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After moving back to America in a few months back, life has been chaotic and wonderful. I’ve already met a ton of great people and had the opportunity to style some excellent bonsai while on the road. As I sort … Continue reading
This is not all of them, but many of the ones I liked or thought were done well regardless of my personal preferences. My favorites were mostly single species shitakusa (meaning “under-grass”) displayed with bonsai; the moss and pyrossia ones being best. Kusamono is a catch-all term. This information comes from a kusamono grower and former Kokufu judge and the response of many Japanese bonsai professionals and kusamono vendors.
One point I’d like to make in this post is that many of the kusamono receiving major exposure internationally are those used in the Taikan-ten and Kokufu-ten; both shows relying on mainly evergreen heavy shitakusa that are at their best during these seasons. Or, just look better as other perennial plants have already shut down. Young Choe has photographed many of her creations in the Spring and Summer months and thought I’d take a moment to promote her work HERE.
There were a number of kusamono in three-point displays with suiseki and a scroll. My favorite suiseki was Kiyama-san’s interpretation of a mountain : ). Enjoy!
As I type this I’m surrounded by bonsai containers, scrolls, stands, tools, and about 200 pounds of books. Time to jettison most of my clothing and other “non-essential” cargo and head back to America. My Cultural Studies VISA ends a few days after the Taikan-ten and I’ll be back in America to teach for most of 2013. Much like extra-terrestrials, I’ll be appearing in front of small groups of Southerners most of the time but sightings of me will occur all over America with international trips in the works. My apprenticeship is far from over.
I’d like to thank everyone who has already confirmed study groups, private work, and exhibitions. Winter and Spring so far is filling up with new airport codes and pit-stops. My schedule still has openings for Spring and Summer and I’ll probably be close to you at some point. Next year will be devoted to acquainting myself with the bonsai community, other professionals / vendors, and perhaps most important of all sharing everything I’ve learned thus-far as a horticulturalist and bonsai apprentice without reservation.
My heart belongs to Deciduous and Broad-leaf Evergreen bonsai and a few of the under-used conifers, but I love all plants
and have worked on at least 50 different species / cultivars of plant used for bonsai while at Kouka-en. My interest in Asian plants precedes my pursuit of bonsai art and I’ve connected a lot of “dots” from normal horticultural practices and bonsai techniques used here in Japan.
Aside from bonsai, I’ll be teaching kusamono workshops and helping clients with theirs’ as I’ve spent a number of years propagating and producing perennials and annuals at the commercial level. The art of kusamono has sucked me in like a vortex and much of my oh-so-rare free time is spent studying both old and new forms.
Also sitting next to me is a stack of memory cards full of bonsai projects and day trip pics to cultural sites with stories behind all of them, so the blog will continue on.
There will also be coverage of work on Western hemisphere native species, bonsai community events, and other happenings all over America in the future. I’d like to take a moment to support the efforts of the people and organizations I’ve added to my blogroll. Consistent quality posts on the world of bonsai are not easy to come up with; let alone while committing you life to apprenticeship or a full-time job. To all those who’ve contacted me with supportive messages, constructive criticism, and confirmed teaching stops, THANK YOU. Apprenticeship is a mental marathon and your support does mean a lot.
I’d also like to thank my family, my sensei Keiichi Fujikawa, Bjorn Bjorholm, and my sempai Naoki Maeoka for all their help so far. Couldn’t have gotten this far without them.
I’ve never been so happy or focused on my goals. Hard not to smile when surrounded by 
so much beauty and quality bonsai. I will miss Japan and the people who make up the bonsai community here during my time in America, but look forward to helping the other bonsai professionals in our efforts to raise quality standards and enjoyment levels in America.
Time to quit ducking as I enter doorways and guessing what I’m about to eat for a while! Feel free to contact me through this blog, Facebook, or LinkedIn. Sweet tea and yamadori here I come!
Thanks for reading, lots of posts to come after the Taikan-ten. A gallery of Taikan-ten 2012 photos soon to come…..
Some of the kusamono I made earlier this year really came out well. It’s inspiring to see the really old ones here and every exhibition attended provides me with more insight into this very addictive, very important aspect of bonsai display. While on the subject of kusamono, I was chastised by a kusamono aficionado last year at the Taikan-ten for calling them accent plants. She told me “companion plant” is a much more accurate term if you aren’t using the term kusamono. Message received and logged. Accentuation is a grey area, but current bonsai display involving a kusamono has a companion plant that is smaller than the main tree, assists in communicating the message of the display, and doesn’t “steal the show” and draw the viewer’s eye too much. When you get a chance, look through some old exhibition books and you will note often massive kusamono and over-sized stands (in relation to recent preferred proportions). The two photos below are from Kokufu-ten 47, which was 1973 I believe.
People often talk about “traditional” bonsai display styles, but what exactly does that mean? A subject for another post…..
This is a follow-up post to A FEW KUSAMONO. Please look at that post now to get an idea of what a year or two can do for a kusamono project. Starting one now (and waiting to use it for a while) will pay big dividends in the coming years.
After a full growing season these kusamono have filled out well. I’ve also made some new ones and decided to share a few others that have finally become worthy after filling out. When making kokedama, using dried moss and growing from “scratch” gives a much better effect than simple application of the collected stuff.
Camellia japonica ‘Robiraki’ Kokedama
Variegated Star Rush kokedama
A completely different feeling now that it has filled out.
A rabbit’s foot fern may be added with the other four ferns later.
The three containers surrounding this text are from Erin Ceramics in the UK. While they have a heavy appearance in relation to many Japanese-made kusamono containers, these pots have a certain organic feel that I really like. I’ve found a number of pots with similar heavy glazes while in Japan and they’re coming home with me.
My favorite “Erin” pot and favorite new kusamono of the year. The pot appears to float; especially with the glossy jita.
I’ve been asked what the big deal about kusamono is many times lately as this art form is often considered a “woman’s hobby” here in Japan. Much like it takes a real man to wear a pastel pink shirt and not be self-conscious, making kusamono and enjoying your work can be just as fulfilling as chopping up trees with chainsaws no matter how prissy the art may come off. Don’t get me wrong, I like pointless explosions, playing in the dirt, and bonsai enthusiasts from Korea………
When show time rolls around, do you want the quality companion plant, or the “mad dash to Home Depot” one? Something to consider. I’ll be based in America for 2013 planting seeds; both literally and figuratively. Looking forward to meeting bonsai enthusiasts all over the world. If you’d like to enlist my services, please contact me HERE.
Thanks for reading.
Here’s another recent Juniperus rigida I styled for Mr. Endo about three weeks ago. A trip to his garden is also featured Here. This bonsai was purchased from us about two years ago and it has pretty much grown freely since then. It is a collected tree and has been a bonsai a long time judging by the live veins and seasoned deadwood. Endo-san’s tosho ranked as a 9 out of 10 on the pain scale and drew more blood than the Red Cross. Maeoka-san also learned a few new vulgarities not in the standard English dictionary. If you’re wondering, a 10 was a Juniperus rigida I made the mistake of touching in Nara with almost two inch needles. Fresh lime sulphur was applied and the bark was not sandpapered. Conifers with awl-type foliation are often allowed to keep rugged bark.
Over the past two years, the tree has become really vigorous and many shoots were not cut back soon enough. The problem is, a tree with this form cannot have a heavy top as it will look like a lollypop. My mission, which I had no option to decline, was to reign this tosho back in and set the framework for pads.
The lowest branch cascades straight down and after thinning the obvious unnecessary 
branches, started looking slightly sabishee (a word meaning “lonely”). This was before shortening shoots too. Low branches like this are often weak but after styling was complete, this area has a new lease on life as you will see below.
Good news is, deconstruction of this tree to the bones allows for issues to be corrected and future problems avoided. We don’t just put movement into branches to make them look pretty; shortening the physical and visual length are achieved.
Taking out thick branches helps with balancing over-all branch vigor. 
The top looks full and and easy to style; perhaps even just scissor prune. 
But no joy. Two-thirds of the branches were not keepers due to angle of emergence, thickness, or location.
This is about the point you remember a rounded top is necessary for the design and the sweating portion of this project commences….
Photo above taken three weeks after styling. The upper third of the trunk is now much more interesting with pads breaking up the straight part and a new planting angle improves the curves of the trunk line a bit as well as that of the lowest right branch. Branches have been spread out more and spaced well to allow for some really full pads in the future in the weaker areas and pads already on the way to “finished” will be maintained as ususal.
Thanks for reading. White pine and Juniper styling season is here and Bjorn Bjorholm has styled a few cool ones recently. Check out his blog HERE. I’m sure there will be a few Pinus parviflora in front of me soon. My sempai, Naoki Maeoka, has also styled some great ones in the past few weeks. Another blog from the Kouka-en Clan looks like it is in the works. His background in Japanese art and knowledge of ceramics (both history and creation) promise to add yet another solid resource to the web.
We bonsai people are an interesting breed. One reason I chose to follow this path is the people I would get to meet. We have found something that inspires us, relaxes us, etc and come together for exhibitions and other functions to share our love of this art and place our creations out in the open for others to see. I will never forget the first time I exhibited. It was like taking my soul out, placing it on the table, and waiting for it to be praised or stomped on. You have my word I’ll never do the latter. That Nashville Bonsai Society exhibition was also the starting point for multiple friendships that I have sustained to this day. A group of men who I have named the Taimadera Crew visit Kouka-en a few 
times a year from a city on the outskirts of Nara. A Buddhist temple in their town named Taimadera is the local landmark and renowned for a giant mandala said to made in one night. The men come from different walks of life but have found common ground in bonsai. A bonsai compound of sorts evolved on one of their properties that I had the chance to visit last year. Meetings are frequent and the convenience level of sharing the workload on watering and other tasks is quite high. They are some of my favorite clients as they come through the gate brimming with energy and can’t wait to see what is new. Bonsai teaching for the most part here in Japan is quite different from the standard protocol I’m used to in the United States. I speak only about what I’ve been exposed to in this region of course. The Crew
always comes prepared with a list of very pointed questions about techniques and proper timing for their application when they visit. Fujikawa-san shares cultural information freely with clients and often demonstrates then and there if the timing is right for the work. One member of the Crew recently purchased a Pinus densiflora I styled and documented HERE. Three weeks ago, another member eyed a Juniperus rigida on the turn-table I was half-way finished with and told Fujikawa-san he’d buy it on the spot. 
I quickly received the “don’t screw this up” glare from my sensei. I’ll spare you most of the details as this is one of a number of Juniperus rigida I have had the privilege of styling in the last few months. The main issue with this tree was that it was in need of wiring badly. We figure it had not been styled for about 5 years and maintained only by pruning. Many of the lowest branches are really weak and the top far too strong. The nice thing about older Juniperus rigida, Chamaecyparis obtusa, Cryptomeria japonica, and other “pad forming” conifers is that a few guy wires can often put the tree back in line. This tree however, needed about 20 guy wires and quite a bit of detail wiring. As tosho go, the foliage on this one was about a 5 out of 10 on the pain scale. The slightly scared expressions on the faces of grocery store workers after a long day of tosho or black pine work never gets old. Not only are they scared I can’t communicate with them, but my arms are shades of black and / or covered with raised red dots : ).
“Contemplation” by Pino
Revamping the lower branches required lots of careful fine wire work to maximize the appearance of volume. The weakening of these lower branches could have been avoided if the previous owner had A. Been knowledgeable enough to thin the upper two thirds of the tree properly through previous instruction or B. Enlisted the help of a bonsai professional earlier before this issue arose. Now that I’ve caught your attention……. If you have or want to have nice bonsai, hiring someone like me can sustain, improve, or save the bonsai in your collection. A second set of trained eyes can evaluate your collection objectively without emotional attachment or preconceived notions of a tree’s future. Accepting your current level of experience / technical skill level can be really empowering. When I acquired a really nice field-grown hinoki about 6 years ago, I took the tree to Warren Hill; someone who had re-potted old hinoki numerous times. Seems logical right?
Back to the tree. Here is what I had to work with and the result.
After adding volume to this and a few other lower branches, the remainder of the tree took quite a while to thin and detail wire. Pads were shaped not just for the present, but for 
the next few years of new shoot growth and filling in. Some of the tosho here at Kouka-en have new growth shortened up to four times a year. With this much yearly growth, leaving spaces for future flushes is necessary. Adding little details like this to the layout of the pads really brought the feeling of age back into this tosho. Removal of thick branches was a priority.
The final product came out well. Here is the tree after styling….
….. and a photo from yesterday after new growth has started and die-back from styling has been removed.
Here’s something to consider when styling or refining a bonsai. Take a photo in black and white of a tree some time. Areas with too much “visual weight” and flaws in the silhouette can become more glaring; both before and after styling. 
What issues do you see in the tree before styling? New strengths achieved in the final product? 
Here is another tosho that only needed a bit of pruning and detail wiring. Next year, a smaller pot will really make this tree pop. A fair number of branches had to be removed, so a “full” image will take a while. This one was a 2 out of 10 on the pain scale. Bonsai refinement is a process of course, and achieving a design takes priority over instant gratification
. 
Taken yesterday after a few weeks of rebound time.
Thanks for reading. Upcoming posts will be on another cool Juniperus rigida restyle and more day trips to cultural sites around Kansai Prefecture.
For my summer vacation, which consisted of three glorious days off in a row, I decided to go to Kyoto Botanical Garden for a day, sleep a day, and spend the final one experiencing Koya-san. My intended trip to Fuji-san had to be canceled due to lack of $. Happy to see the photos from Tyler Sherrod, a fellow Southerner’s trip up to the top. Perhaps next year. Day 1: Kyoto Botanical Garden. This place is definitely worth visiting during the peak tourism seasons of cherry blossom season or Fall. As with any respectable botanical garden, there’s always something going on or blooming. Most of my time was spent in “zonal denial” at the Conservatory. 
Seeing all the tropicals, orchids, and desert plants was dangerous and inspiring at the same time. The bonsai collection there was not worth seeing on it’s own merit, but admirable that there is effort put forth to promote the art to the public. Lack of photos here on a bonsai blog means something. The conservatory and overall garden experience however, was excellent.
My new favorite flower Hibiscus schitzopetalus.
Cyrtostachys lakka(left) and a section of the massive rose garden (right).
Old Cycas revoluta (sago palm) colony in the Victorian Garden.
Day 2: Sleep Time
Day 3: Trip to Koya-san. Koya-san is home to the Japanese headquarters of Shingon Buddhism. If you’re in the Kansai Region of Japan and have the time, this place is worth killing a day to see.
Mt. Koya is in Wakayama Prefecture about two hours south of Osaka by train. The site was chosen in 816 for a Buddhist monastery as it was far removed from the politics and distractions of city life. The town sits on a flat-topped mountain surrounded by 8 nearby peaks. To this day, it’s still pretty far removed from any major cities, although getting there no longer requires three plus days of hiking up and down mountains. It is the starting point and terminus of the famous 88 Temple Shikoku Pilgrimage so some people still walk there : ). Some cultural and religious sites in Japan have become tourist traps, but Koya-san has done well keeping things balanced with around half the temples (there are about 100 there) providing lodging . Koya-san Tourism Association is top-notch. Enough foreigners have come to warrant English language guided tours (for FREE) and plenty of maps and hand-outs with directions like “you will not go home if you are not on the 9:15 pm train back to Osaka”. First thing I did upon arrival was hit their office. Next stop was the Garan, which means “clean and quiet place” in Sanskrit. As with many important Buddhist places, this one was first a Shinto site first. This area is home to the original meditation hall, temples, and other important buildings seen below.
Next was Kongobugi (Vajra Peak) Temple. In Japan, this is the Shingon Buddhism HQ. While many monasteries have burned due to war, Koya-san’s buildings have always burned due to lightning. Following the lead of Oda Nobunaga’s destruction of Hiezan, Toyotomi Hideoshi was intent on destroying this powerful monastic community. 
However, he was persuaded to back off and later became a major patron of this site. He also commited seppoku (ritual suicide) at this temple. Japan has got to be the most fire paranoid country on the planet. National Fire Safety and Preparedness day was last week. Check out the permanent buckets of water on the roof and prepped ladder.
Inside, there were tons of foreign tourists taking flash photography of all the screen paintings and I cringed with each flash; for the damage to the priceless artwork and the shamelessness of these foreigners to move the “no photos” (in multiple languages) sign for a better angle….. Shortly before leaving for Japan, Ryan Neil told me “Remember, you’re representing a lot more than just yourself over there”. So true.
One of Kongobugj’s claims to fame is that it has the largest karesansui (dry landscape) garden in Japan. Big does not always mean good though; for bonsai and gardens.
My favorite garden was in the back of the temple complex. The design is fairly simple, but clever shaping of individual plants in the garden proper as well as the perimeter screening plants was impressive. So much depth and texture even when the pieris, rhododendrons, and azleas are not in bloom.
The craftsmanship and artwork inside of Kongobuji is impressive but you’ll have to check out their site or visit one day. Between this temple and Okunoin, I wandered in and out of about 10 Buddhist and Shinto sites. It’s interesting seeing Sanskit inscriptions and distinctly Indian embellishments with Japanese architecture.
A Shinto shrine at the end of a very steep ascent (left). The oldest and largest Koyamaki niwaki I’ve seen. Koyamaki, known to us as Sciadopitys verticillata or Umbrella Pine, is so named because it is so common in this area. The straight species can reach 40′ tall x 20′ wide in the wild but most stay conical or columnar and much smaller in the garden. Graves here are not decorated with flowers, but with branches of Koyamaki.
My last stop of the day was Okunoin; a massive cemetery almost 2 kilometers long and containing over 200,000 grave sites. The most important being a mausoleum or “place of eternal meditation” as it is referred to here for Kobo Daishi (Kukai). Two meals are still made every day in offering. Grave sites are interspersed throughout the old-growth Cryptomeria japonica forest. A great place to observe cryptomeria not shaped by man but so easy to get up close to. I’d read about a monument erected by an extermination company in apology to the billions of insects they kill but alas, could not find it in my wanderings.
Grave site for people with no remaining family members to pray for them. The monks take this responsibility on. Bibs are often placed on statues of the Jizo Bosatsu; protector of children in this life and the after-life
Without planning this at all, my day at Koya-san fell on the Rosoku Matsuri (Candle Festival) held annually to provide solace to the souls of family members. Massive amounts of candles are distributed to be lit along both sides of the 2 km path.
Rain really put a (excuse the pun) damper on things, but made for some nice photo snapping moments. I was lucky to make it back to the bus and cable-car final trips. Home by 1:30 am and ready for another day of bonsai work…..
Thanks for reading.
Truly excellent Yamakobushi (mountain magnolia) or Magnolia kobus, does not flower reliably as a bonsai in part due to maintenance pruning. Young trees from seed take a long time to reach flowering age. The wild species’ flower is simple and white; understated and perfect for bonsai. Older trees develop smooth gray bark while the young shoots are a mottled brown color. A tree with excellent form is great to appreciate in winter, so trees of this species are styled for appreciation of form with Fall color (yellow), Spring flowers, and the alien-looking fruit as side benefits. As with a number of other flowering / fruiting bonsai, there is an understanding by those in the know that sometimes branches are a little long for a given style or structure a bit erratic for the sake of flower production. Plants that flower only on old wood would be a good example. Compromises must be made as not every species flowers directly off the trunk like Theobroma cacao (chocolate tree) or some species of Cercis (redbud). This bonsai has flowered sporadically over the years, but a full-blown flower show is possible for the Kokufu-ten by letting shoots run a little long and forcing an early bloom time. I’ve forced a bunch of different plants to bloom on a deadline before and it is not fun.
This particular tree was featured in Bonsai Art of Japan Episode 16 and has been at Kouka-en for over 3 years. Each Spring, I’ve been responsible for removal of susoba (leaves without a dormant bud underneath) and other maintenance tasks like regular bark cleaning with a toothbrush to decrease incidence of scale (an insect) and to keep the bark looking sexy. Watching for caterpillars is an important task as what we know as “tent caterpillars” can defoliate a bonsai of this species in a day. The first two years of training focused on maximizing the vigor of the tree to gain trunk girth. Last year, the tree was cut back hard (as shown in the video above). This year, the tree was re-potted and new growth was checked by the cutting back of roots and removal of susoba early in the growing season as is normal for most deciduous trees. Comparison of the video above and the photos below show the discrepancy in leaf size and shoot length. Deciduous magnolia have extremely vigorous root growth and will push adventitious roots anywhere that stays wet. Watch for heavy moss build-up where you do not want new roots. This yamakobushi was literally lifting itself out of the pot before repotting.
Now that we had slowed the tree down, it was time to set the branch structure in place after allowing the bonsai to grow largely unrestricted for a while. This branch is getting too thick, so my main goal for this project is breaking up this branch’s visual weight even when viewed leaf-less. Other primary branches also have too much leg showing and a little mystery needs to be created. Styling this magnolia was downright fun and a welcome break from “fixing” issues and all the other maintenance tasks I’d been doing non-stop on pines, shimpaku, and needle junipers lately. I do feel lucky to study at Kouka-en as there are multiple representations of a just about any given species but nothing like 100 wisteria or 300 trident maples to deal with.
The process was cathartic as the tree had few structural issues and internodes on this tree are not close together. Photo at right highlights the front right branch I wired a little more downward than normal to address the issue. This species is similar to trees such as Prunus jamasakura (flowering cherry) in that branches seem really supple aka “bendy”, but there is no warning crack when making bends like with conifers; just a broken branch and an angry sensei shortly thereafter.
Orientation of shoots becomes more uniform with the aid of wire. The goal being quite similar to pine shoot wiring but with far less branches. Overall, branch tiers have a more unified feel now as errant shoots and negative space areas can be controlled. Not monumental change, but a hell of a lot better than the initial shape of the tree in the video footage above from last year. I brightened the bark in the photo below to show some of the points on the tree I worked to break up or soften. Any long, uninteresting sections of main branches (especially on the left side) were broken up with smaller shoots. The leaves obviously help now, but when Fall comes, these fine branches will be even more important. The lower right side is harder to appreciate in 2D but looks better in person. Overlapping branches were wired apart to maximize the photosynthetic potential of each branch’s leaves. In the next few years, new shoots will pop all over the tree and the tiers will have a more rounded silhouettes full of fine branching (for a magnolia that is).
Endo-san (66), a client of Kouka-en for at least 30 years, had been interested in this magnolia since it arrived. Endo-san’s collection is full of excellent bonsai of many species. Most notable to me are his deciduous and broadleaf evergreens; some of which are the best of that style for the species. We maintain his full cascade Trachelospurmum asiaticum ‘Nana’, a semi-cascade Prunus mume ‘Hibai’, and a few of his trees cycle in and out of our care frequently. This magnolia is now “finished” with the main work Fujikawa-san envisioned accomplishing. Endo-san called “dibs” on the tree shortly after styling last month and we delivered it last week. This yamakobushi will be of Kokufu quality in the coming years. The trip to deliver the magnolia along with a massive formal upright Pinus parviflora and shimpaku Bjorn styled was a special one. Endo-san’s collection had lived on the 4th story roof of his building for about 20 years. We were going to be some of the first bonsai afficionados to see the new ground level bonsai garden he built himself. After purchasing the adjoining property and having the house demolishing earlier this year, Endo-san finally had his dream garden to spread out his trees and save his knees……
Photo courtesy of Dario Mader
Endo-san has exhibited in the last 11 Kokufu-ten and every Taikan-ten. The view from his home on the shore of Lake Biwa (along with the bonsai of course) made me supremely envious. 
While there, we picked up a shimpaku that Fujikawa-san styled 16 years ago for a Kinbon article that Bjorn Bjorholm will now style this year for another Kinbon piece. I was asked to wire this Juniperus rigida. Here are a few of his bonsai that I was most taken by:
Excellent dwarf rose root-over-rock.
Back of rose.
Arguably the number one Parthenocissus tricuspidata around.
Very nice and very heavy Pinus parviflora back at home after a 5 year stay at Kouka-en.
Kifu size O-mee Sanzashi (Big Fruit Hawthorne)
Massive Acer palmatum ‘Arakawa’
Nice Sedum sieboldii kusamono.
Killer Chamaecyparis obtusa (one of many Kicho Bonsai Endo-san owns.
Photo courtesy of Dario Mader
Dario Mader, a current student of the Fujikawa International Bonsai School from Switzerland. His month of study is coming to an end. But, as with anyone who stays a while in Japan, Dario’s eyes are now opened a lot wider to what bonsai is and can be. More photos of this garden will be should be popping up in the German bonsai forums.
This was one of many business trips I’ve had the good fortune to go on. The “busy” season for bonsai professionals in Japan looms. I’ve yet to slow down any time of the year here. But, at least it will not be 110% humidity and 95 degrees here soon. Having grown up in Macon, Georgia and other parts of the South, Osaka seemed like no sweat (excuse the pun). Man was I wrong.
Thanks for reading. Upcoming posts will cover some Juniperus rigida stylings and a day trip to Koya-san.
The creation and refinement of satsuki azalea bonsai basically put Kouka-en on the bonsai map. Kouka-en means “Light Feeling of Flower Garden”. While we don’t currently have many azaleas now, many of the best satsuki bonsai in the world came through Kouka-en during the “Satsuki Boom”. The only satsuki here now are ones I’ve purchased in order to learn the ins and outs of creation and refinement. Bonsai gardens often evolve with the times (or perish) and this garden now tends to have about half conifers and half deciduous and broadleaf evergreens. I am by no means a satsuki expert. However, I’ve learned a few solid tips and tricks so far that are good to know. On a side note, there are two Kouka-en bonsai gardens in Osaka, Japan. One currently specializes in satsuki azaleas and was highlighted in a World of Bonsai Episode. The Kouka-en I study at is often referred to as Fujikawa Kouka-en. People always ask me about how my satsuki studies are going and finally figured out why.
All techniques presented below are what I learned under the instruction of Minoru Fujikawa, my sensei’s father. He discusses the Satsuki Boom in an interview for the Bonsai Art of Japan Series HERE There are numerous ways to train, create, and style satsuki azaleas. Some of the best satsuki I’ve ever seen were under the care of Joe Harris while I was interning at Iseli Nursery in Boring, Oregon back in 2005. I’m not the only game in town; figured sharing a few super secret ninja tricks would be nice : ).
Last June, all of the satsuki I have were re-potted, defoliated, and wired. Ideally, all flower buds should be removed before defoliation and all the other stressors these plants endured. But, for the sake of instruction and enjoyment of the flowers, I carried out defoliation, branch removal, wiring, and repotting over a few days of work after the blooms faded. When defoliating satsuki, we remove 80-90% of the foliage. This will force the plants to flush again as well as produce adventitious branches everywhere. Leaving a lot of foliage (say half) may not shock the plant into the desired response and you could lose some limbs. Another good way to lose limbs is to leave satsuki fruit to mature. Removal of the forming fruit will prolong the life of your bonsai for sure.
All my satsuki were repotted into pure sieved kanuma with a larger particle size kanuma for the drainage layer.
There is nothing more nerve-wracking than having a former Kokufu judge and satsuki expert watching you wire…..
This year, the flower show was even better than last due to increased ramification and healthier plants.
As mentioned, the purpose of this post is to share a few super secret ninja techniques for satsuki azaleas. The first is a technique for slowly bending heavier branches and trunks. There are specialty tools such as jacks and benders commercially available, but this is an old-school way. Basically, you install a piece of rebar as an anchor point and secure it by jamming it into the soil if possible, binding it to the trunk with padding, or both. Make a single wire loop and attach to the rebar. 
Then take a long piece of wire and fold it in half. Put the U-shaped bend (middle of the wire) around the trunk at the bending point with some cushioning to protect the bark and twist the wire until it’s tight around the trunk. with the remaining wire, bridge the gap between the trunk and the wire loop connected to the rebar. Make another loop forming a “figure 8″ shape, then overlap the two loops. Make a “key” out of copper wire like in the center of the photo and twist the two loops together until they start winding onto the “key”. Twist until you get close to the desired bend, then wait a day or two and twist a little more. Using aluminium wire for the loops isn’t as harsh on the tree as copper for small trees. For a bigger satsuki, use heavy copper wire and a better bracing system. I know, it’s vague, but difficult to type instructions for this. Who doesn’t like a challenge? Here is a video showing the technique in action. Satsuki Trunk Bending!
The previous owner was definitely selling this tree for the flowers and not for a practicing bonsai hobbyist who knew what was up.
For this post, I also bought a new satsuki to play with that had a basic branch structure laid out, but had almost no fine branching work done.
All Rhododendron species are basal dominant; meaning they have more vigor naturally near the soil level and prefer to produce new shoots over sustaining older apical shoots. This is the case of pretty much everything we call a “shrub” or “bush” with a few exceptions. Apical dominance would be the other type when discussing woody plants. Apically dominant plant examples are trees that prefer to have a central leader like oaks and maples when young. I make mention of this characteristic of satsuki and other Rhododendrons because allowing the lower branches to get too strong or leaving new shoots near the base of a bonsai will weaken the apical branches.
This bonsai was not too pricey mainly because the lower section of trunk did not have good bends and a large old cut mark is still present. The original front became the back for my design. Styling consisted consisted of a mix of shearing, branch removal, and wiring. 
The second super secret ninja technique I’m sharing is the use of padding for your wire to protect the fragile bark. Neither of these techniques are new and in fact both are older than me. The lower section of this azalea had everything set pretty well. Th apex however, needed some work. 
As with any bonsai-related product, labels smothered in kanji characters always make the product work so much better.
Preparing a wire is a matter of tying off one end of your protective paper and then spiral-wrapping it evenly along. Tie off the other end or hold in place as you wire. Receipt paper for a cash register works as do paper towels. This particular product just looked cooler and made me feel special…. 
Nothing else is different about application or the like; this just gives you a little leeway while the wire does it’s work with a decreased risk of cutting in.
It’s not pretty, but it works. This azalea was wired about three months ago and I let the wire cut in on a few branches. Every branch wired using the padded wire had only minor dents or marks. 
Many of the others which had the same size wire applied without padding looked bad.
The finished product after a new front was chosen, unnecessary branches removed, and wiring. I have dubbed this tree “Quasimoto”. Removal of more branches is necessary (especially the second one on the left side).
After wire removal, the branch above with padded wire had minimal denting. The branch below had no protection. 
Thanks for reading.
This is the follow-up post to my other recent post Wisteria Bonsai. Nara is a city full of history and should not be overlooked when visiting Japan. The years of 710-794 are known as the Nara Period. In 768 the capitol of Japan became Nara and the Fuiwara clan had Kasuga Taisha Grand Shrine built. The grounds had been sacred to the Shinto faith for a very long time before and was likely a simple clearing in the ancient forest. The shrine gained great prominence during the Heian Period. I go no further with explanations as I have no business doing so. Official Site Wisteria flowers are a symbol of Kasuaga Taisha and adorn the family crest of the Fujiwara clan. After numerous questions and research, the most common symbolic meaning of wisteria is that of supplication or reverence (bowing flowers). I’m sure there are other meanings as well. Perhaps just saying they are beautiful and moving on is best. A few sources stated
wisteria was the first plant to ever be referenced in poetry. Different plants have risen and fallen from grace here with Wisteria surpassing Prunus mume as the most popular during the Heian Period. There are two types of wisteria commonly found Japan and for most of the garden world. Wisteria floribunda aka “Nodafuji” (native to Japan) and Wisteria sinensis aka “Yamafuji” (imported from China). My Japanese sources said there were two natives but I found no scientific literature to back that up. Milletia japonica is called Himefuji, but not related. Hence the danger of relying on common names. If you call the Eastern United States home, we have Wisteria frutescens. A cultivar called ‘Amythyst Falls’ seems very promising for use as bonsai stock. America also has the two invasive non-natives and a wonderful hybrid of the two called Wisteria x formosa that eats small pets and nearby trees. W. sinensis climbs counterclockwise while W. floribunda climbs clockwise. There are a few other species, but rare. Cultivars abound for the two commonly used Asian species and many are represented in my previous wisteria post and the bottom of this one. Wisteria have a symbiotic relationship with rhizobacteria so they can affix nitrogen. Feeding with a nitrogen rich fertilizer is not reccomended; especially when flowers are desired as nitrogen will promote vegetative growth. Young plants from seed may take years to develop short branches aka “spurs”. Allowing plants to become pot-bound helps. Another way is to provide mechanical stressors (my senior thesis) aka beating the crap out of the trunk to scare the plant into reproductive maturity. Popular styles are semi / full cascade or an informal upright style. Whatever shape you choose, the important thing is to give the racemes room to expand and fall. On to the pretty pictures right?
The approach path up to Kasuga Taisha is about a kilometer long and lined with about 3000 stone lanterns; one for each Kasuga Taisha subsidiary shrine. There are also plenty of “tame” Sitka deer 
which have probably never foraged for food in their life. All the ancient Cryptomeria japonica and wisteria vines in the primeval forest were truly amazing.
Only the lowest branches remain alive on this Cryptomeria. Likely the victim of lightning.
By far the largest single plant I've ever seen. I know, it doesn't come close to the one in California.....
Just inside the shrine, one of the two famous fujidana greets you.
Not massive, but with the historical preface, super cool. A point Bjorn Bjornholm often makes about Japanese gardens is that gaining intimate knowledge of a place via dedicated research then seeing it in person allows for a whole new level of appreciation. A flat rock is just a rock unless you learn it was the cornerstone of a Korean castle taken as a souvenir from a famous conquest. This point can also be applied to bonsai in my opinion. Some species and cultivated varieties take twice if not ten times as long to gain trunk girth or produce flowers / fruit. It’s a matter of appreciation for the time and effort put into a bonsai. An old formal upright Pinus parviflora is a good example. It may not look “real”, but a truly good one is still amazing with all the careful attention to detail, branch placement, and knowledge of just how rare it is.
This 23 meter tall cryptomeria is estimated to be over 1000 years old. It appeared in a picture scoll called Gongen-kenki of Kasuga Taisha in 1309.
The cryptomeria above overlooks the clearing at the center of the shrine. This area, called the “Apple Yard” was the place farmers and gatherers met to barter long before the current shrine was concieved.
The other famous fujidana, and my personal favorite, is in the back of the site. 
I could have spent the whole day wandering through the ancient forest surrounding Kasuaga Taisha’s main shrine. Shinto sites are often easy to spot from a distance (especially in small towns) as they actually have trees above 20 feet tall surrounding them. Places such as this have hundreds, sometimes thousands of acres protected from commercial logging indefinitely.
The Shin-en Bontanical Garden is an excellent place to visit almost year-round. The gift shop had a bunch of lady-slipper orchids so I quickly left before buying something and headed towards the back of the site for more wisteria immersion. Along the way, I passed this willow
and longed for some privacy and a shovel : ).
Shin-en has a number of ancient trees that blew over in a storm long ago named “The Reclining Dragons”. I have yet to meet an old Camphor tree I did not like. 
This bot gardens claim to fame is it’s Manyo Collection. A compilation called Man-yo-shu of 4,500 poems written by everyone from Emperors to peasants often references plants (1500/4500 poems). 
Many are no longer in widespread cultivation, but preserved here with great care. My favorite was this green flowering cherry.
Shin-en has over 20 types of wisteria species and cultivars. The fujidana (wisteria arbors) were often connected forming tunnels and garden rooms. 
Creative methods of display and support were around every corner. At one point I got lost and did not care; perhaps goal for every garden.
Thanks for reading and I hope Nara will be put on your list of things to see when you visit Japan. It’s great to read blogs, books, and magazines about this wonderful country. However, ask anyone who has been here what it’s like in person and they will likely smile, then have trouble pin-pointing exactly what makes the trip worth it.