Letters

Letters

About

About Letters

As many questions arise as there are travelers on the path.
Letters is a quiet, private room where you and the guides converse around your bonsai.

Accompany your photograph with a few words, and ask. Our guides shall reply.
Not to rush toward an answer, but to journey — widely, deeply.

Example of exchanging messages with a guide on a smartphone
Take a photo with your phone, send it, and await the guide’s counsel. This is a private space — feel at ease.
Pilot campaign

During its pilot operation, Letters is available with every paid course.

Senseis

The three who correspond with you

Sensei
Koji Hiramatsu

Fourth-generation guide of Hiramatsu Shunshoen in Takamatsu. Having devoted years to shaping Black Pine, Shimpaku Juniper, and Shohin bonsai, he bridges tradition and contemporary sensibility.

Apprentice
Toshifumi Sato

Studying under Guide Hiramatsu since 2022. A young artisan honing technique and sensibility each day, learning pruning and wiring that draw out the character of each tree.

Apprentice
Yasunori Kase

Drawn to bonsai, he relocated to Takamatsu to study at Hiramatsu Shunshoen. Walking the path toward becoming an artisan who sustains the Takamatsu bonsai tradition.

Letters Etiquette

Wait. Choose. Honor.

  • Waiting is part of bonsai. Please allow time for a reply.
  • Limit your questions to two or three at a time.
  • Choose your words and photos with care. You may add follow-up notes, but submissions cannot be deleted or revised.
  • You may attach up to four photos at a time. None is also acceptable.
  • Please maintain respect for Guide Hiramatsu and his apprentices.

Send a Letter.

Choose a course

Before You Begin Letters

This is a place to quietly exchange words with the guide. Before you begin, please read the Letters etiquette and terms of service.

Letters Etiquette

Wait. Choose. Honor

  • Waiting is part of bonsai. Please allow time for a reply.
  • Limit your questions to two or three at a time.
  • Choose your words and photos with care. You may add follow-up notes, but submissions cannot be deleted or revised.
  • You may attach up to four photos at a time. None is also acceptable.
  • Please maintain respect for Guide Hiramatsu and his apprentices.

Terms of Service

Article 1 (Application)

These terms set the conditions under which members of the 舟 Fune course use "Letters" (the "Service"). You must agree to these terms to use the Service.

Article 2 (Nature of the Service)

This service provides a space for exchanging words with Guide Koji Hiramatsu and his apprentices through text and photographs. It is not a real-time messaging application that reaches Guide Hiramatsu directly; a certain number of days may be required before a reply. Please note that submitted content cannot be revised or deleted after sending.

Submissions are first reviewed by our staff, who may add translations or summaries before conveying them to the guide and apprentices. Replies from the guide and apprentices are also reviewed and adjusted by our staff before delivery. During these processes, photographs and text may be transmitted through external services and tools used by our company, and the guide may annotate photographs or otherwise modify content before responding.

Article 3 (Review of Submissions)

  1. Submissions are reviewed by our staff before being conveyed to the guide. If a submission is deemed inconsistent with the purpose of this service or if the expression is judged inappropriate, delivery to the guides may be withheld, and our staff may reach out to clarify your intent.
  2. We may request resubmission if, for example, a photograph is unclear.
  3. While awaiting a reply, you may send additional notes or follow-ups to your most recent submission. Our staff will compile these as part of the same topic and convey them to the guides together.
  4. Publication of submissions and replies from the guides are not guaranteed.

Article 4 (Prohibited Conduct)

The following conduct is prohibited:

  • Acts that violate laws, regulations, or public order and morality
  • Defamatory, discriminatory, or obscene submissions toward others
  • Acts that infringe on the copyrights or other rights of third parties
  • Submissions intended for solicitation, recruitment, or advertising
  • Impersonation of others
  • Attempting to contact guides, apprentices, or other members directly outside of this service
  • Submitting personally identifiable information such as addresses or telephone numbers
  • Acts that interfere with the operation of this service

Article 5 (Rights to Submissions and License of Use)

  1. Copyright of submitted text and photographs belongs to the submitting individual.
  2. You grant our company a non-exclusive, perpetual license to use submitted text and photographs to the extent necessary for operating this service, including storage, reproduction, translation, summarization, editing, and sharing with guides, apprentices, and external services or tools used by our company. Guides and apprentices may annotate photographs or otherwise modify submissions as part of their counsel.
  3. In addition to the foregoing, our company may use bonsai-related knowledge and insights contained in submissions for the improvement of this service and its content. In such cases, measures such as anonymization shall be taken to prevent individual identification.
  4. You agree not to exercise moral rights against our company or its designated parties (including guides and apprentices) with respect to the uses described in the preceding paragraphs.

Article 6 (Disclaimer)

  1. While we endeavor to provide the most faithful translations possible, differences in nuance or errors may occur. Neither our company nor the guides and apprentices shall be held liable for any consequences arising therefrom.
  2. Counsel provided through this service is based on limited information and does not guarantee specific outcomes. In urgent cases, such as concerns about pests, disease, or dieback, please consult a local specialist.
  3. Our company may change or discontinue the terms of use, including submission frequency and limits, as well as the content of this service, without prior notice.

Article 7 (Handling of Personal Information and Data)

  1. Personal information shall be handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
  2. If you change from the 舟 Fune Boat course to another course, your correspondence history shall be retained but will no longer be accessible.
  3. Upon withdrawal from membership, all records including correspondence and submitted photographs shall be permanently deleted in an unrecoverable manner.

Article 8 (Suspension of Use)

If you violate these terms, our company may issue a warning or suspend your use of this service without prior notice.

Article 9 (Amendment of Terms)

Our company may amend these terms as necessary. Continued use of this service after such amendments shall constitute acceptance of the revised terms.