One of the highlights along our tour of the Kinashi Bonsai District was a visit to the Kokubunji Bonsai Center – and not just because they served udon to visitors. The center functioned like a large nursery with many, many pines and other varieties for sale. Better developed trees were displayed along the perimeter of […]
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Kinashi Bonsai District
The Kinashi Bonsai District is the source of many different bonsai varieties, but by far most trees from this region are black, red, and white pines. Each of these varieties are typically grown here in pure “river sand.” Warmer winters and hot muggy summers make river sand the perfect medium for pines in the region. […]
Nakanishi Chinshoen
Kagawa, Japan’s smallest prefecture, happens to be one of the country’s larger bonsai producers. Fifty years ago, to hear some of the local nurserymen tell it, the area was rife with bonsai growing in the region’s sandy soil. The clusters of nurseries around Kinashi and Kokubunji, about 15 minutes by car or train from Takamatsu, […]
Bonsai from Takasago-An at Ritsurin Garden
As part of last year’s Asia Pacific Bonsai and Suiseki Convention and Exhibition, a number of trees from Takasago-An, the late Daizo Iwasaki’s bonsai garden, were displayed around town. Here are some of the trees on display at Ritsurin Garden. White pine White pine on slab Red pine Shimpaku on stone Tsuyama cypress Hornbeam Large suiseki […]
Ritsurin Garden
Among the more popular destinations in Kagawa is Ritsurin Garden. Built in the 17th and 18th centuries, the garden comprises 6 ponds and 13 small hills in the shadow of Mt Shiun. The park served as the private villa estate for 11 lords of the Matsudaira family for 228 years up until the Meiji Restoration […]