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Koju-en shohin bonsai nursery

May 5, 2017 by Jonas Dupuich

I recently returned from a trip to Japan for the World Bonsai Convention. Before getting to the show, I was able to visit a number of bonsai and satsuki nurseries that were new to me. The first of these was Koju-en.

Koju-en

Koju-en is a Kyoto bonsai nursery run by Tomohiro Masumi. Masumi is a well-known professional that focuses on small-sized trees. His garden was full of them.

Shohin shimpaku bonsai

Zelkovas

Sekka Hinoki

Masumi and several helpers were busy preparing trees for the World Bonsai Convention when we visited. If he was stressed, he didn’t show it.

Admiring the small trees
Masumi (on the right) oversees workers preparing trees for the WBC

If Masumi has a specialty, I couldn’t identify it. From what I saw, he does great work with many different varieties.

White pine

Chojubai

A table of chojubai

Trident maples in colorful pots

More trident maples

I enjoyed seeing so many small pines in such close proximity. I’d be happy if I could fill even a fraction of a bench with such material.

Black pines

More pines

Stay tuned for more posts from Japan next week!

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Filed Under: Excursions Tagged With: Japan, Masumi, Shohin

Previous Post: « Identifying suitable material for bonsai – part 5 of 5
Next Post: A visit to the Koyo kiln »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jonas Sidrys says

    May 5, 2017 at 8:34 pm

    I visited this nursery in early April. They were reporting their Zelkovas. I loved walking through this forest of little trees. So wish that I could have bought one to take home.
    He didn’t let me go upstairs to see the trees on the roof. Do you know what was up there?

    • Jonas Dupuich says

      May 6, 2017 at 10:13 am

      Good question – it sounded like Masumi generally doesn’t invite visitors to view the rooftop collections as they are mostly client trees.

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