Shohin bonsai, at Kokufu-ten, are saved for the last room. Each half of this year’s exhibit featured five displays with five or six trees each, followed by a handful of kifu-sized bonsai. Although many visitors have had it by the time they make it to the shohin room – not everyone is used to seeing 200+ […]
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The Kokufu-ten tour continues
The Kokufu-ten is known for both the quality of its trees and the quantity. The annual exhibit typically features around 250 bonsai displays. While the large displays contain one tree each, the medium displays typically contain two trees, and the shohin displays include up to 6 small trees – a lot of bonsai under the same […]
Post #500 – Kokufu-ten
A little over five years ago I started this blog – and today marks my 500th post. I’ve come a long way since my first post, and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you all for joining in the fun along the way. Now over 5,000 photos, 2,000 comments, 3,000 followers and a […]
Junipers and maples at Nomoto Chinshou-en
Although Daisaku Nomoto is well known for his pine work, he’s also a big fan of junipers and deciduous varieties. Walking through his nursery was a great opportunity to see trees that were well developed next to trees still in the project phase. Large shimpaku Shimpaku Shimpaku with great deadwood Shimpaku […]
Nomoto Chinshou-en
For those curious about my visits to so many Kyushu bonsai gardens, the answer is simple – Daisaku Nomoto. In addition to hosting the Kyushu portion of my recent visit to Japan, long-time friend and teacher Nomoto designed an itinerary to suit my interest in developing bonsai from scratch. So instead of visiting some of the top […]




