In traditional Japanese aesthetics, wabi-sabi (侘び寂び) is a world view centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection. The aesthetic is sometimes described as one of appreciating beauty that is "imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete" in nature. It is prevalent in many forms of Japanese art.
Bonsai is the Japanese art of growing and shaping miniature trees in containers, developed from the traditional Chinese art form of penjing. While both penjing and bonsai involve the cultivation of miniature trees, they differ in that penjing overall aims to showcase "wilder," more naturalistic scenes and encompasses a wider range of styles and designs, and may include various elements such as rocks, water features, and figurines, creating a more elaborate and dynamic scene; on the other hand, bonsai is more restrictively focused on a single tree or a group of trees of the same species, with a higher level of aesthetic refinement. Similar versions of the art exist in other cultures, including the miniature living landscapes of Vietnamese Hòn non bộ. During the Tang dynasty, when penjing was at its height, the art was first introduced from China.
Penjing, also known as penzai, is the ancient Chinese art of depicting artistically formed trees, other plants, and landscapes in miniature.
A bonkei is a temporary or permanent three-dimensional depiction of a landscape in miniature, portrayed using mainly dry materials like rock, papier-mâché or cement mixtures, and sand in a shallow tray. A bonkei contains no living material, in contrast with related Japanese art forms bonsai and saikei: bonsai contain living trees, and saikei contain living trees and other vegetation.
John Yoshio Naka was an American horticulturist, teacher, author, and master bonsai cultivator.
In traditional Japanese culture, suiseki (水石) are small naturally occurring or shaped rocks which are appreciated for their aesthetic or decorative value. They are similar to Chinese scholar's rocks.
Ōmiya Bonsai Village is the nickname for the bonsai nursery precinct in Bonsai-chō, Kita-ku, Saitama, Japan.
Deadwood bonsai techniques are methods in the Japanese art of bonsai that create, shape, and preserve dead wood on a living bonsai tree. They enhance the illusion of age and the portrayal of austerity that mark a successful bonsai.
Saikei (栽景) literally translates as "planted landscape". Saikei is a descendant of the Japanese arts of bonsai, bonseki, and bonkei, and is related less directly to similar miniature-landscape arts like the Chinese penjing and the Vietnamese hòn non bộ. It is the art of creating tray landscapes that combine miniature living trees with soil, rocks, water, and related vegetation in a single tray or similar container. A saikei landscape will remind the viewer of a natural location through its overall topography, choice of ground materials, and the species used in its plantings.
Bonsai aesthetics are the aesthetic goals and characteristics of the Japanese tradition of the art of bonsai, the growing of a miniature tree in a container. Many Japanese cultural characteristics, particularly the influence of Zen Buddhism and the expression wabi-sabi inform the bonsai tradition in that culture. A lengthy catalog of conventional tree shapes and styles also helps provide cohesion to the Japanese styling tradition. A number of other cultures around the world have adopted the Japanese approach to bonsai, and while some variations have begun to appear, most hew closely to the rules and design philosophies of the Japanese tradition.
The Larz Anderson Bonsai Collection at the Arnold Arboretum in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts is one of the premier collections of bonsai in the United States and includes a Hinoki Cypress over 250 years old.
The Chinese Elm cultivar Ulmus parvifolia 'Yatsubusa' is a dwarf variety.
Chinese Garden is a park in Jurong East, Singapore. Built in 1975 by the JTC Corporation and designed by Prof. Yuen-chen Yu, an architect from Taiwan, the Chinese Garden's concept is based on Chinese gardening art. The main characteristic is the integration of architectural features with the natural environment. The Chinese Garden is modeled along the northern Chinese imperial style of architecture and landscaping. It is located next to Chinese Garden MRT station and connected to the adjacent Japanese Garden by a bridge. Along with Japanese Garden, the two gardens are collectively known as the Jurong Gardens.
Ōmiya was a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan.
Marco Invernizzi is an Italian bonsai artist and design consultant.
Chrysanthemumbonsai is a Japanese art form using cultivation techniques to produce, in containers, chrysanthemum flowers that mimic the shape and scale of full size trees, called bonsai.
Bonsai is a Japanese art form using miniature trees grown in containers. Similar practices exist in other cultures, including the Chinese tradition of penjing from which the art originated, and the miniature living landscapes of Vietnamese hòn non bộ, but this article describes the Japanese tradition.
Yuji Yoshimura was a second-generation distinguished bonsai master who taught traditional Japanese techniques and aesthetics to enthusiasts in the West.
William N. Valavanis, is a Greek-American bonsai master who carries on Yuji Yoshimura's tradition of teaching Japanese techniques and aesthetics to enthusiasts in the West.
Bonsai is a Japanese art form using trees grown in containers. Similar practices exist in other cultures, including the Chinese tradition of penjing from which the art originated, and the miniature living landscapes of Vietnamese hòn non bộ. The term "bonsai" itself is a Japanese pronunciation of the earlier Chinese term penzai. The word bonsai is often used in English as an umbrella term for all miniature trees in containers or pots. This article focuses on the history of bonsai in Japan and, in modern times, worldwide.
