The History of Bonsai
Bonsai Tree Origin
Bonsai is a centuries-old art form that began in China more than two thousand years ago. But its relevance to modern civilization is still the same as it was back then. Do you want to know more? Keep reading because, in this article, we will discuss the history of bonsai, its origin, and the bonsai hobby today.
It is not a coincidence that the artistic plant cultivation of bonsai originated in China. The Chinese people have long adored the flowers and plants that naturally cover their land.
Gardening has long been a popular pastime in China. Miniature versions of shrubs and trees that were traditionally used to improve the design of outdoor spaces. However, the Chinese public was so enamored with miniaturization as a separate scientific discipline. They began to believe that miniature objects possessed supernatural abilities of their own.
Prince Zhang Huai tomb mural (706 AD), with miniature trees, is believed to be a Bonsai. Source: Ritsumeikan University
People worldwide have always felt a connection to the natural environment. They all feel the urge to express this connection through the medium of art. Poetry, music, sculpture, and visual art are only a few examples.
With today’s modern technology, having empathy for the natural world around us is even more important. It allows us to relax and destress. Bonsai, an ancient method practiced for generations, can be used to attain this goal. This art is a symbol of paying homage to nature’s most wonderful works of beauty.
The fundamentals of bonsai are simple to grasp and considerably easier to apply. The fact that most of us keep plants in containers indoors and outdoors is nothing new. We maintain our hedges and bushes manicured. We even sculpt some of our plants into the shapes of various birds and animals. So there’s almost nothing new to say about this hobby!
The only thing that separates bonsai from other types of horticulture is the development of a miniature image of a larger tree. And the preservation of that image in a shallow container or pot. This is the sole differentiating feature of a bonsai tree. The main difference between it and other types of art is that the medium we deal with is alive. And constantly evolving, growing, and changing. This is what distinguishes it.
Bonsai requires no special ideologies or potions, nor does it necessitate a college degree. This project requires only a plant or tree, a container, a few simple tools, and a few years of patience. Do you believe you can pull it off? If yes, then let’s go!
Read this complete lesson and put the principles to the test yourself. Don’t worry if you end up cutting down some trees; we’ve all been there. I myself, killed trees on the way and that made me sad but I learned from it. It’s all part of the process that is what bonsai is all about.
What exactly is bonsai?
Bonsai is a Japanese term that translates literally as “tree-in-a-pot.” This is a fairly broad concept that has to be defined further. It may be easier to identify what bonsai isn’t than what it is. A bonsai is neither a dwarf variety nor a miraculously smaller counterpart of a full-sized tree.
Although keeping the roots contained in a pot aids mobility and allows for the creation of a unified composition, this is neither what makes a bonsai modest and lovely nor why it is done. Only the owner’s commitment to the plant’s daily care, as well as the owner’s aesthetic sense and artistic ability, can decide the plant’s eventual size, shape, and appeal.
Bonsai “Akirafutokoro Prince” (706 AD). Source: Ritsumeikan University.
No one knows who first thought of molding trees in pots to look like their full-sized counterparts, but the notion has been around for a long time. There is unequivocal evidence that the Chinese practiced this more than two thousand years ago. Paintings from that era depict shallow pots with trees and rocks, creating the appearance of tiny landscapes. Nonetheless, the Japanese were the first to embrace, develop, and perfect the practice.
Throughout history, the Chinese have considerably impacted several parts of Japanese society and art. For example, in Japanese and Chinese scripts, the term “bonsai” is written with the same characters. However, the two cultures have grown increasingly distant during the previous few centuries. As a result, the bulk of bonsai, also known as penjing, is manufactured in China, most of which incorporate landscape aspects.
Bonsai tree displays may be innovative, replicating how trees seem in their natural settings.
Penjing in root-over-rock style on display at the Chinese Penjing Collection of the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum in Washington, D.C.
The Japanese have streamlined and reduced the image of bonsai to its core components. They have polished the artistic and horticultural components of bonsai culture to such an extent that they have set practically unachievable standards for the rest of the world to meet. Various time-honored styles have been classified based on the positions of the trunks.
They have refined the proper positioning of branches, tree proportions, trunk shape, and the relationship between the plant and its container. All of these factors of the plant’s growth have been considered.
One of the earliest bonsai shows was held in Japan in 1900s
Japan hosted some of the world’s first and most prominent bonsai events in the early 1900s. These events were very important in the history of bonsai. For the first time, the general public and wealthy art collectors came together to recognize the artistic value of the bonsai, resulting in a rapid increase in the number of professional growers.
Then, in the 1920s, a massive earthquake destroyed a large portion of the primary bonsai growing area on the island of Hokkaido. Consequently, a large number of trees, as well as many of the country’s most competent practitioners, were destroyed. A small handful of persistent survivors founded a bonsai hamlet near Omiya, on the outskirts of Tokyo. They resumed nurturing the exquisite little trees with the tenacity of the Japanese.
The Omiya Bonsai Art Museum, Saitama. Typically, between sixty and seventy bonsai are displayed in the bonsai garden. Some bonsai can be viewed from all sides, allowing you to appreciate their unique front and back views. Chiyo-no-matsu (Japanese five-needle pine), one of the largest bonsai in this museum, is placed on a turntable that optimizes the exposure of different parts of the tree to the sun. In addition to the Azumaya in the center of the gardens and the Terrace on the second floor of the main building, you can also take in a view of the surrounding area from Azumaya.
Omiya is on the verge of being swallowed by the suburban expansion that characterizes Tokyo. However, several of the original nurseries are still in existence, and descendants of the original owners run the bulk of them. Other countries in the Far East Asia have bonsai-related cultural customs dating back hundreds of years. Bonsai artists of remarkable skills can be found in a variety of nations, including, among others, Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, and Indonesia. These countries have also developed distinct national styles.
The differences in climate between various countries are virtually always the cause of the differences in aesthetics between them. Trees are a valuable resource for local artists, and each temperature zone has its own set of trees. The different development patterns, individual reactions to training tactics, and, of course, the natural shapes that are unique to each species are all factors that influence the ultimate image that a grower might create.
Other factors that influence the formation of national or regional styles include religion, cultural inheritance in the form of art, economic situations, and social organization. It’s worth noting that countries with a typically high quality of living tend to have larger, more lush, and more elegant bonsai than those with a lower standard of living. Bonsai tend to be more understated in countries where most of the working population spends most of its waking hours at work.
Bonsai is a hobby that anybody can enjoy, regardless of money or free time. However, it necessitates a financial investment and a major time and energy commitment.
The art of bonsai is not a static one. Despite the traditional technique’s somewhat severe requirements, there is a significant amount of creative possibilities open to the innovative artist with a green thumb. New hobbyists and artists are gradually replacing the old ways as time passes, and as new methods are discovered, our bonsai community will be able to achieve previously unattainable things. As a result, a variety of new styles and techniques have gained attraction.
One constant, though, is the satisfaction that comes from caring and growing your own bonsai masterpiece as a living work of art. This feeling of excitement and thrill will not go away.
How is Bonsai hobby doing now?
Throughout the 18th century in Europe, trees were grown in containers and subsequently molded into various shapes; however, there is scant evidence that this was done for ornamental purposes. It was more likely to have a practical origin, as itinerant merchants could more easily transport preferred fruit plants from house to house.
In the 19th century, a Paris exhibition was the first held in Europe, where Europeans were exposed to Japanese and Chinese bonsai. Soon after, the little trees were discovered in London, and before World War I, bonsai auctions displaying specially imported specimens were conducted in that city, according to historical reports.
Valentin Brose actively travels to various countries in Europe to hold workshops and demonstrations.
Businesspeople and diplomats traveling to and from the East would occasionally carry bonsai trees back with them. Hinoki Cypresses (Chamaecyparis obtusa) are still found in the United States. These trees were part of a historic collection brought back to the United States by Larz Anderson, a former US ambassador to Japan. Some of the bonsai in this collection have a recorded history dating back to the early 1800s, and they are in excellent shape despite their age.
Compact Hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Chabo-hiba’). After serving as ambassador to Japan, the Honorable Larz Anderson brought back a collection of Japanese dwarf trees that would become known as the Larz Anderson Collection at the Arnold Arboretum. In April 1937, Isabel Anderson gave the Arnold Arboretum 30 bonsai plants and the money to construct a shade house to display them in honor of her late husband. Due to Isabel’s passing in 1949, the rest of the Anderson bonsai were donated to the Arboretum.
Bonsai did not become widely popular until after World War II when it had already established itself as an art form in Japan. When the soldiers returned home, they brought not only memories but also, in some cases, genuine examples of these fascinating little trees. People progressively learned more about them, such as how to keep them in good form, shape and train them, and, most crucially, make them from scratch. This enabled them to provide better care and training for their trees.
The information was primarily transmitted in the United States through the Japanese diaspora group that had landed in California. One of them was John Yoshio Naka, who became so well-known in both the United States and Japan that he received one of the Emperor’s highest honors for his contributions to preserving and promoting the admired art of bonsai. This prize was granted to John Yoshio Naka for his services in protecting and promoting bonsai art.
John Yoshio Naka was an American horticulturist, teacher, author, and master bonsai cultivator.
By the 1970s, most Western countries had flourishing bonsai clubs, which had been founded by groups of enthusiasts who had begun to band together. Enterprising nurseries were the first to import trees from Japan. They were not only significantly more expensive than they are today, but they were also often of more outstanding quality. Because bonsai are now mass-produced in such large quantities for export, prices have fallen, and tragically, so has the general quality of the trees.
Distinctive trees, which were previously exported by Japanese owners who were ecstatic that their work had been recognized in the West, are now exclusively available to devoted collectors in the United States. Bonsai enthusiasts from the Western hemisphere who want to own a truly spectacular specimen bonsai tree have two options: grow their own or purchase the ones cultivated here.
Because so much of Japanese culture is built on repetition and conservatism, the Japanese have developed a deep understanding of trees, including their function and the most effective ways of training them. However, these formal qualities have also served to hinder experimentation, which is unfortunate because they are so intriguing.
On the other hand, Western bonsai communities have a propensity to foster advancement: it is explicitly encouraged to set your own rules and do your own thing. This contrasts with Eastern traditions, which discourage expansion. When such independence is imaginatively applied to the art of bonsai, fascinating breakthroughs have much the potential to occur. It is possible that in the future, Western bonsai masters will inspire Japanese bonsai masters to push the artistic boundaries of their work.
The bonsai pastime is increasingly popular in many nations throughout the world. In many countries nowadays, mass-produced bonsai are sold in supermarkets and florist stores. On both the national and international levels, organizations such as clubs and associations organize well-attended and well-known events and exhibitions.
Moreover, there are an increasing number of specialized nurseries where one can buy trees, pots, tools, soil, and anything else an enthusiast could want for half the price they would have had to pay 20 years ago.
Nothing beats the feeling of fulfillment that results from growing your bonsai, no matter how low the price of ready-made bonsai may fall to suit the market. Working with nature to create something of great beauty profoundly affects one’s spirit, whether one starts with a seedling or a centuries-old tree salvaged from a long-forgotten garden. So utilize it to the best extent possible.
