The 8^th World Bonsai Convention is taking place on April 27-30, 2017 in Saitama City, Japan. Held every four years, the inaugural World Bonsai Convention was held in 1989 in the same city, Omiya (city name was changed.) There are 1,200 people registered from 40 foreign countries and it is expected that there will be 20,000 visitors during the four day event. I think most came yesterday because it was extremely difficult to see and photograph much. The event is being held in the huge Saitama Super Arena.

Personally, this exhibition is truly a sensory overload for me! I’ve seen numerous bonsai exhibition and a countless number of bonsai during my 55 year study of bonsai in North & South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. Never, have I seen the quality and number of excellent bonsai in one location. This exhibition is far superior to a combination of the Kokufu and Taikan Bonsai Exhibitions in Japan. Truly, there has never been the quantity of award winning bonsai and “Important Bonsai Masterpieces” displayed in one venue, and that includes the special seven month long exhibit organized by the Nippon Bonsai Association for Expo ’70 the World’s Fair held in Osaka, Japan, in 1970.

Daphne genkwa

Seigen Japanese maple

Ukon Japanese maple

Burning bush, Euonymus alatus

I was actually walking around in a daze by late afternoon and needed to sit down and rest, even though there was NO pain with my new 13 week old knee. It is prohibitive to bring back bonsai to the United States due to USDA plant quarantine regulations, and I’m actually relieved, because I could actually walk past all the beautiful bonsai and spend more time studying the exhibition, while saving money too!

Lots of people trying to see the Imperial Japanese Red Pine Bonsai. Fortunately Photoshop helped here….

Additionally, there are continuous demonstrations by the top bonsai artists of Japan and foreign artists. PLUS, special exhibits from private bonsai collections, a display from the Imperial Bonsai and Container Collection, photographic displays of bonsai from around the world and how the art developed culturally, a special display of Saika Bonsai by the founder Kaori Yamada plus much more AND a bunch of rocks too. Actually, not a bunch of rocks: the Nippon Suiseki Association assembled the top 100 suiseki from throughout Japan. Additional posts will introduce these other displays and events once I recover…..

Lilac

We had a quiet morning visit to Omiya Bonsai Village. Most of the proprietors were at the Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition so there was not to much commotion nor visitors.

Most of the gardens had their Japanese flowering apricots on display because they were in full blossom, mostly fragrant too.

Fuyo-en Bonsai Garden– Hiroshi Takeyama

Kyuka-en Bonsai Garden– Isamu & Yukio Murata

Seiko-en Bonsai Garden– Tomio & Kaori Yamada

Mansei-en Bonsai Garden– Hatsuji & Haruhiko Kato

Keeping the roots warm on a Japanese flowering quince

Omiya Bonsai Art Museum

There were extensive renovations under way so our visit was not too long.

Special display of bonseki from the Hosokawa School of Bonseki

The 4^th Nippon Suiseki Exhibition is being held on February 10-14, 2017, in the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum on the 4^th floor. The Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition is on the lower level.

Over 100 fine quality suiseki are on display from Japan and around the world.

There are many alcove displays and it is interesting to note that nearly scroll had a moon painting

Additionally historic water basins and display tables were on exhibit including one valued at $30,000. I also saw two of the same display tables in the bonsai exhibition and Mr. Kobayashi pointed out the authentic and copy.

The real thing! $30,000

Louise Leister

Mike Sullivan’s suiseki is special because it can be appreciated from both sides.

The other viewing side.

Hideko Metaxas

William N. Valavanis– This suiseki is special to me because the members of the Suiseki Study Group of Upstate New York gave me this stone on my 60th birthday (5 years ago) All members signed the bottom of the diaza which Bob Blankfield hand carved. They selected this suiseki because it is similar to a mountain range in Greece my grand parents came from.

It was very thoughtful that the Nippon Suiseki Association decided to hold their exhibition during the period of the Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition.

The second part of the Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition opened on February 10 and ends on the 13^th. All 300 plus trees from Part 1 were removed except for the Imperial Bonsai Display and two other special exhibits.

Japanese Hemlock

Part 2 is just as excellent as Part 1 in my opinion. A great selection of a wide variety of trees. The Nippon Bonsai Association split the trees into both parts well. Both parts had an impressive and colorful Japanese deciduous holly. Part 1 seemed to display more Ezo spruce bonsai, while I noticed many cascade pines in Part 2.

There were 179 display areas including 51 medium size exhibits and six shohin bonsai compositions. Important Bonsai Masterpieces (Kicho Bonsai) were ten in total for this part.

Five outstanding bonsai were selected for the Kokufu Award:

Chinese Quince

Chinese Quince

Sargent Juniper

Japanese Black Pine

General Bonsai Exhibits:

Dwarf Star Jasmine

Satsuki Azalea

Hinoki Cypress

Yesterday we spent the morning in Omiya Bonsai Village before returning to the Suiseki Exhibition and the Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition. At the Mansei-en Bonsai Garden of the Kato family I noticed three of the six Kokufu Award bonsai. I found it interesting to learn that two the Kokufu Award bonsai were won by a husband and wife…

Dwarf Stewartia

Boston Ivy

Gardenia

Witch Hazel

Chinese quince

Japanese Flowering Quince

Japanese Maple

Japanese Maple NOT Trident Maple

Japanese Black Pine

Back to both the Suiseki and Bonsai Exhibitions to study more and see how the trees are made and enjoy the subtle beauty of suiseki.

Kunio Kobayashi’s Shunka-en Bonsai Museum in Tokyo is always a highlight for my Japan visits.

There are ALWAYS new bonsai all over the place, mainly large size for the Chinese Market.

There were many large grafted Sargent juniper bonsai, all wired and just waiting to fill out for future sales. Julian Adams and I had a nice quiet lunch with Mr. Kobayashi before all the apprentices were fed. Currently he has three Japanese, three Chinese and one Mexican apprentices. Considering the number of trees he has, more apprentices are needed.

There are over 12 alcoves for formal bonsai displays. Mr. Kobayashi always shows his creativity in creating distinctive bonsai displays.

This Rose bonsai was recently wired. I wonder which new apprentice wired this tree?

During this visit I was impressed with the increased number, size and colorful quality of the koi in the pond, surrounded by bonsai. There was a sign in front of the pond I could not make out, so I asked Jin, one of the apprentices who speaks English. I waited and expected a flowery poetic name of the pond display or something like that . The sign was the name of the owner of the koi…… Still a great visit.

Part 1 of this year’s Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition had 179 exhibits. However, there were five shohin compositions and each had at least five trees. Additionally there were 44 medium size compositions, each having a minimum of two main bonsai, plus companion plantings. That makes a total of more than 300 individual bonsai specimens in Part 1.

In Part 1 of the Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition six outstanding bonsai were selected for the coveted Kokufu Award. After the entire exhibition is set up, and before it opens, a small group of officers of the Nippon Bonsai Association goes through the exhibition and selects worthy trees for the Kokufu Awards. There is no set number, but usually about five or six trees win. A special gold colored plaque is set next to the tree. Winning a Kokufu Award can be both good and can be bad. A bonsai can only win once. Therefore, once a tree wins it often is valued more and the price may increase. However, it is disqualified from future Kokufu Awards. That means bonsai brokers may have a difficult time selling the tree to a client in hopes of winning. Kokufu Award winners:

1. Osakazuki Satsuki Azalea

2. Japanese Black Pine

Damaged container foot repaired with gold, respecting the antiquity of the 300-400 year old container

3. Japanese Five-needle Pine

Trunk detail not seen from front

4. Trident Maple

5. Sargent Juniper displayed with Shishigashira Japanese Maple

Shishigashira Japanese Maple

6. Chojubai Japanese Flowering Quince displayed on an exquisite table. This was my favorite bonsai in the exhibition along with the Japanese black pine above. This bonsai has changed hand many times and I saw it in the 2012 Kokfu Bonsai Exhibition.

2012

Small plaque on top is designated for Important Bonsai Masterpiece Bonsai. The lower gold plaque is for the Kokufu Prize

There were 24 Important Bonsai Masterpieces or “kicho” bonsai in the exhibition. These trees have been designated by the Nippon Bonsai Association as special masterpieces because of their beauty or rarity of the species. Once a year new trees are entered for evaluation by the owners of the bonsai. I believe there are over 600 Important Masterpiece Bonsai now. They can be identified by small metal tags hanging on a branch or a silver colored metal plaque. These are often displayed on or next to a bonsai when on display. They are automatically accepted for display in the Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition.

There were only five shohin bonsai compositions, but each was spectacular. It is interesting to note the current way of creating shohin bonsai compositions. Usually a box stand is used with an evergreen tree on the top. It faces one way or the other, but it always leads your eye to a side bonsai lower down, often a cascade style evergreen. This style of display is often seen as boring or static by Westerners.

Hackberry

Snowbell

Detail from the side

Beautyberry

Gardenia

Shishigashira Japanese Maple

Remember, better quality photos from this exhibition will appear in a future edition of International BONSAI.

You can easily subscribe here:

http://www.internationalbonsai.com/product/IBM-652343450

The 91^st Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition is being held on February 4-8, 2017 at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum in Ueno Park, Tokyo, Japan. The exhibition is being held in two parts in order to display more trees. On February 9^th, all two hundred plus trees will be replaced by another two hundred plus more masterpiece bonsai. Part 2 of the exhibition will be held on February 10-13, the same time as the Nippon Suiseki Exhibition, also in the same building on the fourth floor.

Observations on Part 1:

There are new backgrounds in the main gallery where most of the larger size bonsai are displayed. The old backgrounds are beige, smooth and shinny and are still being used in the other three galleries. The new ones are white with a slight texture like burlap and a bit reflective. Well, the entire room is bright white and quite a difference and improvement from the past exhibitions. The trees also photograph better too. The lighting is a bit harsh on many trees and some are nearly impossible to photograph. But, its important to remember that this exhibition is set up t display the beauty of the bonsai, not to provide a venue for people to photograph the trees. The new backgrounds must have been quite expensive for the Nippon Bonsai Association and I hope they can afford to completely change all the backgrounds in the other smaller galleries.

I noticed quite a few Ezo spruce bonsai in the exhibition, many more than in the past.

Also, I enjoyed seeing many more rock plantings this time too.

Additionally there was a Scots pine bonsai too! Perhaps a first for the exhibition.

The overall quality of the bonsai is superb, as always and I’m returning today to take some more photos, especially of the award winning bonsai.

I hope you enjoy these quick photos. Remember, you can see better quality photos in a future issue of International BONSAI magazine.

Time To Order Seedlings & Pre-bonsai!

Korean Hornbeam

Korean Hornbeam

This year’s crop of seedlings and pre-bonsai look especially good. They have been graded so each bundle has different size trunks for forest plantings. The larger pre-bonsai are all well established in 4” pots. We will begin shipping in two weeks. Although this year we are offering 18 different species of seedlings and pre-bonsai, below are a few highlights:

European Beech

European Beech

The European Beech are quite tall and have an excellent fibrous root system. They are ready for creating your own forest. Although the Korean Hornbeams are smaller, they are also good for forests.

Kishu Sargent Juniper

The Japanese Red Pine seedlings are small and perfect to wire for shaping shohin bonsai. Both the Kishu and Itoigawa Sargent Junipers are perfect for workshops. I’m using them for my club programs in Virginia, North Carolina and New York, in addition to my Introuctory Classical Bonsai Course.

Koto Hime Japanese Maple

Koto Hime Japanese Maple

The Koto Hime Japanese Maples have great twigging and can be easily created into shohin bonsai in a short period of time.

Winterhazel

Winterhazel

Winterhazel

The Buttercup Winterhazel are loaded with flower bud, just waiting to open and display their dainty pendulous flowers.

Kojo No Mai Japanese Flowering Cherry

The Akebono, Yoshino and Kojo No Mai Japanese Flowering Cherries also have flower buds.

Chinese Quince

Chinese Quince

Chinese Quince

Chinese Quince

Although the Chinese Quince don’t have flower buds yet, many are beginning to show their mottled bark. The plants from 4” pots are perfect for teaching students how to wire.

Japanese Snowbell

The Japanese Snowbell are well established in 4” pots and have great trunk movement. If planted in the ground their trunks will quickly thicken.

Order now to avoid disappointment, as quantities are limited.

 Catalog Information:

http://www.internationalbonsai.com/page/1442817

Order Seedlings & Pre-bonsai on line:

http://www.internationalbonsai.com/seedling%20list

Download 2017 Seedling & Pre-Bonsai catalog:

Click to access 2017%20SEEDLING%20CATALOG.pdf

The 8^th World Bonsai Convention will take place on April 27-30, 2017 in Saitama City, Japan. Saitama City is the new name for Omiya, famous for high quality bonsai gardens. This promises to be the finest and largest bonsai convention to date, anywhere. The World Bonsai Friendship Federation has been holding conventions since 1989, the first in Japan. Since then the convention held every four years has been held in the United States, Korea, Europe and Puerto Rico.

Top Japanese bonsai artists will be demonstrating including: Masahiko Kimura, Hiroshi Takeyama, Kunio Kobayashi, Shinji Suzuki, Minoru Akiyama, Shigeo Isobe, Chikaru Imai, Taiga Urushibata, Kenji Oshima, Isao Omachi, Takashi Sakurai, Masayuji Fujikawa and Mitsuo Matsuda. Additionally international bonsai artists from each region of the World Bonsai Friendship Federation will also demonstrate: Werner Bush, Hannes Fritz, Jyoti & Ninkunj Parekh, Zao Quingquan, Mike Siow, Lindsay Bebb, Bjorn Bjorholm and Juan Andrade. That’s a lot of demonstrating artists, probably the best line up ever.

Of course there will be an exhibit: The Greatest Bonsai & Suiseki Exhibit, featuring the best bonsai and Suiseki. I’ve seen a preliminary layout and this exhibit should be superb. I hope they allow photos.

The Omiya Bonsai Art Museum of Saitama City will be one of the featured sub venues of the convention. It houses many bonsai masterpieces of the highest quality and many are the best of their species in Japan. All signs are in Japanese and English and there is even an English headphone available. Special educational exhibits, which interest me especially, are held in a gallery.

Springtime is my favorite season in Japan, although autumn is a close second. Having lived in Omiya Bonsai Village during my apprenticeship, this is the place to be to appreciate and study fine quality classical bonsai. Each of the six main bonsai gardens has a different atmosphere reflecting the artist’s taste and bonsai specialty.

There are just less than 100 days to the Opening Ceremony of the 8^th World Bonsai Convention in Saitama City, Japan. The US/Japan exchange rate is excellent now and I’ve seen quite a few airfare sales too. Although I’ve been to Japan before, (stopped counting at 50 trips many years ago) and will be going again in a couple of weeks for the Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition, I’m quite excited about the World Bonsai Convention. I’m familiar about Japanese hospitality and organization and when combined with some of the finest bonsai and suiseki in the world promises to be an exciting experience. Kora Dalager’s and my tour has been filled for months, actually over subscribed with 24 participants from England, Australia and the United States.

Hatsuji Kato, Executive Director for the World Bonsai Convention

For additional information: info@world-bonsai-saitama.jp

Shohin and small size bonsai are a popular group because of their diminutive size and compressed beauty. In the United States they are always included in bonsai exhibitions. There have been well over 100 individual shohin bonsai displayed in each of the past five US National Bonsai Exhibitions. Every other year a well organized and attended bonsai seminar takes place in California full of small bonsai, workshops, demonstrations, displays and vendors too. During the past 30 some years I’ve sponsored over eight shohin bonsai symposia and seminars. Now is the time to raise the level and increase the popularity of shohin bonsai with an exhibition of fine quality of small size bonsai on the east coast.

For the past four years, in early December, Steve Zeisel has sponsored and organized the Winter Silhouette Bonsai Expo held at the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis, North Carolina. This has been a well organized and attended event which has grown and improved each year. I’ve been honored to have displayed and presented programs in each of the Winter Silhouette Bonsai Expos.

The North Carolina Research Campus provides a beautiful venue which features marble walls and floors from the same quarry in Italy that Michelangelo used to carve his famous “David.” The building is a unique four story rotunda crowned with a beautiful dome, which is the tallest dome south of Washington, D.C. The marble floor inlay with beautiful geometric forms and tall pillars truly presents an elegant setting for bonsai. The lighting is excellent, perhaps because of the highly polished light colored marble floors. The four story rotunda ads another dimension to this bonsai exhibition, which I have never experienced before, and I’ve seen quite a number of shows around the world.

Louise Leister from Florida has talked me into organizing the US National Shohin Bonsai Exhibition in the same venue as the Winter Silhouette Bonsai Expos. With Louise and Steve Zeisel ’s assistance the US National Shohin Bonsai Exhibition will take place on June 23-25, 2017 in Kannapolis, North Carolina. Kannapolis, North Carolina. Kannapolis is 30 miles north of Charlotte, North Carolina.

Some of the greatest shohin bonsai artists will share their knowledge and techniques through workshops, demonstrations, displays and a critique. Artists include:

Suthin Sukosolvisit

Kathy Shaner

John Romano

Sean Smith

Michael Lebanik

Mark Arpag

Michael Ryan Bell

William N. Valavanis

Four workshops with excellent plant material will be conducted on Friday while exhibitor and vendors set up their displays. The exhibition and vendor areas will be open all day on Saturday and Sunday. A Welcome Reception will begin the event followed by two programs. Saturday’s schedule includes four lecture demonstrations, a bonsai auction followed by a banquet on the third floor of the rotunda where people can look down at the exhibition. On Sunday morning three of our artists will conduct a critique of the entire shohin bonsai exhibition. An additional four lecture demonstrations will be presented and will conclude with an auction of the demonstration bonsai.

If you have a quality shohin or small bonsai, up to 12” in height, you would like to be considered for display in the exhibition please send me a photo for the selection process by E-Mail to: wnv@internationalbonsai.com

Only a limited number of tables are available in this unique building, so don’t delay. Individual shohin specimens, three point displays as well as shohin bonsai compositions will be displayed for participants and the public. There is no entry fee for displaying your shohin and small bonsai.

All bonsai will be judged and the following awards will be presented on Sunday morning:

Best of Show

Best Evergreen Bonsai

Best Deciduous Bonsai

Best Broadleaf Bonsai

Best Tropical Bonsai

Best Bonsai Companion Combination

Best Tree And Container Combination

Best Shohin Bonsai Composition Display

If you would like to sponsor one of the awards please contact Louise Leister:

mysecretbonsai@me.com

Our Official Hotel is:

Comfort Inn & Suites Kannapolis/Concord

3033 Cloverleaf Parkway

Kannapolis, NC 28038

(704) 795-4888

Be sure to mention the US Shohin Bonsai Exhibition when registering to get the special $99 rate, which includes a hot breakfast.

The registration forms will be soon released. You can E-Mail me for a registration form at: wnv@internationalbonsai.com

Registration forms will also be on our web site where you can also easily register for the workshops and programs at: www.internationalbonsai.com

Come join other enthusiasts who love the beauty and enchantment of small size bonsai.