JAPAN TRIP PART 3 [TAIKAN-TEN]

[JudyB]

I can't help but repeatedly scroll back to the selling area photos. Seeing those amazing trees...sitting on the floor...wrapped in plastic?? My best tree in an antique Chinese container couldn't compete...simply amazing.

Yeah, really. Daunting, but amazing...

And a cherry too, something I'm looking for!

 

[Giga]

If I win the 1.3 billion powerball, I know what my yard will look like

 

[Stickroot]

Wonderful pics! thanks so much for posting! This really caught my eye! Is it a Chojubai?

 

[Dav4]

Wonderful pics! thanks so much for posting! This really caught my eye! Is it a Chojubai?
View attachment 91373

I'm betting Ume

 

[MACH5]

Serg, thanks again for sharing and allowing us to be a part of this incredible experience.

Of course Will, my pleasure

So much inspiration, what a great opportunity you had! Wonderful photos, thanks so much for taking us along...

Oh, and dig the shoes!!!

Judy thanks! This one was tougher to shoot. Because of the lighting, I had to use a lower aperture in oder to capture the detail. I didn't want to use a flash because it is distracting. So not having a tripod with me, I had to use myself as one. And having some drinks the night before well...

Wonderful! By the way, I can't help but repeatedly scroll back to the selling area photos. Seeing those amazing trees...sitting on the floor...wrapped in plastic?? My best tree in an antique Chinese container couldn't compete...simply amazing. Thanks for these drool worthy posts, Sergio!

I know Dave! Isn't crazy! Some of those trees, with perhaps a tweak or two and a nice pot would be ready to go into any exhibit. Yet they sit there on the floor! The material I saw was amazing!!

 

[MACH5]

I'm betting Ume

Yes it looks like it to me as well. Definitely not chojubai.

 

[MACH5]

Yeah, really. Daunting, but amazing...

And a cherry too, something I'm looking for!

Yep I thought of you Juds!

 

[MACH5]

Somehow I missed posting these two trees.






This one was one of my favorites. A shimpaku with such beautiful flowing lines!

 

[crust]

Thanks for sharing your amazing adventure. As I scrolled through it dawned on me that style and display is a shifting thing in Japan--times are changing. Also I felt a gratitude for all the consternation and effort and high standards the folks there are doing--and have done through the years. At times I have found myself poking at American bonsiaists who over-emulate the Japanese but when I see these amazing displays and realize that through bonsai they are expressing their own culture, its nuances and tastes and concerns, all filtered through their fingers and hands--I realize that this is the emulation we can reach for. To be as successful in our art as they--to shape our arts naturally through the filters of our time and place--Anyway, very beautiful compositions.

 

[Arcto]

Amazing..simply amazing. Very inspiring. I'm totally non competitive with the Japanese. Both in terms of trees and fashion sense! Once again, thanks so much for sharing.

 

[MACH5]

Thanks for sharing your amazing adventure. As I scrolled through it dawned on me that style and display is a shifting thing in Japan--times are changing. Also I felt a gratitude for all the consternation and effort and high standards the folks there are doing--and have done through the years. At times I have found myself poking at American bonsiaists who over-emulate the Japanese but when I see these amazing displays and realize that through bonsai they are expressing their own culture, its nuances and tastes and concerns, all filtered through their fingers and hands--I realize that this is the emulation we can reach for. To be as successful in our art as they--to shape our arts naturally through the filters of our time and place--Anyway, very beautiful compositions.

Indeed David, seeing these types of exhibitions are great because they do set very high standards of craftsmanship and design. Anyone venturing into the art of bonsai would do well in emulating these types of displays as they search, hopefully, for their own form of expression.

Arthur Joura said it well. Bonsai is not an expression of a foreign culture, but rather an appreciation and expression of nature. Huge different mindset between the two. In my humble opinion this is where I think a lot of folks fall into a trap. They mindlessly follow and mimic everything Japanese simply because that's what it's "supposed" to be and look like. I think it is fine to emulate and copy in order to master the basics, as long as one is conscious that the destination should be an expression of their own self and culture and not try to be "Japanese" per se.

This is a complex subject. One that has kept me awake at night because it is not easy to decipher. The Japanese stamp is strong. The ultimate search for your expression and consequently one that reflects your own culture. And no, this does not mean using native species. It goes much deeper than that.

 

[Smoke]

Thanks for sharing your amazing adventure. As I scrolled through it dawned on me that style and display is a shifting thing in Japan--times are changing. Also I felt a gratitude for all the consternation and effort and high standards the folks there are doing--and have done through the years. At times I have found myself poking at American bonsiaists who over-emulate the Japanese but when I see these amazing displays and realize that through bonsai they are expressing their own culture, its nuances and tastes and concerns, all filtered through their fingers and hands--I realize that this is the emulation we can reach for. To be as successful in our art as they--to shape our arts naturally through the filters of our time and place--Anyway, very beautiful compositions.

I feel the same way.

Thanks Serg for the pictures, this is what I come here to see. Does not happen very often, but when it does it is always worth the wait.

 

[wireme]

Yes, thanks for showing.

I think this one is my favourite, needle juniper?

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

This one was one of my favorites. A shimpaku with such beautiful flowing lines!

Interesting how the deadwood isn't lime-sulfured stark-white. Was this anomalous or something you noticed more of?

 

[MACH5]

Interesting how the deadwood isn't lime-sulfured stark-white. Was this anomalous or something you noticed more of?

I believe this was somewhat anomalous. Most if I can remember correctly where lime sulphured but looked like they were allowed to age and appeared more grey and natural. I believe I saw this tree in a blog a while back and at the time it was more stark white. For my own taste on this type of junipers I would have preferred if the wood had been enhanced a bit with LS.