Monthly Archives: June 2012

Apprenticeship and a “Bonsai Japanese” Crash Course

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One cold winter day, an ignorant new apprentice conversed with his sensei.  ”Watashino hey wa sugoku samuei desu” said the apprentice.  The sensei hit the floor with laughter leaving the student confused.  Turns out, instead of saying “My hands are really cold!”, I said “My farts are really cold!”.  Tey is the word for hand…..  In this particular instance, I was entertaining and kept the mood light.  There have been other instances where it was not such a fun experience.  There is absolutely nothing worse about apprenticeship than when you need to communicate something to save your ass but you have no idea how.  A basic understanding of the Japanese language is important to survive in Japan.  Having worked with Spanish-speakers for 15 years, I knew the importance of at least making an effort to learn Japanese.  The native speakers definitely appreciate it.

As a side note to anyone considering becoming an apprentice, being an apprentice means you’re wrong in every situation.  Answering incorrectly, discourteously, or too slowly = Wrong.  Correcting your sensei when they are wrong = Wrong.  Answering correctly somehow also equals wrong, but in a sort of humbling sort of way.  You can’t appear proud or say “i already knew that” or “you’ve asked me / told me that 500 times”.  Best to say you understand and continue to work on swallowing your pride.  Apprenticeship is a multi-faceted challenge not just for your body, but in my opinion more for your mind.  I liken it to the residency of a doctor running on no sleep after three shifts, but having to be on point with his diagnosis of an obscure disease.  The situations are not so dire in bonsai, but when you are an apprentice in Japan, it can sometimes feel that way.  The actual work may not be always be the challenging part, but quickly learning all the nuances of styling or caring for a given tree and accounting for all this stuff can be very difficult.  When was it repotted?  Which technique needs to be applied and why?  My favorite learning experience is the on-the-spot analysis of a new bonsai.  You’ve seen the tree for maybe half a minute as you carry it to the benches and are accosted with very pointed questions like “Where is the best viewing point and trunk angle?” or “What style of container would be ideal for this bonsai?”.  Your answers must be fast and accurate; an excellent training tool.

This post will not be full of nice photos, but will certainly be useful to anyone traveling to Japan to see bonsai, working with a Japanese speaking teacher, or doing a short-term study / full-blown apprenticeship in Japan.  I would recommend learning the words you feel that suit your goals.  Shortly before leaving for Japan Bjorn Bjorholm was kind enough to write me list of bonsai terms and it was very helpful.  In that same spirit of “paying it forward”, I’ve written a list of my own for anyone who’s interested below.  Spelling will reflect how to say the words phonetically.  Any words that have an interesting history that may shed light on their meaning will be elaborated on.  This particular post will be updated with more photos and definitions as I remember or learn useful terms.  This would be considered a crash course in  ”Bonsai Japanese” and not something to start with if learning the language : ).  I recommend making flash cards as the language has no Latin heritage and it will be wrote memorization.  If anyone has vocabulary to add that relates to bonsai, please comment on this post.  My translations are not perfect in every case, but the general meaning or feeling is correct.  It is important to note that the order you use words in can change their meaning a great deal.  There’s also IN-TO-nation to consider, but that’s a rabbit hole I will not go down on a simple blog post.  If you don’t care about learning Japanese bonsai words, time to stop reading.

I’ve excluded common names on purpose as they can be confusing.  ”That’s a cedar”  Oh really?  : ).  Learn the Latin names of any species you train and better yet, find out what species are related to it.  Knowledge of any plant’s lineage can be helpful with it’s care.  I wanted to exclude common names, but oh well.  Feel free to read my list, but I recently received a link to this site: HERE  Thanks go to John Romano; a fellow fan of bunjinji bonsai www.kaikoubonsai.com  Below the plant names are other useful terms and vocabluary.

Japanese Plant Names / Latin Names:

  • Icho, Chi-chi  -  Gingko biloba  - Gingko
  • Ichii –  Taxus cuspidata  -  Japanese Yew
  • Karamatsu  -  Larix kaempferi  -  Japanese Larch
  • Tosho  -  Juniperus rigida  -  Needle Juniper
  • Tsugi  -  Cryptomeria japonica  -  Japanese Cedar or Cryptomeria
  • Kuromatsu – Pinus thunbergiii  -  Japanese Black Pine
  • Akamatsu  -  Pinus densiflora  -  Japanese Red Pine
  • Goyomatsu  -  Pinus parviflora  -  Japanese White Pine
  • Kaede – Acer burgerianum (Kaede comes from an evolution of the words “kaeru no te”, or “frog hand”).  -  Trident Maple
  • Momiji –  Acer palmatum  -  Japanese Maple or Mountain Maple
  • Gyo-ryu  -  Tamarix chinensis  -  Tamarix
  • Chirimen kazura  -  Trachelospermum asiaticum var. Nana  -  Dwarf Star Jasmine
  • Tekka kazura  -  Trachelospermum asiaticum  -  Star Jasmine
  • Egonoki  -  Styrax japonica  -  Snowbell /  Styrax
  • Shimpaku  -  Juniperus chinensis var. Sargentii (oddly enough, this is a bonsai only term)  -  Shimpaku Juniper
  • Binan kazura  -  Kadsura japonica (bi means “beautiful”, nan means “man”, and kazura means “climber” referring to the use of this vine’s sap to slick back the hair of samurai during the Edo Period)  -  Katsura Vine
  • Suikazura  -  Lonicera japonica  -  Japanese Honeysuckle
  • Konara  -  Quercus serrata  -  Not sure
  • Kobushi  -  Magnolia kobus  -  Kobus Magnolia
  • Kuchinashi  -  Gardenia jasminoides  -  Gardenia
  • Murasaki shikibu  -  Callicarpa japonica (Named after Lady Murasaki, the author of The Tale of Genji)  -  Beautyberry
  • Ezomatsu  -  Picea glehnii  (Picea jezoensis is also called Ezomatsu)  Both are from Hokkaido and the surrounding small islands.  -  Ezo Spruce
  • Hinoki  -  Chamaecyparis obtusa  -  Hinoki False Cypress
  • Gamazumi  -  Viburnum dilatatum  -  Arrowwood Viburnum
  • Piracan  -  Pyracantha  -  Pyracantha / Firethorn
  • Nishikigi  -  Euonymus alatus  -  Winged Euonymus /  Burning Bush
  • Mayumi  -  Euonymus hamiltonianus subsp. sieboldianus (I had to look this one up)  -  Spindle Bush?  /  Siebold’s Spindle?
  • Buna  -  Fagus japonica  -  Japanese Beech
  • Ume  -  Prunus mume  -  Japanese Flowering Apricot (even though it’s from China and elsewhere)
  • Yamazakura, Sakura –  Prunus jamasakura  -  Mountain Cherry
  • Chochubai  -  Chaenomeles japonica ‘Chochubai’  -  Chochubai Quince
  • Omoto  -  Rohdea japonica  -   Sacred Nippon Lily
  • Schotssuba  -  Pyrossia spp.  -  Pyrossia
  • Gumi  -  Eleagnus spp.  (kind of a bulk name; there are a number of species and cultivars)  -  Eleagnus / Silverberry
  • Tsuge  -  Buxus microphylla  -  Littleleaf Boxwood
  • Chosen Tsuge  -  Buxus sinica var. insularis  -  Korean Boxwood
  • Niyoi Kaede  -  Premna japonica (name means smelly / stinky maple)  -  Stinky Maple / Premna
  • Haze  -  Rhus spp.  (another bulk category for the genus)  -  Sumac
  • Karin  -  Pseudocydonia sinensis  -  Chinese Flowering Quince
  • Boke  -  Chaenomeles japonica  -  Flowering Quince
  • Sanzashi  -  Crataegus spp.  (seeing a pattern here?)  -  Hawthorne
  • Mizuki  -  Cornus kousa  -  Kousa Dogwood
  • Hanamizuki  -  Cornus florida  -  American Dogwood
  • Tosamizuki  -  Corylopsis spicata (and possible C. pauciflora too)  -  Spike Winterhazel and Buttercup Winterhazel respectively
  • Sonare  -  Juniperus procumbens  -  Procumbens Juniper
  • Sawara  -  Chamaecyparis pisifera  -  Sawara Cypress
  • Tsuta  -  Parthenocissus tricuspidata  -  Boston Ivy
  • America no Tsuta  -  Parthenocissus quinquefolia  -  Virginia Creeper
Here are some descriptive terms for plants:
Zouki  -  Deciduous trees (also kind of gray for stuff like Eleagnus and other broadleaf evergreens)
Shouhaku  -  Conifers
Arakawa  -  Literally means  ”Rough Bark”
Ara-ki  -  From the words Arai (rough) and Ki (tree)  referring to rough stock that is not a bonsai yet.
Nishiki  -  Means “brocade” and used to describe variegation of leaves or corky bark.  I’ve found some names with nishiki that had neither so a matter worth investigating.
Isai  -  Flowers when very young
Hime  -  Small or Dwarf;  generally referring to the whole plant
Ko  -  Small or Dwarf;  generally referring to a certain aspect like flowers and / leaves
Yabu  -  of the forest or “wild” (for example, Yabai refers to wild Prunus mume)
Yama  -  of the mountains
Chosen no  -  Korean (North)
Chugoku no  - Chinese
Yatsubusa  -  selection that forms many buds
Fu-ii-rdi  -  Variegation
Sashiki  -  Rooted cutting
Toriki  -  Air layer
Plant Anatomy:
Happa, Hasho, Ha  -  Leaf / Leaves
Kawa  -  Bark
Ne  -  Root
Nebari  -  Root spread
Hana  -  Flower
Eda  -  Branch
Mi  -  Fruit
Jiku  -  section of shoot between main branch and foliage?
Doughbuki  -  Inner Buds
Atama  -  Head (apex)
Jin  -  dead branch (that you wanted to use in the design)
Shari  -  dead section of trunk or main branch
Ki  -  Tree
Shokubutsu  - plant
Kareru  -  verb for “die” (referring to plants and branches)
Tachi agari  -  rising or movement of trunk above root base
Decriptive Terms:
Nagare  -  Movement (as in dominant feeling of direction)
Kangi  -  Feeling  (“This tree feels heavy, myterious, etc)
Eee  -  Good
Waruii  -  Bad
Hosoi  -  Thin
Futoi  -  Thick / Fat
Hiroi  -  Wide
Nagai – Long
Mijikai  - Short
Sugoku  -  really _____ (really heavy, really strange,etc.)
Mezurashi  -  rare
abunai  -  dangerous
______-sugi  -  too  ____ (For example, nagasugi means “too long”)
Bonsai Garden Terms / Tools and Products:
Jimusho  -  Office
Ocha no heya  -  Tea Room
Shigotoba  -  Work Room
Tenjijo  -  Storage Room
Hausu  -  Greenhouse
Tana  -  Bench
Tabeluga  -  Table
Isu  -  Chair
Kaitendai  -  turntable (for working on bonsai and display)
Tsunoko  -  Bamboo shoot mat used for display
Jiita  -  Burl wood slab
Shoku – Stand (for bonsai or other display)
Shoku-no-hako  -  Wooden box for display stand (you just learned the word box too….)
Hoki  -  Broom (this one is super important)
Takeboki  -  Bamboo broom
Komi  -  Dustpan
Pinsetto  -  Tweezers
Hashi  -  Chop Stick
Yattoko  -  Pliers (like Jin Pliers)
Hasami –  Scissors
Harigane Kiri  -  Wire Cutters
Mata Eda, Eda Kiri  -  Concave Cutter
Hamma –  Hammer
Tawashi  -  Scrub brush
Zokin  -  rag
Dasukin  -  dust rag
Yogozai  -  Lime Sulphur
Tsubaki abura  -  Camellia oil
Pests and Diseases:
Mushi  -  Insect
Ari  -  Ant
Abura mushi  -  Aphid
Dango mushi –  Roly Poly
Namekuji  -  Slug
Kamekiri mushi  -  Asian Long-horned Beetle
(be really sure before you tell someone you’ve seen this one.  Kill first, ask questions later)
Kaigara mushi  -  Armored Scale
Danii  -  Mites (kind of a catch-all)
A few words you will definitely need to know:
Sumimasen  -  I’m sorry, excuse me, or just what you say if you do anything as an apprentice : ).  You probably did something wrong recently….. This word can be used in many situations from prefacing a question to entering a private residence.
Hai  -  Yes
Baka  -  Dumbass
Wakarimash-ta  -  I understand.  This one is super important.  Saying this signifies you are listening and can be held accountable for the order or request given.
Wakarimasen  -  I do not understand.  Try not to say this too much ; ).  This phrase was uttered many times my first few months here shortly followed by a facial expression full of confusion, fear, frustration, and embarrassment.
In the morning, other people arrive.  You say:  O-high-o Go-zai-mass
Thank you =  A-ree-gatoo Go-zai-mass
@ the end of the day You say:  Shit-sureE-shi-mass (means “I disappear”).  If you want to get really snazzy you say “Osaki-ni Shit-sureE-shi-mas” (means “I disappear before you do”) which boils down to they are staying at work later than you and that is admirable.
Sometimes, a person will come back from being away and say:  Tah-daie-mah.  This means “I’m back”.  You are supposed to say:  Oh-kah-ee-ree-nah-sai.
That will be a good starting point.  Again, don’t be shy with the terms.  I’ll continue to update the list.
Thanks for reading.

Nanzen-ji Temple Complex, Kyoto

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One of the many garden "rooms" of Nanzen-ji

During my time here in Japan, I’ve made it a point to spend my oh so infrequent days off experiencing temples, gardens, and other culturally important sites.  My breaks from the bonsai grind generally leave me even more tired than normal as I go into “tourist mode” and see as much as humanly possible. If planning a trip here, learn as much as you can about the sites you will see.  I guarantee your experience will be different in a positive way.  Bjorn Bjorholm really opened my eyes to this.  The brochure may say one thing, but the truth may be far more interesting.  The brochures from a variety of temples all seem to say they were designed by the same people and are all the “first Zen temple” or the “oldest this or that”.  One thing is always for certain; the structures you see and especially the gardens have changed in the last few hundred if not thousand years.  Fire and / or war are the usual culprits.  Funny that these Buddhist sites are so fraught with killing and scandal.  A caption may read “and then the Emperor Shomu decreed this temple the Rinzai headquarters in 754″.  It conveniently omitted the part about the previous owners’ or tenants’ fate.  History is written by the winner though.

My intention in showcasing my favorite gardens of Japan is to promote visitation by readers and their families to Japan.  Also, I never fail to leave a new or re-visited site without a new insight into Japanese aesthetics, historical reference that influenced Japanese culture, or a little time just to get away from whirring machine that is current Japanese city life. Truly excellent Japanese gardens are both infinitely complex and simple at the same time.  Bonsai at its highest levels of expression is the same.

This particular February day off consisted of a Special Hokusai Exhibition (36 Views of Mt. Fuji and his sketch books), Kennin-ji, and Nanzen-ji. I’ll save Kennin-ji for another post some time.  Many visitors to Kyoto see the main complex of Nanzen-ji but may not wander up the hill a bit further to see the smaller sub-temples and scenic beauty of the forest beyond.

Wild CamelliaThe wild camellia, known as Yabu tsubaki (forest camellia), is great for bonsai as the flowers are small. The hundreds if not thousands of cultivars of camellia aren't necessarily bad for bonsai, but humans tend to select for big and showy flowers for maximum impact.

I’ve been to Nanzen-ji many times, but upon exiting the train station, I decided to follow some “properly prepared” local hikers and see what happened.  This trip was taken duing prime Prunus mume and wild Camellia japonica bloom time; two of my favorite species for bonsai.    There’s a back trail that skirts a ridge and old aquaduct ending in an old-growth Chamaecyparis obtusa forest.  This is extremely rare to see so close to civilization so I was pretty sure it was protected as an important Shinto site.

And there's the Shinto site.....

 

 

 

 

 

The  feeling of this place was surreal. I have walked through a number of hinoki forests as they cover a great deal of Japan, but most were planted for future timber harvest and lack that special feeling.  The diameter of most trees was not the impressive part; it was the fire-engine red trunks all around and the high canopy that did it for me.

Photos of the forest do not do justice.  Exiting the forest, I found Nanzen-in; a small temple and garden.  The buildings were amazing and the little details of the garden were very cool.

 

A quick glance at a garden like this may yield the thought “oh that’s nice” and we move on.    Not everyone realizes there is a plan for every plant in this photo including the edge of the forest behind the garden proper.  Visual weight, a sense of balance throughout, and the highlighting of certain seasonal changes (mainly Spring and Fall) are considered.

Next was Saisho-en.  Smaller temples seem to fail to make the cut in tourist guides as they lack the clout of some of the more showy ones.  As shown in a previous post, the Pinus thunbergii / Lagerstromia fauriei  fusion blew my mind.

   

I passed on the tour inside.  Apparently a priest here was famous for carving Noh theater masks.  The last stop was the main temple at Nanzenji proper.  The karesansui (dry landscape gardens) here are not easy to photograph.  There are more photos in my Facebook album.  This temple also has some of the best preserved screen and wall paintings available for public viewing  I’ve ever seen.  Entoku-ji, a temple relatively close by, also has excellent paintings.  Unfortunately, no photos allowed at either…..  I was especially impressed with the utility of the gardens at Nanzenji; they were beautiful from multiple vantage point and botanically diverse but still simple and well laid-out.

 

The designers of Nanzen-ji used the "borrowed landscape" of the mountains and the effect is a seamless transition.

 

Another good example.

Pure genius

 

 

The ceiling of the main hall.

Thanks for reading.

Juniperus rigida “Test”

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Since arriving in Japan, I’ve done full styling projects on a a ton of trees.  The majority are what we refer to as “lesson trees” that aren’t spectacular bonsai by Japanese standards, but have issues needing resolution to be set on the right path.  This particular Juniperus rigida, aka “Tosho”, was a slightly different project.

Every now and then, I’m given an opportunity to take a rough tree and do what I like.  There is an understanding that I must make it marketable of course, and as with most things related to apprenticeship, it’s a test.

If the project turns out well, all is well in the the world.  If I fail, well, you don’t fail : ).  That would mean constant reminders of what mistake you made for the next week or so ad nasuem.  ”Please water that maple.  It’s dry.  Oh, and don’t forget that your spacing between branches on oak bonsai needs to account for the size density of the leaves”.    You get the idea.  On to the tree…..The inital shape of this tree had some serious issues to resolve.  The lowest branches were straight, lacked interest, and did not match the rest of the tree.  The top half had not been pruned in a while.  Choosing a great “front” for this tree was important.  This particular tree was field grown and a bunch of twists and turns were put into it in a predictable manner.  The “barber pole” twist in the middle of the trunk line really bugged me, so this took precedent when picking a front.  The front I chose best links the base of the tree to the apex by softening the curves.

This is the "rough cut" version. I made it look pretty after repotting.

Bunjin to me are all about the trunk line,feeling of age, and embodyment of a life of hardship.  A trunk line that is too curvy looks contrived while one too straight (in this particular instance) would be boring.  I must admit a bit of an addiction to bunjin trees.  However, my first inclination is not to slice and dice to force a style on any tree.  Doing so is not only risky, but in my opinion you’re relying on your ego and not working within a reasonable framework.  This tree was asking for it though : ).  The main reason being the top and bottom halves did not match.  A pet peeve I have is jins that look like a branch that used to be part of the design just died.  Not all dead branches need to be jin.  On this particular project, the lowest right branch was completely deleted as a jin there would conflict with the line of the trunk.  Wiring bunjin bonsai is always a joy and an ordeal at once.  You may only have a few branches to wire, but every bend and tweak must be precisely calculated.  Drastic re-stylings like this are also risky for the health of the tree.  I left a few extra branches in the apex and more branches along the base of the trunk to give the future owner some liberties in choosing the future direction of the tree.

I apologize for the lack of progression photos;  I was filming this project for the Bonsai Art of Japan Series before it  became a blog post…..Two weeks later, a new flush of growth has popped and that signals a window to repot safely.  Tosho are one of the last species of plant we repot at Kouka-en.  If you ever wonder how to care for a species new to you, one solid lead will be to look into where it’s native to.  What altitude can it live at?  Does it live near water?  How hot / cold does it get there?  Another solid lead is observation of the plants behavior.  In the case of Tosho, the Spring flush is later than most.  So, repot later than most.  The first flush of growth tells you sap is flowing and the tree is physiologically active.  Many species are repotted as new growth emerges at Kouka-en.  One exception is Fagus japonica, as beech do not respond well to the procedure and should be repotted just before the buds swell.

There is a convenient window to repot Tosho after you pinch the first flush of growth back. Wait until the second flush of the year is emerging and get to it.  Tosho in general do not like to have aggressive repotting work done to them.  I pushed this tree as far as I felt comfortable after removing over half the branches.  Review the following pics and think about what stick out as being “off”.

Issue #1 What is wrong with this section of the tree?

Issue #2 How about here? (apex view from left side)

Issue #3 One more. How about here?

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the future, the live veins that feed each branch will swell and shari can be made up and down the tree. The barber pole twist in the middle will then become an asset instead of a fault as the deletion of the likely half the bark on the trunk will give the tree an even lighter feeling.  I may not get a chance to do this work as Mr. Sakamoto came to Kouka-en today and purchased the bonsai.  He’s a bit of a bunjin fan too.

It was definitely not alright for me to interrupt, so a covert shot of the deal will have to suffice.  I passed the test by the way  : ).

So how about the three issues above?  Issue #`1 refers to the gap between the dropping branch and the trunk line.  ”Holes” like this draw the eye and are distracting.   The bends I put into the tree were a compromise of what I hoped for and what was possible with the material during the first styling.  Issue #2 is the funky bend I used to make the branch look shorter than it actually was from the front.  Bunjin trees often have what some people call “character branches”.  Something unexpected or unconventional that makes the composition interesting.  Issue #3 is that the apex is too full and there are not enough spaces between branches.  In the future, I’d remove about half the apical branches to lighten the feeling and bring a better harmony to the whole tree.

Bonsai is not a cut and dry event, but about forward progress.  This tree is a good example of that.  It is by no means ready to rock, but has been set on a new path.

Thanks for reading.