Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Chinese Bonsai Style V Japanese Bonsai Style

The Chinese bonsai style and the Japanese bonsai style are based on trees that have been shaped in nature by the strength and direction of the wind, the position of the tree on an open field or up the side of a mountain, the number and type of animals that may graze on it, the amount of water available to the tree and the climate zones of the world in which it grows. These trees growing in nature can and do exhibit all of the bonsai styles that we endeavor to follow. There are some that are of a style that does not fit into anything that has yet been acceptable to the bonsai community.

The Chinese bonsai styles allow the bonsai tree to grow in an unstructured way. I prefer to call it an unsophisticated bonsai style. The Japanese bonsai style however is what I like to call manicured. There is a serious attempt to have strict adherence to the styling rules. You can see that the strict adherence to the rules are reflected in what some people call their bonsai. Some bonsai trees are named to reflect what is seen captured in the bonsai. Some bonsai are shaped to represent what has happened in their lives. But all styles are a testament to the dedication that we all have for the living art of bonsai.

I have observed that the western countries have this infatuation with the manicured look of the Japanese bonsai style to the detriment of what is the more natural look of the Chinese bonsai style. I think it has come about because Japan has been opened up to the western countries longer than China. I suspect that there has been a conscious effort to please the western appetite for bonsai information and the Japanese adherents have been quick to react to the option of producing information and bonsai trees to satisfy the market.

For me it is important to think about combining both the unsophisticated Chinese bonsai style with the manicured Japanese bonsai style. I can see that with the rules written around an aesthetic balance we will be able to get to a yet unnamed and quite a unique bonsai style. The successful bonsai will still reflect the simplicity of style yet show the different ages of the bonsai.

In future blogs I will explore some of the design principles that I follow when I am styling my own bonsai trees. They are a combination of both the Chinese bonsai style and the Japanese bonsai style.

Happy Bonsai

Bonsai Bevan

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