As with many cultural things in Japan, Bonsai (pronounced bone-sigh) has it's origins in China. Legend has it, a Han Dynasty (206B.C.-220A.D.) Emperor created a landsape in his garden representing the hills, valleys and forests of his kingdom so that he could view it from his palace window.
Fast forward to the Heian Peridod of Japan (794-1191 A.D.) when a Buddhist monk brings this miniturist landscape design to Japan. This small island country not only understood but embraced the concept. The Japanese understood the utiliarian beauty of miniturizing Nature to the extent that they metamorphosed this Chinese model and elevated Bonsai to an art which is now recongized as exclusively Japanese.
Bonsai literally translates "dish planting," and was an early-on province for only the wealthy noblemen of Japan. It was from the 17th century that bonsai broke it's elitist bonds and was embraced by the wider populace. The merchant class and their demand for the esthetic brought bonsai to the practiced art as we enjoy it today.
I had an opportunity this trip to visit a Bonsai master, Kunio Kobayashi, in his home, workshop and museum. Etched on his face was the love for each of the ancient treasures he has been charged with nurturing. I sat and had tea and Japanese rice crackers with him while he talked about his art and his family.
He showed me around his collection and pointed out some of the different types of trees, explaining the form and shape. He showed me the 40 year development of a maple which was recently published in a Bonsai magazine.
I knew at that point I was a goner. Like so many passions, I should have started at an earlier age. But, Master Kobayashi unleashed me in his studio, gave me a sapling, some clippers and wire and sent me home with a greater understanding and appreciation for the beauty that we can each create even in a few hours.
I knew at that point I was a goner. Like so many passions, I should have started at an earlier age. But, Master Kobayashi unleashed me in his studio, gave me a sapling, some clippers and wire and sent me home with a greater understanding and appreciation for the beauty that we can each create even in a few hours.
Shunkaen Bonsai Museum
Nihori 1-29-16 Edogawa-ku,
Tokyo, Japan 132-0001
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