I remember the days when moss was the enemy. The idea was that moss impeded water penetration, or kept the pot too wet. So it was a surprise when I was an apprentice that Mr. Suzuki encouraged moss to grow on the soil, and I discovered there were some advantages to having it there.

Shredded sphagnum moss on top of volcanic soil (akadama/pumice) at 1/8-1/4″ thickness, with shredded live moss added to inoculate. I often add ink to it so it’s not straw colored while the moss gets established. Be sure you use true sphagnum moss, not peat moss. Peat moss is rotted sphagnum, and tends to be water repellent when dry. The best sphagnum to use is sold often as ‘orchid’ moss, and is straw colored and is like a sponge when sprinkled with water.

If applied in the early spring around repotting time, a carpet of live moss…

Translated from Edo Tokyo Kaii Hyakumonogatari

In Kanda, in the vicinity of the town of Mikawa, there was a man named Kichigoro.  One late, rainy night he was out running errands for his business when he passed by through the gate leading to Sujikai bridge.  There he saw a young boy, about five or six years old, shuffling along the path.

“That is a brave kid to be out like this in the middle of the night…Hey, were are you going?

He asked the young boy, and when the boy turned his face in answer, he saw a face with a swarthy completion, eyes the color of blood and a mouth that stretched across his face from ear to ear.

Kichigoro was generally a brave man and so even this was not enough to shock him.  But when he stretched his neck to take a closer look, the strange creature suddenly jumped into…

We visited the opening of the 2014 Satsuki Festival sponsored by the Japan Satsuki Association in Ueno Park. The location of the exhibition is near the entry way to the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Gallery where the now annual Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition is held. Our group arrived early to avoid crowds and take photos.

Several large open-air structures housed more than two hundred Satsuki bonsai. On the last row vendors set up selling Satsuki pre-bonsai as well as small and large trained masterpieces. Some tools and supplies were also offered. The display area was on a smooth white granite floor, which reflected the intense heat up to the visitors. It’s a good thing there was a Starbuck coffee shop adjacent to the exhibition, where many took a few moments to become refreshed before returning to study the bonsai.

In the sales area I noticed two different Satsuki cultivars…

We had a long and enjoyable today, well, every day is full of beautiful bonsai, highlighting Satsuki azaleas. We took a subway and four taxis from our hotel to the Shunka-En Bonsai Museum of Kunio Kobayashi. He is well known for his award winning Japanese black pines and Satsuki azaleas. In fact, this is the first time we have visited him when he was not at his museum. He was judging a Satsuki exhibition in Yokohama and his senior apprentice Hiroyuki Suzuki was setting up another Satsuki exhibition at the Ueno Green Club– that’s one we will miss. Mrs. Kobayashi did a great job, as always welcoming us and serving us green tea.

Since Peter Warren is teaching in Florida and Hiroyuki is at the Ueno Green Club we had Jin Yasufumi, who speak English, translate for us and give us a grand tour of the tokonoma displays all featuring…