Popular Around the World! The Artistic World of Bonsai

Bonsai is a form of art where you grow plants in a pot and enjoy its beauty. While potted plants are a common way to enjoy the beautiful aroma and colors of flowers and leaves, bonsai can be a means of expressing natural landscapes in miniature forms. It is an art form through which the elegance of mountains and fields, the harshness of cliffs, the emptiness of the wilderness, and the beauty of things that decay can be expressed in the manner in which branches and trunks are altered. The world that is expressed by cutting out a part of nature, and making omissions and exaggerations, is a world in which one can feel the Japanese aesthetic of seeing beauty in quiet simplicity.

The history of bonsai goes back approximately 2,500 years. It is said that it was called "Bonkei", and was practiced by the aristocracy in ancient China. It came to Japan between the Heian Period (794 - 1185) and Kamakura Period (1185 - 1333). Tokugawa Iemitsu, the third shogun of the Edo Shogunate, was an avid connoisseur, and the Omichi Park in the Imperial Palace still has a 600-year-old pine tree bonsai that he grew.
During the Edo Period (1603 - 1867), the bonsai culture spread from the aristocracy to the warrior class, and even up to the general public. Up until that time, bonsai were distinguished by how unique their forms were, but from the Meiji Period (1868 - 1912), "shizen bonsai" (natural bonsai) that emphasized natural landscapes became mainstream, and a unique sense of aesthetic was born.

A variety of plants are incorporated in bonsai. The most common are conifers, such as Japanese black pine, red pine, and white pine. In addition, foliage plants, such as Japanese zelkova and maple, flowering trees like cherry and plum, and plants like fern and fruit trees are also used. Even imported plants such as cacti and succulents can be used! There are different forms and designs depending on the type of plant, but any plant can be enjoyed as bonsai.