Bonsai bit-by-bit

Bonsai, meaning ‘tray planting’ is a Japanese art form that uses cultivation techniques to produce in containers small trees that mimic the shape of real life trees. It is a tradition that dates back over a thousand years and is practised today by millions across the globe.

My affair with Bonsai is one of hate and love. I am a beast of city jungle. Growing up, the contact I had with nature was within the boundaries of our house backyard, occasional trips to the zoo and local vivarium. But one day, I discovered "bonsai", and became hooked to it – the prospect of being able to cultivate a "tree" inside an apartment was outworldish! I started to pay visits to bookstores and libraries to read (it was the 80s, no internet then) all about its cultivation: suitable trees, container types, maintenance, soil, anything that would make me a pundit... Well, so I thought. The truth is that I never managed to make a living bonsai stay alive, or give life to a new one. Yet after all my research and reading, and practical failures, I can claim, I know a thing or two about bonsai, hence I am writing this blog.

Like any other form of art, Bonsai’s primary purpose is contemplation for the viewer and a pleasant exercise of effort and ingenuity for the grower. But due to its huge popularity, many of them are cultivated today for commercial purposes.

A bonsai is created with a specimen of a cutting, seedling, or a small tree. They can be from nearly any perennial woody-stemmed tree or shrub species that produces true branches and can be cultivated to remain small through pot confinement with crown and root pruning. Some species are popular as bonsai material because they have characteristics, such as small leaves or needles, that make them appropriate for the compact visual scope of bonsai. The source specimen is shaped to be relatively small and to meet the aesthetic standards of bonsai, which emphasises not the entirety of grand sceneries but rather only the tree itself.

Bonsai was introduced in Japan from China by early Buddhist monks of the 7th century. By the 12th century they already appeared in painted scrolls of famous artists, such as, Ippen Shōnin Eden. At the apogee of Ukiyo-e (woodblock) prints (15th ~ 16th century), bonsai became known through this media to a broad Japanese population, reaching a high level of expertise in this period. After 1800, bonsai began to move from being the esoteric practice of a few specialists to becoming a widely popular art form and hobby. The Meiji Emperor (1852 to 1912) encouraged interest in bonsai, which broadened its importance and appeal to his government’s professional staff. New books, magazines, and public exhibitions made bonsai more accessible to the populace. An artistic bonsai concours was held in Tokyo in 1892, followed by publication of a three-volume commemorative picture book.

Following World War II, several trends made the Japanese tradition of bonsai increasingly accessible to Western and world audiences. Bonsai evolved taking today different shapes and forms, yet the passion and “Zen patience” (which is probably what I lacked, hence my failures!) applied to its cultivation make no distinction between language, skin colour, faith, and social level.