Category: Masterclass

The last Giant

Taking a mega juniper from raw material to masterpiece bonsai
Mr Hirokatsu Iura and his son Takashi Iura took quite a risk in creating a marvellous juniper of amazing proportions.

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Masterclass

At your own risk

Italian, Alessandro Bonardo, now 24, has been an apprentice under Mr Kimura for 6 years and in May 2022, it was formally announced that he had graduated. Within the garden he is affectionately known as Aless. Mr Kimura prepared a tree, an unusually shaped Miyajima white pine for this demo, a transformation to celebrate his graduation

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Masterclass

The crazy rock

Something completely different: Mauro Stemberger creates the rock pine

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Time for change

Restyling a famous tree into something new is difficult work and an artist must stake their reputation on it

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A Pine Puzzle

Scots pine, Pinus sylvestris, is one of the most popular pine varieties and one of the most commonly styled tree.

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Father and Son

The Sanriku junipers: Father and Son Omachi work on yamadori trees

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THE GIANT LOOP

Mauro Stemberger styles a massive Scots pine with a loop shaped trunk

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The rough diamond

Bjorn Bjorholm works on a juniper with hidden qualities

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Rock Classics

Masahiko Kimura's famous rock plantings.

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Masterclass

Is this a bonsai?

Ken Fujiwara works on a massive black pine

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Wake up, Sleeping dragon

Mario Komsta works on a yamadori pine, Pinus sylvestris.

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Will that kill it?

The ultimate root correction work of Masahiko Kimura

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Out of the box

The pine called 'Okou no kyosho' is brought back into shape by Master Kunio Kobayashi

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Wired up?

Improving your wiring skills with Chiharu Imai

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Man of the Mountains

Mauro Stemberger works on a yamadori pine

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The ‘Mugo’ team

The mugo pine is an extraordinary example of a yamadori, an impressive trunk with some natural shari and lots of compacted branches on top. A real challenge for Matt and Tyler

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Can Kimura dance with a shari?

Masahiko Kimura rearranges the foliage around a dancing shari Exploring the artistic sensitivity of Mr Kimura, we take a look at the material he will work on. The transformation is not tremendously dramatic, however the…...

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No bonsai stays the same

Working on a very ancient and treasured juniper, Chiharu Imai realises that no bonsai stays the same and so he respectfully gives the tree a new shape for the future.

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Masterclass

Can it grow upside down?

To get the best results Masahiko Kimura flips a juniper upside down Just turn it upside down, a brilliant idea, which for many would be an impossible option; not so for Masahiko Kimura Another upside…...

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No beating about the bush

A very bushy juniper for Mauro Stemberger to style It was January 2020 when I arrived at the small city of Marostica at the foot of the Italian Alps for a demo with Mauro Stemberger…....

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Amigos of the tejos

How to transform a ‘pig’ of a tree into a breathtaking cascade Kevin Willson had a few years stay in sunny Alicante, Spain, where marvellous material can be found. Dug from the surrounding mountains are…...

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The final test

Andrei Bessonov’s final work as an apprentice to Master Kimura After six years of apprenticeship under Mr Kimura, this is the ‘final test’ for Andrei, with a tree that was obtained specifically for this purpose…....

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Is it a gamble?

Masahiko Kimura is challenged by a huge yew. In a corner of Masahiko Kimura’s bonsai nursery is a yew planted in the ground. The trunk is slender and of a feminine appearance. The top section…...

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The survivor

Rebirth of a juniper that survived the Tohoku earthquake The Sanriku Coast is a dramatic, rocky shoreline with countless bays, cliffs and coves that stretches for over 300 kilometres along the Pacific Coast from just…...

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Too thick to bend?

Manuel Germade deals with a tough case — a Buxus with unbendable branches. Working on a tree that’s long, slender, with a fantastic curling trunk seems like perfect material. But there is just one downside,…...

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Two Masters, one pine

Marco Invernizzi reworks a very old mugo pine, which has a story to tell. Marco Invernizzi fell in love with the remarkable shapes of this Italian mugo pine (Pinus mugo). Although already touched by another…...

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Sweat and tears

Ryan Neil vs huge garden tree This bulky juniper (Juniperus chinensis) was originally meant to end up in a Japanese garden. Could it be made into a bonsai? Its massive proportions indicated that it would…...

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Masterclass

Can it be opened ?

Untangling the dense foliage canopy of a sabina juniper Valentin Brose, former apprentice of Kunio Kobayashi, is a refined artist. The sabina juniper has such a dense canopy that all is hidden away from the…...

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French curves

With almost two branches only, Mauro Stembergercreates one of his best pines Mauro Stemberger’s very full agenda allowed just a tiny opening to work on one of his favourite trees, so he teamed up with…...

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Did it snap?

Enrico Savini twists, bends and turns a sabina into a graceful cascade Enrico’s garden, close to Bologna, Italy, is where he meticulously works on all kinds of ingenious techniques. With these techniques his trees are…...

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