Bonsai: More than microcosmic ingenuity

Wandering through a fantastic forest, you can get lost in thought and experience a moment of transcendence. The greenness of the trees revitalizes both your mind and body and the flora makes you feel like you are Alice strolling around Wonderland. You would probably prefer not to leave such a magical wood, would you? And wouldn't you be amazed if it were possible to take the forest home with you? If so, an enchanting bonsai is what you need.

The word bonsai simply means "a plant in a tray or pot," originally derived from the Chinese word "penjing." Numerous Chinese tales and myths eulogize penjing by describing its characteristic root formations, varying trunks, elongated branches and colorful leaves. It is said that penjing culture dates back 1,000 years, and the Japanese adopted them during the Kamakura period (1185-1333 AD) due to the denomination of the Zen form of Buddhism. From then on, the Japanese professionally modified penjing and created new unique types of bonsai over time.

For the Japanese, bonsai represents the encapsulation of conviction compounded with Eastern philosophy that highlights the importance of harmony between man, soul and nature. Such a representation has a history of transformation: bonsai plants were cultivated particularly by Buddhist monks at monasteries as a symbolic object of meditation in the practice of Zen. Over time, prosperous Japanese aristocrats began to notice miniature bonsai and began to practice cultivating them both as a form of horticultural art and a symbol of prestige. The Japanese arts, including horticultural art, reached their peak in the 17th and 18th centuries, during which time, the practice of bonsai underwent a reformation to create a much higher awareness of nature through redesigns. Having various styles over time, bonsai trees became famous all around the world after the mid-19th century, and gained recognition as a pretty, refined artistic form of aesthetics. More importantly, cultivating bonsai is not the monopoly of the upper class anymore, it is rather a subject of interest for anyone as more of a symbol of cultural and ideational representation.

Bonsai trees and plants vary greatly in size and type. In terms of length, miniature specimens of bonsai may reach up to 6 inches tall, while small bonsai trees are up to 12 inches, and medium ones to 1-2 feet. As for the characteristics of bonsai trees, they are named according to the types of their roots, trunks, branches and leaves. The most famous versions are Moyogi (Informal Upright), Chokkan (Formal Upright), Shakan (Slanting), Han-Kengai (Semi-Cascade), Kengai (Cascade), Sharimiki (Driftwood), Hokidachi (Broom), Sekijoju (root-on-rock), Neagari (Exposed Roots) and Soju (Twin Trunk).

There are several bonsai arboreta in Japan today and Ōmiya Bonsai Village in the city of Saitama is one of them. The Bonsai Village has nearly 10 proprietary bonsai gardens. Since 2007, it has been growing hundreds of thousands of bonsai trees within about a 330,000-square-meter habitat. As for the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum, opened in 2010, it has both indoor and outdoor exhibits of bonsai history and art with a large number of specimens. Each year, the Bonsai Village holds the "Great Bonsai Festival" from May 3-5, during which the area swarms with many bonsai fanatics from all around Japan.

A rather famous bonsai, the Japanese white pine, was donated by a Japanese bonsai master, Masaru Yamaki, to the the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum at the U.S. National Arboretum in 1976. The white pine has been growing since 1625 and is the oldest specimen in the museum's Japanese Bonsai Collection, which means it is now a 400-year-old authentic bonsai. What's more, that tiny little pine survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Master Yamaki's home was only two miles away from where the bomb exploded. When Japan and the U.S. became allied and remained at peace for three decades, Yamaki gifted it to the U.S. The National Arboretum claims that "The Yamaki pine is truly a testament to peace and beauty, and we are fortunate to realize the miracle of its survival in 1945."

Arboriculture finds a deeper meaning in cultivating bonsai trees. A sacred cycle of patience and care persisting for an extended period of time to allow bonsai trees to come into leaf bit by bit. Bonsai is of such high importance for fanatics that they don't forget a step of cultivation: misting, fertilizing, re-potting, arranging the ideal sunlight, trimming and pruning the branches and preserving leaves and the trunk against diseases, are all carried out meticulously.

And last but not least, "There are no borders in bonsai. The dove of peace flies to a palace as to a humble house, to young as to old, to rich and poor. So does the spirit of bonsai," as a famous bonsai cultivator John Yoshio Naka once said.