Japanese Arts

Bonsai

The entrance to the Bonsai Garden at Matthaei Botanical Gardens, Ann Arbor.

Many botanical gardens and other types of gardens where I have visited have a section devoted to bonsai, often displaying bonsai trees that have been created by members of local bonsai clubs or associations. I always enjoy seeing these miniature potted landscapes, which are often meant to look like dwarf versions of trees one might see in an actual landscape, especially in a rugged setting where the tree has been stressed and stunted. I've been reading a little bit about this art form, which originated in China as much as thousands of years ago, which was adapted to Japanese taste hundreds of years ago,  and which is now a popular hobby with Americans. Various groups of bonsai enthusiasts have developed their own styles and conventions for how to train the tiny trees to create an effect of miniature natural beauty. 

Reading about Bonsai

I am a frequent visitor to the bonsai garden at out local Botanical Gardens, but after my most recent visit, I felt curious about the art of training these dwarf trees to look like miniature landscapes. In the current LA Times, I read an article, "The Oaxacan-born cook caring for Yamaguchi Nursery’s historic bonsai collection," about Miguel Hernandez, who works as a cook in a diner in Los Angeles, but who also is a talented bonsai artist. The nursery was founded by a Japanese bonsai expert, George Yamaguchi, who died in 2005. In Japan, bonsai is an art form; there are contests for best works, and examples sell for large sums of money.

"But in the U.S., bonsai has always been the project of devoted hobbyists, and most of them are not Japanese. John Naka, known to enthusiasts as the godfather of American bonsai, eschewed competition and encouraged a focus on personal mastery. Along with Yamaguchi and other Japanese Americans such as Ben Oki and Harry Hirao, he traveled the country and taught anyone willing to put in the time and do the work."

Another article from 2022 in the New Yorker described the experiences of a young American, Ryan Neil, who managed to become an apprentice to a leading bonsai artist in Japan. Titled "The Beautiful, Brutal World of Bonsai," this article describes the six-year apprenticeship that included quite a bit of abuse that would be entirely unacceptable in any US educational or professional environment. In fact, such brutal treatment has become outside the norm in Japan as well, but still exists in a few areas.

Bonsai in other gardens

Bonsai at the Morikami Gardens near Boca Raton, Florida, 2020.

Bonsai for sale at the La Jolla, California, farmers' market, 2008.

Bonsai at the Huntington Gardens near LA, 2019.

Gardens and Tea Ceremonies

Korakuen Gardens, Tokyo, Japan, 2008.

Morikami Gardens, 2010.

I am fascinated by the beauty in many Japanese garden traditions. This is the Ihoan tea ceremony hut
 at the Kodaiji Temple in Kyoto. The formal garden traditions seem to me to echo the aesthetic of bonsai. (source)

The rituals of the tea ceremony include views of flower arrangements and often a walk through a
garden to arrive at the tea house, as suggested in this 19th century illustration. (source)
This tea party is included to be shared with Elizabeth and her Monday blog party.

Blog post and original photos © 2008-2023 mae sander

Other images as credited.