About yamadori. And other Japanese terms tossed around here

[Adair M]

I think the term yamadori implies that the tree is old. As in really old. Say, 100 years or more old.

Interestingly enough, I happen to own a JBP, about 100 years old, that was collected as a seedling in Japan. I wouldn’t call it yamadori. The fellow that collected it would go out into the woods each year and collect young seedlings, and bring them home and pot them. Eventually sell them as bonsai. Boon bought a dozen or so 25 years ago and brought them to the US. I got mine from another of his students.

 

[Timbo]

I think i'm in that "i don't care" category. I just say I collected some trees. Or that has a nice trunk/roots. I'm american so I tend to speak English.
That being said, nice nebari on your yamadori! @M. Frary

 

[Timbo]

I think i'm in that "i don't care" category. I just say I collected some trees. Or that has a nice trunk/roots. I'm american so I tend to speak English.
That being said, nice nebari on your yamadori Bonsai! @M. Frary

I dunno how i did that but i can't seem to delete this

 

[Potawatomi13]

Even in wild areas, the unintentional hand of man can create some interesting material. An ethical question. If I styled these and entered them in a prestigious show with the goal of winning prizes and acclaim. Or I put them up for sale at prices comparable to true Yamadori people have hiked to and collected from rock pockets. Could I call these true wild Yamadori?

Wellllllllll---Perhaps wild collected? Believe M.Frary had best accurate definition true "from the mountain"(from the desert?)trees.

Come on Mike, terms like "mallsai" and "yardadori" or "urbanadori" are fun

Not funjust ignorantly stupid! Somehow attempts to put undeservedly into same group as genuine wild area Yamadori tree.

Yamadori implies that the tree is old. As in really old. Say, 100 years or more old.

As stated Yamadori is term of greatest respect for naturally aged tree. Should be treated as such.

 

[Adair M]

Even in wild areas, the unintentional hand of man can create some interesting material. An ethical question. If I styled these and entered them in a prestigious show with the goal of winning prizes and acclaim. Or I put them up for sale at prices comparable to true Yamadori people have hiked to and collected from rock pockets. Could I call these true wild Yamadori?

It doesn’t matter what you call them, or how they are created. Good trees are good trees. You can put them up for sale at whatever price you choose. The buyers will choose whether to buy them for that price, or not.

However, knowledgeable bonsai people will be able to distinguish between a tree that’s maybe 25 years old, and has deadwood created by a bush hog vs a true ancient yamadori with deadwood that’s been weathered for centuries.

 

[GGB]

When I collect seedlings I consider them weeds with potential. I dug an old stunted cedar off the side of a cliff and considered it yamadori, no chopping or nothing. BUT if 100 hundred years old is now a qualification I have a few decades to go. Maybe not a strict yamadori but an old collected tree

 

[Fonz]

I hear ya. When I first started posting on the board I used the word "yamadori" a couple of times to describe collected stumps. I didn't know anything about bonsai and thought you were supposed to use fancy Japanese words when you talked bonsai. Now the whole 4 months later I picked up a few things here and there and just go with collected trees instead of Yamadori. Call it a beginners mistake

 

[petegreg]

Wellllllllll---Perhaps wild collected? Believe M.Frary had best accurate definition true "from the mountain"(from the desert?)trees.



Not funjust ignorantly stupid! Somehow attempts to put undeservedly into same group as genuine wild area Yamadori tree.



As stated Yamadori is term of greatest respect for naturally aged tree. Should be treated as such.

At least we understand each other using these words.

Do you think that a very old tree growing in your front porch is not aged naturally? Maybe we can call them ground grown... My hands are shaking to show you one or two of this origin next spring.

 

[crust]

Jargon tires me. It is just another expression of cultural wanabeism. I think we should all endeavor to avoid using Japanese terminology. We could use the ojibwa words moona'igaade zhingobiiwaatig the next time we dig up a pine.

 

[Hack Yeah!]

Bonseye!

 

[Adair M]

At least we understand each other using these words.

Do you think that a very old tree growing in your front porch is not aged naturally? Maybe we can call them ground grown... My hands are shaking to show you one or two of this origin next spring.

Not yamadori. That would be a “collected garden tree”. Doesn’t mean it’s not a nice tree, just not yamadori.

 

[Hack Yeah!]

Can't wait for spring to snag a few new "Agrarians"!

 

[Vin]

spanner; wrench
leaves; foliage
soil; medium
movement; bend
branch; twig
apex; crown
etc., etc., etc.

Call it what you want, I'll get the meaning and if not I'll ask.

 

[GGB]

"Crust"y terminology?.. someone pass me a leftover crack CD.

 

[coh]

I hear ya. When I first started posting on the board I used the word "yamadori" a couple of times to describe collected stumps. I didn't know anything about bonsai and thought you were supposed to use fancy Japanese words when you talked bonsai. Now the whole 4 months later I picked up a few things here and there and just go with collected trees instead of Yamadori. Call it a beginners mistake

"Stumpadori" seems appropriate...

 

[just.wing.it]

So @M. Frary , you use the Japanese word bonsai, but how do you pronounce it, hmm???

And

Who cares if it's "bastardized" Japanese.

Didn't you beat me up a bit for not really caring how the word Bonsai is pronounced??
Interesting to see your viewpoint on this one...

 

[River's Edge]

Collected Yamadori. Sub Alpine Fir (triple trunk) Spring 2017 4,000 ft elevation.

 

[just.wing.it]

View attachment 167527
Collected Yamadori. Sub Alpine Fir (triple trunk) Spring 2017 4,000 ft elevation.View attachment 167527

Dang! That's killer!
Nice!

 

[M. Frary]

Bonesigh

 

[River's Edge]

This is also a sub alpine fir collected in October 2017. Older than the one i collected this spring. Should be ready for styling in 1-2 years.