One of the most anticipated stops on our tour this year was a visit to Kimura’s garden. The section that’s open to the public is relatively small and almost exclusively filled with pines and junipers. The most famous of these is a shimpaku named Toryu no mai (“Dance of the Ascending Dragon”). Shimpaku – Toryu […]
Kimura
A visit to Kimura’s bonsai garden
I’m glad I made it to Masahiko Kimura’s garden this year. I had an hour before the sun went down which was just enough time to visit some of my favorite trees and take a few photos. Posing with a Japanese black pine Looking closely at the trees in Kimura’s garden reveals the characteristics we […]
Yew and deciduous bonsai in Kimura’s garden
Yes, there is more to bonsai than pines and junipers. Kimura thinks so too. Japanese yew – super deadwood and movement Although Kimura’s garden is full of awesome pine and juniper bonsai, it is not without outstanding specimens of different varieties. Here are a few of my favorites from my visit to his garden this past […]
Kimura’s pines
Although Kimura is best known for juniper bonsai, his pine work is very good. The black pine below, for example, took the top prize at the 2015 Taikan-ten exhibit in Kyoto, Japan. Black pine The tree is imposing – large trunk, full canopy – and has clear movement to the right side with the apex and […]
Kimura’s shimpaku bonsai
I didn’t get a chance to share many of the great bonsai I saw in Japan this past winter and thought now would be a good time for it. We can start with some junipers from Kimura’s garden. The shimpaku below is a great example of a well-balanced bonsai. The trunk starts by moving up and […]