Bonsai professionals in Japan commonly follow one of two paths – they can become bonsai sellers or bonsai creators. The proprietor of Aichi-en Bonsai Nursery in Nagoya belongs to the latter group. Junichiro Tanaka is a fourth generation bonsai professional. His great-grandfather Sukijiro started the nursery at 17 years old by making the bold move […]
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Visit to Daiju-en
Boon Manakitivipart’s trip to Japan this past winter included a visit to Daiju-en – one of the more amazing pine gardens in Japan. The garden is managed, today, by Tohru Suzuki. Here are some of the stand-out trees. Daiju-en (Bob King photo) Kuromatsu Goyomatsu Shimpaku Kuromatsu – “Fudo” (Bob King photo) Goyomatsu (Bob King photo) Kuromatsu (Bob King […]
Mansai-en bonsai garden
Here are some photos from Mansai-en Bonsai Garden in Omiya Bonsai Village. The garden is home to Hatsuji Kato and his son Haruhiko. Hatsuji is son of the late Saburo Kato, founding member and longtime chair of the Nippon Bonsai Association. The garden and home has been redesigned since my visit in 1999 – it’s […]
Maintaining a beautiful bonsai garden
Shinji Suzuki couldn’t possible maintain so many beautiful bonsai without help from several skilled apprentices. Gardens like this require a lot of effort. Suzuki’s garden Today Matt, Yusuke, and Tyler work at the Obuse garden, watering, wiring, and tirelessly carrying trees in and out of the workshop. Yusuke watering Fortunately not all of the trees […]
Suzuki’s bonsai workshop
It’s always fun to see other people’s workshops. Shinji Suzuki’s was well organized when I visited in 2009 – and that was when it was still under construction. Now fully completed, the place is one of the tidiest I’ve seen. Here are some more of Boon Manakitivipart’s photos from his visit to Suzuki’s garden in […]