Bonsai Today

Online magazine for Bonsai lovers

carving machine

Case History

Revisiting famous bonsai creations

Articles have long been a way of recording the dramatic transformation of trees, showcasing the skills of professionals and giving an insight into the process of bonsai creation ...


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Masterclass

Father and Son

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


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Masterclass

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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Styling

Intimidated by its age

François Jeker styles a venerable 500-year-old Buxus ‘When about to style an impressive old Buxus like this, you are so intimidated that you approach it with trembling hands . . . Over the years, though, I have developed three assets in the bonsai field: imagination for the future design of…...


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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 Hirose has prepared for us is a juniper that, although it has been in a…...


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Technique

Between life and death

Carving juniper deadwood with Master Kunihiko Kanemitsu Kunihiko Kanemitsu, of the Okayama City Kanemitsu Bonsai Studio, presents a dramatic contrast between life and death within the confines of a pot. Natural raw material is almost non-existent now. Even field or container grown trees are harder to come by, like juniper,…...


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Styling

Too obvious?

A semi-cascade for this oak was so logical René Alber: ‘This huge, but compact cork oak (Quercus suber) is ready for styling. The trunk is massive, has a wonderful curving movement and a fantastic corky bark. With these excellent characteristics an impressive bonsai can be created’The cork oak was collected…...


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Case History

An old friend

Update: Amigos of the tejos A small peek back at a tree created in 2010 by Kevin Willson. During the XX Trophy, held in February 2019, we came across an old friend, a yew styled by Kevin Willson. The tree had gone through an amazing transformation and was one of…...


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Report

Gnarly Legacy

Elandan, a world of rock, wood, and bonsai by Dan Robinson ‘A beautifully groomed tree in the prime of its life doesn’t tell me much of a story. I want my trees to look profoundly old, but still hanging in there,’ says Dan Robinson, who, at a youthful 80 years…...


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Masterclass

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 yews, junipers and olives — all Mediterranean trees that require a different approach from the…...


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Styling

On the scrapheap?

Harry Harrington recovers a crab apple (Malus sylvestris) raft bonsai with a new design. I think many of us, as bonsai enthusiasts, will be familiar with the phrase ‘a bonsai is never finished’. However, I suspect that some people do not necessarily understand exactly what that means. Some bonsai can…...


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Technique

Don’t carve, but sculpt

Learn how to create natural deadwood with the methods of Andrés Bicocca The difficulty that a defect poses for some is, for me, an infinite possibility of creation. Many times it is used to cover some defect of the trees with branches or foliage; parts that have not been worked,…...


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Technique

Is it natural? (2)

Harry Harrington’s helps you to create and use deadwood features on deciduous and broadleaf bonsai As discussed in part one my favoured approach to creating deciduous and broadleaf deadwood is one originally pioneered by UK bonsai artist, Kevin Willson. The deadwood is given a blackened hollow core surrounded by a…...


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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 eye. Valentin knows what is needed to open it up and show off its qualities…...


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Workshop

Wild from the garden

Garden material can be an interesting source for bonsai. It can also be very challenging because it was not really grown for the purpose. Bruno Wijman checks out a garden yew. The yew (Taxus baccata) to which Bruno is going to give a whole new style, originated from a private…...


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Styling

His father’s voice

Isao Omachi’s creates the bonsai his father envisioned Solving the problem with a new styling on a Juniper by turning the tree upside down using and making the most of the twist in the trunk with root grafting. Isao Omachi’s most well-known tree has a long and deep history, starting…...


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Styling

Just cut all the branches?

How to deal with upward-growing branches on a pine Impossible material with all its branches growing upwards becomes a fine bonsai. Toshio Ogawa notes the superb movement of the lower trunk and solves the problem of branches that are upward reaching. A red pine with no lower branches and an…...


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Tree guide

Punica granatum

Nearly Two Decades in the Life of a Pomegranate HISTORICAL PROFILE LONGEVITY & BEAUTY OF THE POMEGRANATE Many bonsai artists avoid pomegranates because of concerns over the longevity of the tree. Contrary to the beliefs of misinformed bonsai practitioners, pomegranates are long-lived; some specimens at Versailles have survived for two

Technique

Heavy bending

How to bend thick branches Sometimes wire is simply not enough to bend the branch in the desired position. Here we sum up the proper techniques to make things bend smoothly. Lower a branch by pulling a guy wire Even though you wire it from the base, if a branch…...


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Masterclass

Hungry to learn

Salvatore Liporace reworks one of his finest bonsai. The first styling of this Juniperus chinensis ‘Sargenti’ has a long history which goes back 20 years when its top was 40 cm higher. Gradually it was pulled down with guy wires to create a more compact tree. The amazing spiralling trunk…...


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Masterclass

On the edge

Creative genius, Ryan Neil, turns bonsai upside down You can give Ryan Neil almost any kind of material to work on and he will create something special from it. Here Ryan is confronted by an extremely chunky yew that appears to have only faults. Ryan’s creative eye soon sees possibilities…...


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Masterclass

Graphic designer goes bonsai

A graphics designer becomes a bonsai Master, which, in short, is the story of Naoki Maeoka. Having graduated from the Kouka-en nursery, he now finds his way in world of international bonsai Naoki Maeoka (46) isn’t loud and outgoing, even for a Japanese. He is very quiet and super modest,…...


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Masterclass

Good on all sides

Dominique Bosch styles a sabina juniper Dominique Bosch, an upcoming Dutch bonsai artist, has been studying under Masters like Hotsumi Terakawa, Salvatore Liporace and Taiga Urushibata of the Taisho-En in Japan. In 2017 he was one of the demonstrating guests of the 4th Zhongguo Penjing Exhibition in China. Dominique has…...


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