Category: Shohin

Burst into life – The beauty of fresh leaves and flowers in spring

Here is an impression of the annual spring Shunga-ten, held in Osaka, Japan in the Hanahaku-kinen Park and organised by the Shohin Bonsai Association..

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Shohin

Little, but wild

Bringing out the best from material with many faults...

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Shohin

Creating shohin from faulty material

Use dull material to make impressive bonsai helped by grafting techniques. Here we show you how easy it can be. Pyracantha is in the Rosaceae family in the subset that contains Crataegus. It provides bright…...

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Shohin

Would you dare?

Chojubai, the dwarf variety of the Japanese quince, is cut in half.

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Shohin

Talking about the front . . .

Be inspired by Yukio as he makes the most out of material. This time we focus on Yew and Hinoki.

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Shohin

MINI BONSAI

The charm of the very, very small . . .

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Shohin

Going wild

It was a journey of more than 15 years that began with simple native garden material and resulted in a stunning small-sized bonsai. Morten Albek guides us through the many stages of the tree.

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Shohin

Winning touches

Morten Albek takes time to go through some of the shohin displays at the Nöelanders Trophy.

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Shohin

Prickly situation

Jean-Philippe Hoareau (JP) works with the prickly juniper The needle juniper or Juniperus rigida, is a far more rugged tree than the Chinese ‘shimpaku’. Its deadwood is spikier and so is its foliage, too. You…...

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Shohin

A clever operation

Getting rid of faults and improving good characteristics Hiroki Miura works on a Chinese quince. It’s too heavy at the top, so that it is not entirely suitable for becoming an interesting shohin. It has,…...

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Free

A different way

The bonsai passion of Torben Brenfeldt His first encounter with bonsai was not very positive, but Torben Brenfeldt was determined to master the art — in particular the art of shohin. What was your professional…...

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Shohin

The shohin geisha’s

The meaning and thought behind the display of shohin, or Seki-kazari Morten Albek takes time to go through some of the shohin displays from the World Bonsai Convention in Japan, held in spring of 2017…....

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Shohin

Regular fit

Alexsandre Escudero works on a tiny Itoigawa juniper An average juniper can be changed into something interesting, you just need to have a vision and opt for doing something different to make it less regular…....

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Shohin

The new big

Koji Hiramatsu works on a black pine Shohin and the slightly larger Kifu-sized bonsai have become ever more popular. This because they are much easier to enjoy and appreciate compared with the larger trees and…...

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Shohin

Turbo grower

The virtues of the fast-growing Potentilla

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Shohin

A powerhouse

Mike Lane gives an in-depth look at the venerable Sea Hibiscus An unassuming bonsai subject at first glance, the sea hibiscus appears to lack any of the desirable traits we pursue when looking for good…...

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Shohin

Fine and fiddly

Yukio Hirose guides you through the defoliation and wiring of maples and elms Yukio Hirose: ‘First I will introduce this tree, a trident maple (Acer buergerianum) that is halfway through its development. The reason for…...

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Shohin

Can you feel it?

Yukio Hirose creates the windswept style from a juniper Hirose Yukio is a shohin expert who shows you here how to create from simple material, a tree shaped by the wind The material that Yukio…...

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Shohin

Grow ’em yourself

Nobuichi Urushibata shows how you can use juniper cuttings In Japan, material for shohin is mostly grown from cuttings, seed or by air layering. The junipers shown here come from cuttings, which is one of…...

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Shohin

Only the little ones

The famous Gafu Ten, which only shows the best shohin from Japan… This content is for Free, Basic, Plus, and Premium members only.Log In Join Now...

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Shohin

Tiny love

The Gafu-ten exhibition brings together those who love these tiny bonsai The second part of a report of the 45th Gafu-ten held from 10 -12 January 2020. Every January it’s time for the major shohin […]

Shohin

Seas of Green

An exploration of Premna, one of bonsai’s biggest tropical stars Premna is a genus of tropical and sub-tropical species native to southeast Asia, Africa, and some islands of the Pacific Basin. It is extremely popular…...

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Shohin

No right or wrong way

Yukio Hirose looks at the many options for displaying medium-sized trees We asked Yukio Hirose (Yamato-en) to create a few different displays using kifu-sized trees (35 cm maximum height), using both deciduous and coniferous species…....

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Shohin

Little princess

Orihime and Maihime are two maple varieties with very tiny leaves With the discovery of a very small-leafed variety comes a new chapter for the maple bonsai. Mr Katsumi Komiya (Shofu-en) guides you through the…...

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Shohin

Think ahead

Get the most from your trees by making corrections for the future. Harumi Ishii (Ueharu-en) specialises in shohin of which refinement is a key element, so ugly cuts or disordered branch settings need to be…...

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Shohin

You can’t own it

The Gafu-ten exhibition brings together those who love these tiny bonsai Every year in January it is time for the major shohin exhibition in Japan, the Gafu-ten. Shohin lovers from all over the country and…...

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Technique

A distinctive taste

Making the best out of defective material Hiroki Miura (Miura Baikyu-en, Osaka) shows how to improve material that is defective. Two trees are thoroughly analysed and new possibilities are discovered. Hiroki then applies the correct…...

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Shohin

Acer deshojo

Simple adjustments can make a big difference Kenichi Suzuki (Onari-en) is very much into shohin-size bonsai. With simple material he demonstrates how you can change the design by adjusting the planting angle, or the pot…....

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Technique

Is crataegus ideal for shohin?

Harumi Ishii (Ueharu-En) will guide you through the techniques of creating shohin from hawthorn Material 1: Japanese hawthorn (large tree) All the branches are focused in the top section of the tree and there are…...

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Shohin

Show time

Spring is the time that many bonsai shows arrive on the scene. Here are some tips to get your trees prepared. With guidance of Hiroki Miura, Japanese popstar, Ayaka Yamamoto, learns how to prepare a…...

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