The next morning had us up bright and early to visit Fujikawa Kouka-en. If you’re reading this blog, chances are good that you’re a hobbyist advanced enough to be very familiar with Fujikawa San, the nursery, and the wonderful videos created there by Bjorn Bjornholm. You are also probably familiar with American professional Owen Reich, Maeoka San, David Martinez, and probably even many of the trees at the nursery.
If you are Not, head over to the YouTube as soon as you are done reading here and spend a couple of days watching them! And while you’re at it, stop by Owen’s and Bjorn blogs as well.
The Bonsai Art of Japan
Bjorvala Bonsai Studio
Owen’s Bonsai Unearthed

Fujikawa San was a gracious host, and had Bjorn guide us throughout the the nursery, despite his workload of a very large and impressive hinoki undergoing an air layer.
So, let’s check…

Hello all! It’s been awhile! It seems it’s taking ten times as long to finish up writing about our trip to Japan as at has actually going! Between work and a problem with my trees(while I am a pot guy, it’s still all about the trees) I haven’t had a free second to post anything for a couple of months. Sorry about that. So, let’s rectify that now. With fall here and winter close behind, I have much more free time. So, I hope to finish up the last 5 posts about the trip this week, then we’ll take a look at some new pots I’ve added to my collection, followed by profiles on Kanzan, Sharaku, and Antique Chinese pots. Let’s get to it!
Koju En
Let me start off by saying that our visit came at a fortuitous time! Not only did we bump into Masumi San on our…

I will love to have a Tokonoma in my living room, but the house is small and the space is already taken from my goldfish and turtle tank. So on the search for an alternative I find out that I was not the only one having this kind of problem and lots of bonsai lovers opt for a mini Tokonoma; a small little box than contains kakejiku, table, tatami and of course a shohin bonsai, all in a smaller size.

Last week end I made my first experiment on the creation of the mini Tokonoma. First I tried with carton, then with 4 mm thick chipboard, but none of both succeed.

Frustrated, I brought my failed Tokonoma’s to the bonsai club members for some piece of advice and lucky me, our presidet is a carpenter! With brand new plan’s I went to the local DIY retailer and purchased the new…

Juan Andrade, who is apprenticing at Aichien very kindly shared some photos taken at Shuga Ten  on Facebook. I was blown away by some of the quality trees. I have shared a few of my favourites below but Juan tells me that John Milton will be sharing them all on his blog soon, so keep an eye open for this.

As the trees on exhibit move past their peak fall color we replace them with trees that are just beginning to shine. Here are the new additions as well as a few from the first post that look better than they first did.

Trident Maple, Donated by Stanley Chin, Age Unknown

Closeup of netsuke

Japanese Maple, Donated by Shintaro Abe, In training since 1946.

Red Maple, Acer rubrum var. Drummondii, Donated by Vaughn Banting, In training since 1974.

Cedar Elm, Ulmus crassifolia, Donated by Arch Hawkins, In training since 1981.

Close-up of trunks and branch structure.

Bald Cypress, Donated by Vaughn Banting, In training since 1972.

Ginkgo biloba, Donated by Masayuki Fujio, In training since 1896.

Japanese Privet, Ligustrum obtusifolium, Donated by Seiko Koizumi, In training since 1968.

Trident Maple, Donated by Ted Guyer, In training since 1975.

Japanese Maple, Donated by Ryutaro Azuma, In training since 1906.

Liquidambar, Donated by…