This is Leaf Thinning on Japanese Black Pine. By reducing the leaves of strong outer buds, we help the weak Interior Buds that receive neither light nor nutrients — working to a guideline of three to five leaves according to bud strength, this is an important task for early spring. Together with Koji Hiramatsu, we consider each decision, one leaf at a time.
When outer buds grow vigorously, the Interior Buds quietly weaken. Light cannot reach them, and nutrients are taken away. Left alone, the inner life of the tree fades in silence.
What Koji Hiramatsu does through Leaf Thinning is not mere tidying. By reducing the leaves on strong buds, he deliberately redirects the flow of energy. Restrain the outside, and the inside receives. That paradox is the heart of this work.
When removing old foliage, the fingers must always move toward the tip — never toward the base. Pull rootward, and you risk peeling bark and damaging buds. The direction of force alone changes everything for the tree.
Gently hold the base of the branch with your fingertips, taking care not to disturb the surrounding branches, and draw out each leaf one by one. This is not work to be rushed through.
Three leaves for strong buds, four for moderate ones, five for weak ones — there is a guideline for how many to leave. Less for the strong, more for the weak. That single principle runs through every decision.
But the numbers are only a starting point. Bud strength varies from tree to tree. If a weak bud has only four leaves to begin with, leave it untouched. Know the guideline, then look again at the tree in front of you — the eye for judgment only develops through that repeated practice.
Do not touch the Interior Buds. Even if they are small now, preserve their leaves.
The reason is one: when the day comes to cut away a strong leading branch, it is these Interior Buds that will take over that role. The shape the tree will hold years from now is already woven into what you do today.
Weaken the tips, nurture the interior, protect what lies within. A single task reaches across time and connects. Learn it through experience — the weight of those words tends to settle in only after the work is done.
The Adept: “Uma” journey begins with registration.
Begin the Journey
