Jerome Kellerhals guides you step by step through the styles of bonsai.
Category: Styles
Sankan-gi | Triple trunk style
Triple trunk style – This has three, five, or seven trunks of different trunk diameters growing from a single root ball. If there are three trunks of differing diameters, it is referred to as a […]
Yose-Ue | Forest/group style
Forest/group style – We can see this as a small forest in a flat pot. It should create the illusion of a miniature version of a forest. The distances between the trees should be different. Do […]
Moyogi | Informal upright style
Informal upright style -The trunk is slightly bent and tapers toward the top. The top of the tree is straight above the base of the trunk. The branches are distributed asymmetrically. The lower branches must […]
Chokkan | Formal upright style
Formal upright style – The trunk is straight and tapers toward the top. The branches of the bonsai must gradually become shorter and thinner from the bottom to the top, be horizontal compared with the […]
Sabamiki | Split trunk style
Split trunk style – Usually has the base of its trunk split or hollowed out. In nature this style is usually found in very old trees. In bonsai, Sabamiki can add a feeling of great […]
Bunjin-gi | Literati style
Literati style – This strange style is characterized by a thin slender trunk with only a few branches. The lower branches are often dead and barren, but the trunk itself is full of great character. […]
Seki-joju | Root-over-rock style
Root-over-rock style -A rock planting where the roots grow over the rock and disappear into the ground. In nature, trees are forced into all kinds of shapes under the influences of weather, wind and placement. […]
Ikadabuki | Raft style
Raft style – This represents a fallen tree, with the trunk buried under the soil. The branches at the top of the fallen tree grow straight upwards as trunks. In nature, trees are forced into […]
Kabudachi | Clump style
Clump style – This is basically the same as the double-trunk style (Sokan). However, we only refer to a multi-trunk style if three or more trunks are growing out of the ground from a single […]
Ishitsuki | Rock-clinging style
Rock-clinging style – A planting where the tree grows on a rock, or the roots cling in a small rock crevice where there is a little soil. One of the tree shapes that is planted […]
Sharimiki | Driftwood style
Driftwood style – A tree where the trunk is mostly deadwood, more commonly seen on junipers and yews where the trunk is primarily deadwood with one or two live veins running up to the remaining […]
Netsuranari | Sinuous-root style
Sinuous-root style – Resembling the Yose-Ue style, but all the trunks are connected by a single root system. It consists of a primary tree with multiple stems, each of which has emerged from various points […]
Kengai | Cascade style
Cascade style – In nature, this tree grows on a rock face and, because of snow and wind, it first grows downwards and then upwards again. In Kengai the leaves grow lower than the pot. […]
Hokidachi | Broom style
Broom style – Trees in this style have an upright trunk with branches and foliage radiating outwards in the shape of a Japanese fan or an umbrella. In nature, trees are forced into all kinds […]
Shohin
Miniature trees – Bonsai are classified in sizes. The most commonly known are Mame (5–15 cm / 2–6 inch), Shohin (13–20 cm / 5–8 inch), Chiu (41–91 cm /16–36 inch) and Dai (76–122 cm / […]
Shakan | Slanting style
Slanting style – In nature, a tree can lean to one side when there is a prevailing wind direction, or when a tree is standing in the shade and growing towards the light. In the […]
Tanuki | Artificial driftwood style
Artificial driftwood style – Tanuki is not so much a style, more a technique for making bonsai look older than they are. A live plant is joined to a piece of driftwood. Sharimiki is the […]
Sokan | Double-trunk style
Double-trunk style – A double trunk occurs if a tree develops two trunks out of a single root base. The junction of the trunks at the base must be sharply “V”-shaped and not “U”-shaped. One […]
Fukinagashi | Windswept style
Windswept style – You should imagine this as a tree through which wind is blowing at that very moment. The main branches stay in position; only the thin branches and leaves position themselves according to […]
Han-kengai | Half-cascade style
Half-cascade style – In nature, this tree grows on a rock face and, because of snow and wind, it first grows downwards and then upwards again. In Kengai the leaves grow lower than the pot. […]
Bankan | Coiled style
Coiled style – This twisted style is probably the closest to what came from China; often called the ‘dragon style’ (or ‘green dragon’) it is a favorite in Chinese bonsai and is an auspicious presence […]
Neagari | Exposed-root style
Exposed-root style – The roots of the neagari emerge above the surface of the soil. These uncovered roots give the impression that the tree has been exposed to soil erosion for many years. In nature, […]
Gokan | Five/seven-trunk style
Five/seven-trunk style – This has a multitude of trunks, usually of an odd number. Gokan (five trunks) and Nanakan (seven trunks) refer to those bonsai with distinct, countable trunks, each of which has a stronger […]
