Japanese Art Bonsai

Arts related to bonsai.

Japanese art bonsai. The art of raising bonsai dwarfed potted trees has enabled the japanese to admire nature in an indoor setting. The japanese art of bonsai and its precursor the chinese art of penjing are rooted in the traditions of asian culture. The art of bonsai as developed in america is much freer in concept and style than japanese bonsai. The word bonsai is made up of 2 japanese characters or word phrases bon sai bon is the pot tray or container the sai is the tree or potted planting.

The art of growing bonsai trees originates in the chinese empire and like many related art forms the japanese copied and adapted it during the kamakura period. Bonsai on the other hand means pot plant and the art form involves raising living trees often over a period of several years. The art of bonsai as we know it traces back almost 2000 yrs. A term often used in bonsai art is wabi sabi defined as the japanese art of finding beauty in imperfection and profundity in nature of accepting the natural cycle of growth decay and death so it s clear then that this art form is only for the devoted but it can be very rewarding.

Many japanese and chinese forms of art are closely related to bonsai including suiseki stone appreciation ikebana flower arrangement nishikigoi koi fish japanese gardening and pottery. The word bonsai is a japanese expression that literally translates to tray planting the name may seem mundane but the true beauty and joy behind the idea of bonsai is found in trying and attempting to perfect the craft. Japan s connection with bonsai has become known around the world but it was the chinese that truly began developing the art of bonsai about 2 500 years ago. Tray planting pronounced 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.

Through the chinese dynasty s the word bonsai had many different names. Its two kanji bon 盆 meaning basin or tray and sai 裁 meaning planting literally translate to planted in a basin or container. The word bonsai equally applies to indoor and outdoor plants. Bonsai is the art of growing certain trees and shrubs of many varieties in small shallow containers.

During the chin dynasty or eastern jin 317 420 a d is when the term p en sai was written. 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. It uses age old principles to form ordinary trees into a perfect bonsai. While they are small bonsai are not actually different from the trees we see around us they are not miniature species.