“Omoshiroi” means “funny” or “interesting” in Japanese. It can be used to convey respect or mockery – which makes it a useful term for bonsai. During a Bay Island Bonsai workshop hosted by Daisaku Nomoto, I brought in a red pine forest I’d grown from seed. Nomoto found the grove to be omoshiroi. He took […]
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Developing young pine bonsai
A number of my black pines are turning eight this year. Some are starting to look like young bonsai. Others simply look young. As none have grown to the size I have in mind for them, the work at this stage is straight forward. I’ve trained the tree below in the exposed root style. This […]
Preparing a young black pine for show
“Show trees are full trees,” Boon tells us. In need of a second tree to display with my root over rock trident maple, I searched my garden for full trees. I found one, but it was clear that not all full trees are show trees. Japanese black pine My optimistic side figured that some selective […]
Styling a white pine
One of the last trees I worked on at Aichi-en last fall was a mid-sized white pine. My styling guidance was simple – I was told to make the tree look nicer. Beyond that, Mr. Tanaka told me not to cut too much. Cutting large branches can trigger vigorous growth and one of the primary […]
Pines and junipers at Meifu-ten
Central Japan will not run out of pine or juniper bonsai anytime soon. The trees below comprise about a fifth of the bonsai displayed at this year’s Meifu-ten in Nagoya, Japan. As a hobbyist exhibit, Meifu-ten shows off some of the best work done by local hobbyists and collectors. Although many of trees were prepped for the […]