| Studying Bonsai in Japan a personal journey |
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| I think everyone who is involved in bonsai at a reasonably serious level, dreams of travelling to Japan. I know I had since I started bonsai age twelve but life and commitments had gotten in the way. This was until July 2006 at the Association of British Bonsai Artists event in Bolton. I had grown weary of all the bonsai dealers and professionals jostling for the limelight and for customers. This to me was not what bonsai was about. Bonsai in the UK is something that is pretty much self-taught, we did not have the Japanese immigrants that provided much of the bonsai knowledge in the US. This, I think, gave UK bonsai a certain freedom but also a lack of good basic techniques. |
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| I arrived in Japan on the 16th of January 2006 and after being met by Nakamizu san and an impromptu ride on the Shinkansen (bullet train) I was met by Urushibata san at Shizuoka station and was hurriedly taken to the nursery, Taisho en that would be my home for the next few months.Taisho en is a haven for bonsai enthusiasts. The Japan bonsai community hugely respect Urushibata and he also speaks a little English, thank goodness! I had tried to learn the language before departing but had managed little more than a few pleasantries. The facts that I was a student of urushibata would also open doors and also get me the occasional discount! The nursery is medium sized by Japanese standards, in a fairly urbanised area 6km from the city of Shizuoka, nestling under the spectacular vision of Fuji yama, which is visible from many places in the city. |
| His apprentice, Mario Komsta is already well known and is a huge talent. Urushibata sans son, Tiger, had spent two years under Masahiko Kimura, he too was a humble but unbelievably talented individual. Suzuki san completed the team at Taisho en. He was an enthusiast that lived locally and spent most mornings working at the nursery. What was to hit me most was the knowledge and ability of these individuals and others I would meet. These were very talented, enthusiastic and able people more than willing to pass this love of bonsai on. But there was no posturing or egos involved. Just good bonsai. |
| Taiso en - the shohin section |
| Unlike many Japanese nurseries, Taisho en did not specialise in a particular specie or size of bonsai. It is very well known for its top quality shohin sized trees, but also had many outstanding larger trees. It is a true nursery in the sense that it grows bonsai, not merely dealing in them. So my education there would be broad and full. Urushibata san also encouraged imagination and creativity, something that is rumoured to be lacking in Japanese bonsai. This certainly wasn’t the case. We would study each tree that we worked and would often discover several trees within, sketching as we went and Urushibata san would discuss the options with us. Sometimes happy with our work, sometimes not so, but that was good too, I was here to learn. |
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| Taisho en. Hundreds of shohin black pines |
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| Taisho en - the large tree area. |
| Language was always going to be the biggest drawback. Despite trying to study before I left, I would occasionally misunderstand and this would lead to frustration. But when I felt down I had encouragement from Debbie, my fiancée and friends back in the UK. From 8am on day one I started working on trees. The first tree I was given to style was a collected Japanese Red pine. This level of material is uncommon in the UK. I was fairly pleased with the results and my teacher only had to give a little correction. This is better than I can say for my second tree. I thought that wiring was one of my strengths, I regular taught wiring as part of my lectures in the UK. In Japan I found I had still much to learn. I was brought to earth with a bump! |
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| John hard at work on a large white pine. |
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| The trees I styled began to mount up. As soon as I had completed one, it was assessed and corrected and another one was started. Some were “so so”, some were good and a smaller number still were perfect and did not need modifying. Some even sold to customers shortly after I had finished them. As well as the day-to-day work on the nursery, the constant wiring, shaping, pruning and endless repotting, there were also extra curricular activities |
| Working on a large juniper |
| Many western students and enthusiasts had come to the nursery over the past few years. From the USA, Holland, Spain and now Chile and the UK. I was student number nine and the first from the UK. I was lucky to have company at the nursery. Rudolfo (Tato) was from Chile and had arrived ten days earlier. Despite having only been involved in bonsai for a few years, he already had talent and a great deal of knowledge and understanding. I wish that, like Tato, I had taken this path earlier in my studies had the opportunity had been available. I had half expected to spend my days doing menial tasks around the nursery and had almost accepted it. Any opportunity to learn would be embraced. However, Urushibata san was obsessed with bonsai. More so than anyone I have previously met. Instead of using us as slaves, Urushibata san spent a great deal of time, effort and some personal expense to help us understand, experience and digest as much as he could about bonsai. Not only was he a walking encyclopaedia on bonsai but also a very kind, caring person. And although we did a good deal of mundane tasks on the nursery such as watering, feeding and sifting soils, we also worked on trees and material that would ordinarily be out of our reach either in the UK or Chile. |
| Something struck me and there and then I realised that few British had ventured to Japan to study, in fact I could only think of two others that had gone to study as opposed to dealers on buying trips. I made my mind up that I had to go. I had a job that I could take a break from. I was in the enviable position of having many friends in the bonsai community and a number of bonsai groups that I had taught at who would help me in realising my dream. I could not justify a lengthy apprenticeship and I did not want to go merely for a holiday and be just “see” bonsai, to tour a few collections, an exhibition and gardens. I wanted to experience and absorb it. Thankfully through Yoshihiro Nakamizu sans Bonsai Japan network, it is now possible for foreign students to travel to Japan to study. In fact, due to the lack of Japanese apprentices, it is quite simple now to go to work at a nursery. The course lasts around 3 months, this is the length of time you can spend in Japan as a UK citizen without a visa. The bonsai school is held at Nobuichi Urushibata sans Taisho En nursery in Shizuoka. When I booked the course, I had no idea of Urushibata san. But through the pages of magazines and the Internet I was to learn what a remarkable and important person he was. My excitement and intrepidation was growing! |
| So just six months after I had made my decision to go, I was on the plane to Japan. I had no idea what to expect. Despite my 20 years in bonsai, I had left any ego if I had one firmly in the UK and was prepared to study as a beginner. To re-learn techniques and principles and hoping to un-learn any bad habits that I may have picked up along the way. I am a strong believer in good technique applied with honesty. |
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| john and fuji |