• Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Bonsai Tonight

An educational website about bonsai development

  • Blog
    • How-to Guides
  • Podcast
  • Shop
    • Bonsai
    • Books
    • Soil
    • Soil (wholesale)
    • Supplies
    • Tools
    • Video Consulting
    • Northern California Bonsai Resources
  • About
    • Workshops

Chojubai and white pine from Nomoto Chinshou-en

April 8, 2014 by Jonas Dupuich

Tsutomu Nomoto started Nomoto Chinshou-en on his birthday in 1973. Bonsai had been a family hobby for several generations but it wasn’t until Tsutomu turned away from veterinary medicine – the default line of work for his family – that the hobby became a business. Tsutomu studied at Nakanishi Chinshou-en in Shikoku’s Kinashi bonsai district (more at “Nakanishi Chinshoen“). Following his apprenticeship, Tsutomu returned to his native Miyazaki and opened Nomoto Chinshou-en.

Nomoto Chinshou-en

Nomoto Chinsho-en

Nomoto Chinshou-en

Nomoto Chinshou-en

Nomoto Chinshou-en

What a tidy nursery!

I first learned about Nomoto Chinshou-en from Tsutomu’s son, Daisaku. Daisaku was one of Boon Manakitivipart’s senpai at Aichi prefecture’s Kihachi-en. Today Daisaku runs the family business with his father. Here’s some of Daisaku’s work.

Chojubai

Root over rock chojubai

Chojubai

Exposed root chojubai

Chojubai

Single-trunk chojubai

White pine

Exposed root white pine

White pine

White pine

White pine

Informal upright white pine

White pine

White pine

White pine

White pine with hollow trunk

White pine

Exposed root cascade white pine

Inside the nursery’s workshop is a single tokonoma. It was filled, the day I visited, with a needle juniper, scroll and accent.

Needle juniper

Needle juniper

In addition to the nursery’s many pines and chojubai were a variety of other trees.

Zelkova

Shohin zelkova

Tsukumo cypress

Tsukumo cypress

Accent

Accent plant

More on the nursery’s junipers this Friday.

✕

Subscribe to Bonsai Tonight

New Posts Delivered Every Tuesday and Friday

Success! Now check your email to confirm your subscription.

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

We won't send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time. Powered by ConvertKit

Filed Under: Excursions Tagged With: Daisaku Nomoto, Japan

Previous Post: « Nomoto Chinshou-en
Next Post: Junipers and maples at Nomoto Chinshou-en »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. nelibonsai says

    April 8, 2014 at 8:34 am

    Dont forget to ask about chojubai branch structure development.

  2. Daniel Dolan says

    April 8, 2014 at 11:30 am

    Jonas:

    Extraordinary photos…….thanks for glimpses inside the world of Japanese Bonsai Nursery culture.

    What, if anything do these Nurserymen do for Pines in the ground………any bending, trunk chopping, etc. and at what interval, once every 5 years? When does the small plant leave the pot and go to the ground…..10 years?

  3. swo8 says

    April 8, 2014 at 12:36 pm

    It is truly and art form. I just love it.
    Leslie

  4. Jonas Dupuich says

    April 8, 2014 at 10:45 pm

    Hi Daniel,

    There are a number of ways to develop pines in the ground but the basic idea is the same as it is for container grown trees – first develop the trunk by letting branches run and then cut back to create new leaders. You can see the basic approach here: http://www.bssf.org/articles-and-stories/care-of-japanese-black-pine-stages-of-development/

    Sometimes the trunk is wired for a few years and then the tree goes into the ground for thickening (3-5 years old), while other times the tree is developed in the ground from a young age (maybe 3 years old). I’ve seen trees in the ground with wire, but far more often see trees shaped by cutback alone.

    Hope this helps!

  5. Lee Squires says

    April 9, 2014 at 1:22 am

    Jonas,

    looks like all of the pines are yellow and under-fertilized but they have good structure, etc.

    Lee Squires

  6. Jonas Dupuich says

    April 9, 2014 at 8:10 am

    Hi Lee – thanks for the note. Pines commonly turn yellow when they’re left outside for the winter – they do the same in my backyard. Right about this time of the year the color starts to come back. It’s for this reason that pines are often protected from the cold ahead of exhibits to preserve their dark green color in winter.

  7. Bruce says

    April 9, 2014 at 11:46 pm

    Could you comment on the accent plant?

  8. Jonas Dupuich says

    April 10, 2014 at 12:17 am

    Good question Bruce, I don’t know what that is. Anyone have ideas?

Footer

Follow Bonsai Tonight

Subscribe

Instagram ● Facebook ● Twitter
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Shop
  • About

P.O. Box 6560, Alameda, CA 94501 · 510-915-2025 · jonas (at) bonsaitonight (dot) com

© Copyright 2009-2023 Bonsai Tonight · All rights reserved · Privacy · Log in

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. You can opt-out if you wish. Accept Decline Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT