Bonsai Tree In Japanese Culture

In garden centers bonsai trees are just as much a standard product as classic pansies.

Bonsai tree in japanese culture. Bonsai is a japanese art form which utilizes cultivation techniques to produce in containers small trees that mimic the shape and scale of full size trees. Is anyone into bonsai at all. The trunk is what gives the tree its stature poor trunks make poor bonsai. The far eastern gardener s art of extremely disciplined small held tree cultures in pots has become very common in recent years but also in the west.

Similar practices exist in other cultures including the chinese tradition of penzai or penjing from which the art originated and the miniature living landscapes of vietnamese hòn non bộ. The miniature styled shaped trees. Although the word bon sai is japanese the art it describes originated in the chinese empire. No wonder the level of japanese bonsai trees is considered by most to be unrivaled.

Originally only the elite of the society practiced pun tsai with native collected specimens and the trees where spread throughout china as luxurious gifts. The japanese tradition dates back over a thousand years. The most popular tree species in japan are pines junipers and maples. Japan is home to hundreds of bonsai nurseries that have been family businesses for centuries.

A bonsai is the tree and the pot. History and origin of bonsai. In this top 10 we list the most beautiful and famous japanese bonsai trees. In both china and japan aficionados appreciate the beauty of the tree s form its fascinating aspects the vitality and age of the tree that create these qualities and the technique of the grower that rivals this.

Thus far there is little difference between the japanese style bonsai and china s version of bonsai the planted tree penjing. In fact there is a particular bonsai tree which has become a part of the tokyo imperial palace collection a bonsai that is over 500 years old and has been passed on from one emperor to another for more than 300 years. The japanese bonsai culture is already centuries old and has its original roots in china. But moreover bonsai is seen as a natural treasure and this is the second reason why bonsai is important to japanese culture.

It generally refers to any aged miniature tree but bonsai is a true art form that is thousands of years old. The word japanese word bonsai translates into planted in a pot. As with any ancient art a strong use of symbolism accompanies these trees whether the grower is aware of it or not. Bonsai is a passion of mine that has taken up countless hrs of my time over the las.

By the year 700 ad the chinese had started the art of pun sai using special techniques to grow dwarf trees in containers. In japan one of the oldest and most famous bonsai trees is the 500 year old sandai shogun no matsu which has been designated as a national treasure. Bonsai have larger branches at the bottom of the tree the branches decrease in size as they get nearer the top of the tree. The japanese loanword bonsai has become an umbrella term in english attached to many.

In japan a national treasure must show either outstanding workmanship or a high value for world cultural history or an exceptional value for scholarship.