends or with blog posts, explore the neighborhood, or simply sleep. Mundane activities included laundry. Peter and I used the Tanakas’ washing machine, but dried our clothes at a laundromat a few blocks away. In one of the more surreal moments of my visit to Japan, I found myself alone with a uniformed laundry attendant vacuuming beneath the dryers on her hands and knees while the Carpenters sang their greatest hits.

Days off also provided social time with the Tanaka family. One day we headed to the oldest Temple in Nagoya to participate in a service for young boys, of which the Tanakas have three.

The Aichi-en children

Afterwards, we visited an open house hosted by the man who built the Tanaka’s residence.

Traditional Japanese home – hinoki and sugi

We also had a little free time in the mornings before Mr. Tanaka came out to the workshop. I typically walked around appreciating the trees – and pots, of which Aichi-en had plenty.

Hmm, Japanese, 40 years old – maybe just the thing for that pine back home

Above all, I can say the time spent with Peter and the Tanakas was great fun. I learned a lot and had a wonderful time along the way. I sincerely appreciate the effort Peter and the Tanakas took to ensure I had a great trip – if any of you are reading this, thanks again!

On my last evening, Mr. Tanaka presented me with a certificate for completing 6 weeks of study at his nursery. To celebrate, we headed into town and visited a driving range!

Here’s the paper – now on with the party

Of course, it was early December in Nagoya – not the warmest time of the year, but as good a time as any for golf, a sport which all three of us – Mr. Tanaka, Peter and myself – have neglected in recent years due to our obsession with bonsai.

Mr. Tanaka armed against the cold with cigarette and coffee – me with hoodie and 5-iron

The driving range was pretty incredible. After striking a ball, the tee dipped below the artificial grass and arose with another ball in place – there was no bending over at this range. And the vending machine that provided us with the cards used to magically dispense balls proved to be the most thoughtful vending machine I’ve seen. The text reads, “CARD: This machine represents pleasant feeling with simple form and fresh color patterns. Glory producing machine by respecting convenience of users and others.”

“Glory producing machine”

Intense competition on the range – brrr!

After proving that we aren’t the golfers we once were, we lit out for a late night snack – ramen. The evening made for a great finish to an outstanding trip. I can’t wait to go back!

Thanks for reading

The USPS unveiled a new series of bonsai stamps last month. The artist, John D. Dawson of Hawaii, came out to Sacramento’s McKinley Park for the “first day issue” rollout. Had I known, I might have attended.

I first heard about the project 18 months ago when the USPS wanted to license the image of one of my trees. The artist had used a photo of my black pine from Bay Island Bonsai’s 2003 exhibit as a reference for the stamp. Upon seeing the design, I was immediately struck by the likeness.

Black pine stamp – January 2012

Black pine – January 2003

The USPS included a bit of a bonsai primer in their announcement of the series, and followed up with a nice piece about how the project took shape.  The other stamps in the series feature a banyan, a trident maple, a Sierra juniper, and an azalea – a colorful mix!

Banyan

Trident maple

Sierra juniper

Azalea

This is the most fun I’ve had since my hinoki was featured in a cosmetics catalog.

Hinoki – “The Giving Tree”

There was a lot of talk about a large white pine at the 11th Asia-Pacific Bonsai and Suiseki Convention & Exhibition (ASPAC 2011) offered for 100,000,000 yen. At today’s exchange rate, that’s close to 1.3 million dollars.

Million dollar bonsai

The tree was offered by S-CUBE, the bonsai organization headed by Seiji Morimae. The tree sported a sold sign on the second day of the convention, but I do not know for how much the tree actually sold.

Could a large white pine really be worth $1,000,000? Good question. The pine is big, really big, and it has amazing roots.

Million dollar roots

Good trunk, good roots, and the man behind S-CUBE, Seiji Morimae

What I’m learning is that it can be difficult to determine the value of trees like this because they are unique. Vendors have heard about the slow economies around the world in many languages this week, but a few good buyers have been leaving a slew of red sold signs in their wake, and the very best trees sold well – hence the success of S-CUBE at the event. If only more exhibits featured such nice trees!

Japanese maple – sold

White pine – sold

Japanese maple

Chinese juniper – sold

Cork bark black pine

Chinese quince

Japanese black pine – sold

Japanese maple

Chinese juniper – sold

White pine – sold

White pine – sold

A row of great trees

I recently had the good fortune to attend a bonsai workshop run by Akio Kondo. In contrast to the last Kondo workshop I attended, this event was more pensive, more contemplative. My trees experienced no radical transformations. Instead, we spent time making plans for the future and talking about how and when to execute these plans. Not the most exciting bonsai work, but some of the most important work. Others in the workshop had similar experiences.

Contemplating kaede

Kondo had a number of suggestions for the trident maple above. Some branches were left long so they could thicken. Others were kept short. Long drooping branches were wired slightly upward. In a year or two, the long branches will be shortened to stubs and the process will begin again the following year.

A grafted prostrata juniper with wonderfully green shimpaku foliage showed up for styling. Trees benefit greatly from professional attention at this stage of development. Watching the tree shape up with help from a such a talented artist was a treat. Although the day ended before the tree was finished, I’m hoping I’ll see it completed before long.

Shimpaku

Kondo spent a long time making subtle adjustments to an old procumbens juniper. Cutting a bit of a branch here, wiring a branch there, Kondo performed fairly mundane work on the tree. We were surprised, when he finished, at the difference these small adjustments made. Although the tree will continue to improve as the branch pads develop, we now have a much better idea of what form the bonsai will take in the future.

Refining a branch pad

The matter of the front is still up for grabs a bit. The front pictured below is a good candidate, as is a similar front a few degrees to the left.

Sonare

The primary styling goal is to highlight the interesting movement in the trunk.

Sonare – trunk detail

The most radical step in the tree’s immediate future will be repotting. Setting the tree in a more appropriately sized – read: smaller – pot will make a world of difference.

Like many bonsai enthusiasts, I’ve long dreamed about studying bonsai in Japan in a formal apprenticeship. After hearing tales from Kathy Shaner, Boon Manakitivipart, and Michael Hagedorn, I’m both excited by, and somewhat afraid of, all that the experience entails.

Recently three more bonsai students began apprenticeships in Japan: Tim Gardner, Peter Tea, and Tyler Sherrod. Tim is studying with Tohru Suzuki at Daiju-en in Okazaki. Toshinori Sukuki, Tohru’s father, trained Yasuo Mitsuya, Kathy’s teacher, and Kihachiro Kamiya, Boon’s teacher.

Peter is studying with Junichiro Tanaka, owner of Aichien Bonsai Nursery in Nagoya. Tanaka studied bonsai with Tohru Suzuki.

Tyler is studying bonsai with Shinji Suzuki in Obuse, near Nagano. Michael Hagedorn studied bonsai with Shinji Suzuki, and Matt Reel continues to study with Suzuki. Shinji Suzuki studied with Motosuke Hamano, Masahiko Kimura’s teacher.

Somehow, both Peter Tea and Tim Gardner have found time to write about their adventures and share them online. Their blogs are among my favorite bonsai sites as they contain great photos and excellent advice on bonsai training and care. I recommend them both highly.

Here are some photos from Peter’s Aichien Journal (photos by Peter Tea):

Japanese black pine

Japanese five needle pine

Japanese maple

And here are some photos from Tim’s Daiju-en Journal (photos by Tim Gardner):

Tohru Suzuki working on a Japanese black pine

One of the greatest collections of pines on earth – Daiju-en

More pines from Daiju-en

Peter, Tim, and Tyler – I wish you all the best of luck. Ganbatte!

]]> http://bonsaitonight.com/2011/06/07/bonsai-apprentices-online/feed/ 5 xwires Aichien Aichien Aichien Daiju En Daiju En Daiju En http://bonsaitonight.com/2011/05/10/evaluating-bonsai-at-bay-island-bonsai-meeting/ http://bonsaitonight.com/2011/05/10/evaluating-bonsai-at-bay-island-bonsai-meeting/#comments Tue, 10 May 2011 14:00:35 +0000 Jonas Dupuich http://bonsaitonight.com/?p=1634 ]]> Evaluating bonsai at Bay Island Bonsai meeting

Learning to evaluate bonsai is a big part of the Bay Island Bonsai experience. If one doesn’t understand a tree’s good and bad points, it’s hard to improve the tree, and it’s hard to know how much to pay for it.

We’ve been using a simple form designed by Boon for over 10 years. The idea is that it’s easier to evaluate part of a tree than it is to synthesize all of a tree’s good and bad points into a single measure. At our recent May meeting, we looked closely at two trees: a Tsukumo cypress and a Japanese black pine.

Tree #1 – Tsukumo cypress

Tree #2 – Japanese black pine – exposed root style

At a glance, the Tsukumo cypress is the more impressive tree. It is full, healthy, and has a nice silhouette. The pine looks like it has a way to go before we’ll see it in our exhibit. The judging, however, tells a different story. I’ll save you the math and provide averages for the forms that appear below.

Tree #1 – Tsukumo cypress
Trunk 5
Branches 3
Rootage 3
Pot Selection 3
Aesthetics 3
Total 17

Tree #2 – Japanese black pine
Trunk 8
Branches 3
Rootage  4
Pot Selection 4
Aesthetics 3
Total 22

After marking our forms, we reconvene and publicly discuss the results. The corrections on several of the cards below reflect the broader consensus.

Judging form

Judging form

Judging form

Judging form

Judging form

Judging form

New members often have trouble with this atomized approach to evaluating trees. Over time, however, member scores tend to move toward the mean. These evaluation exercices prepare us for our annual exhibit. At the exhibit, members select the best tree in each class. Winning trees receive Members’ Choice Awards. More importantly, the skills we gain from learning to evaluate bonsai help us guide our own trees toward exhibit.

A complementary exercise at BIB meetings involves creating practice displays and bringing trees to share with others in the hopes that we can together determine whether or not a tree is ready for exhibit.

Satsuki azalea

Satsuki azalea blooms

Satsuki azalea blooms

This azalea is planted in what the Japanese often refer to as a “white” pot. Age has darkened the pot to the point that it evokes grey now more than white. It’s a beautiful pot that suits the azalea well.

“White” pot

We were also treated to an attractive hinoki bonsai. I’ve been partial to hinoki bonsai for years. They have wonderfully dark green foliage and their well-composed branch pads can reveal age well.

Hinoki cypress

Hinoki cypress – branch pad detail

I’m still unsure about which of my own trees will make it to exhibit this year. I’m hoping I’ll have a better idea by the end of summer. If I had to decide today – well, it would be a hard decision.

After visiting the GSBF Mammoth Fundraiser last weekend, I stopped by the Bonsai Garden at Lake Merritt. Spring is a great time to visit the garden as the quince are in bloom and the maples are just starting to leaf out. It’s also a good time of year to see the blooms that make the winter hazel (Corylopsis spicata) unique.

Winter hazel blossoms

Winter hazel (Corylopsis spicata)

The garden is home to the largest pomegranate bonsai I’ve seen. According to the garden’s website, the tree was “Dug from an old orchard (thought to have been planted in late 1800s) in Lodi by Vince and Kathy Owyoung. They donated the tree, Sept. 2002. Styled by Seiji Shiba. A glass jar was found embedded in the trunk. Potted at the Garden, Aug. 5, 2008.”

Pomegranate (Punica granatum)

Pomegranate – trunk detail

A number of Japanese maples had just started to leaf out. The new foliage is beautiful.

Japanese maple

Japanese maple foliage

Japanese maple – note bamboo used to arrange trunks

Japanese maple grove

I’ve watched the California juniper below develop for close to 15 years – it has an interesting curve to the trunk. From the website: “Collected in 1954 from the high desert region near Palmdale in southern California, this tree was styled about 1964.”

California juniper

The fruit on the citrus below puts the tree in perspective. Every visitor that passed by stopped for a closer look.

Orange

Last weekend the Golden State Bonsai Federation (GSBF) held simultaneous fundraisers in support of its Northern and Southern California bonsai collections. In Northern California, the GSBF held an auction Saturday and a bonsai bazaar on Sunday.

I’ve always been a fan of bonsai auctions. I’ve participated in them as a buyer, a seller, and a barker – the latter being my favorite of the three. I like auctions because they provide bonsai enthusiasts with a market for their trees and an opportunity to buy material not often found in nurseries. At the same time, they support bonsai organizations whose programs benefit the broader bonsai community.

Bonsai auctions also provide a venue in which perceptions of value are tested and measured. Are reserves too high or too low? Are buyers savvy or frenzied? Which trees are most popular? Which are least popular? How much will I spend on that oak?

GSBF had the most important elements of a successful auction in place: there were plenty of bidders, volunteers, and trees for sale. Here are a few photos from the event.

Gordon barking

Attentive bidders

Trees waiting for their turn on the block

Jay holding up a tree for all to see.

If the collected Sierra juniper below tells a story, I’m not sure what to make of it. Nicknamed, “hermaphrodite,” the tree received a lot of attention at Bay Island Bonsai’s recent exhibit. The deadwood and shari are interesting, but not without controversy. Discussion often involves whether or not the primary branch is necessary. For now the answer is yes.

Sierra juniper

side view

Deadwood detail

Deadwood detail

deadwood detail

As displayed in the exhibit

Bay Island Bonsai members were happy to entertain a visiting bonsai professional from Japan at their recent exhibit. Akio Kondo was in Northern California to visit the exhibit, to work on client trees, and to teach. While at the exhibit, Kondo selected a tree for a new award, the Akio Kondo Bonsai Award. The winning tree was a Korean hornbeam.

Korean hornbeam, Carpinus turczaninovii, 16″ – Raho pot

Side view

I was very happy – and surprised! – to learn that my hornbeam had won the award.

Kondo presenting the award

On January 15, 2011, at the annual bonsai exhibit of Bay Island Bonsai, this award was given to the owner of the bonsai deemed most worthy of the award in this year’s exhibit according to Akio Kondo.

The award included a Japanese bonsai pot and an autographed copy of the 2010 Sakufu-ten show book – an event at which Kondo took the second most prestigious prize for exhibiting a beautiful hinoki he has worked on since 2005.

I have worked on this hornbeam since 2002. The trunk was in good shape when I acquired the tree but the branches lacked character so most were removed or pruned severely, as was the previous apex. Nine years later, the tree is starting to develop a more mature silhouette. Here is the tree as it was displayed at the exhibit.

As displayed with small shimpaku and accent

I am very honored to accept this award and I hope I can continue to improve the tree as it ages.