The Kokufu-ten is Japan’s top bonsai exhibit. It’s presented in two halves. One hundred and fifty-one displays are set up for a few days, then another one hundred and fifty-one displays are set up after a day-off to facilitate the change. The quality of the trees on display is outstanding. I could share photos of […]
Kokufu
A historic spruce at the 94th Kokufu exhibition
This year’s Kokufu exhibition featured a special display of books and posters from early exhibits. Posters from early Kokufu exhibitions I only glanced at the posters on my first visit to the show before quickly moving on to the next display. On my second pass through the exhibit, I looked closely at the tree displayed […]
A list of Kokufu Prize winning bonsai
Some time ago, Alexi Goranov asked if I’d be interested in a list of trees that have won Kokufu prizes. I was. I was curious what varieties these trees were and interested in flipping through old books to see what the winning trees looked like. The index includes show number and year, variety, style and […]
Ume at Kokufu 90
The Japanese flowering apricot below was displayed at this year’s Kokufu exhibit in Tokyo’s Ueno park. Ume – Japanese flowering apricot When deciding whether or not to accept ume bonsai for display at Kokufu, the judges consider the odds that the tree will bloom during the exhibit. If a flowering bonsai shows up a few weeks […]
White pine at Kokufu 90
The white pine below appeared at the 90th anniversary Kokufu exhibition held this past February in Tokyo’s Ueno Park. White pine White pine are commonly styled in the exposed root style. While some of these specimens are collected, many are developed as bonsai from seed. Good specimens have flaky bark and foliage arranged into relatively […]