If you look next to every great tree at the Kokufu bonsai exhibit, you’ll find a small companion plant at its side. Korean hornbeam display Accent plants, or shitakusa (“under weeds”) as they are known in Japanese, accompany every display at the Kokufu-ten. Accents can feature one or more species, and they are typically planted […]
Exhibits
Exhibits are where we can see bonsai at their best. Explore posts from Bonsai Exhibits in the U.S. including the U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition and Japanese events including the world-famous Kokufu and Taikan-ten exhibits.
Prize-winning trees from the 94th Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition
The Kokufu-ten is Japan’s top bonsai exhibit. It’s presented in two halves. One hundred and fifty-one displays are set up for a few days, then another one hundred and fifty-one displays are set up after a day-off to facilitate the change. The quality of the trees on display is outstanding. I could share photos of […]
A historic spruce at the 94th Kokufu exhibition
This year’s Kokufu exhibition featured a special display of books and posters from early exhibits. Posters from early Kokufu exhibitions I only glanced at the posters on my first visit to the show before quickly moving on to the next display. On my second pass through the exhibit, I looked closely at the tree displayed […]
A list of Kokufu Prize winning bonsai
Some time ago, Alexi Goranov asked if I’d be interested in a list of trees that have won Kokufu prizes. I was. I was curious what varieties these trees were and interested in flipping through old books to see what the winning trees looked like. The index includes show number and year, variety, style and […]
Ume at Kokufu 90
The Japanese flowering apricot below was displayed at this year’s Kokufu exhibit in Tokyo’s Ueno park. Ume – Japanese flowering apricot When deciding whether or not to accept ume bonsai for display at Kokufu, the judges consider the odds that the tree will bloom during the exhibit. If a flowering bonsai shows up a few weeks […]