A final refinement session with a Shimpaku Juniper, two months out from its Kokufu-ten entry. By carefully Pruning branches that spill beyond the Branch Pads and leaves that hang downward, the branch tips lift naturally and the whole tree comes alive. A quiet, unhurried final step toward the display stage.
When refining the branches, I am not looking at a single branch. I am looking at the overall silhouette of the Branch Pad as a whole — how that mass settles into the space around it.
Branch work in bonsai takes shape through the layering of Branch Pads. Only when each pad reads as a distinct, unified mass does the whole tree begin to hold meaning. If the pads are in disarray, no amount of attention to detail will give the tree its composure.
Branches spilling beyond the pad, leaves hanging downward — as you carefully remove them, the remaining branch tips naturally lift. There is a moment when the whole tree seems to quietly straighten its posture.
Sometimes it is only after subtracting the excess that something becomes visible for the first time.
When Pruning before a display, I place the scissors at an angle and position not visible from the front. That the cut will brown over time is something I account for from the start. So rather than where to cut, my attention turns to how to cut so it won't be seen.
A Back Branch reaching toward the rear is not a flaw. That branch, invisible from the front, is what creates depth and dimensionality. The back supports the front.
Properly speaking, preparing a tree for the Kokufu-ten means nurturing it over the course of several years. This time, it was an unusual path — one that began in May. Even so, six months of careful management has borne fruit, and the foliage volume has reached a full and satisfying state.
Knowing the ideal, yet choosing the best available in the present moment. Anticipating that a repotting will take place just before the display, today's work stops here. Knowing when to hold back is itself a form of judgment.
To exhibit with the wire still on — within that choice lives a quiet resolve to walk a journey that knows no final destination.
The Master: “Fune” journey begins with registration.
Begin the JourneyYou must be logged in to post a comment.
It is a lovely tree, I hope I can see it at the Kokofu ten next month. Do you know if it is in the first or second part of the show?
The juniper tree featured in our video will be displayed during the first part of the Kokofu-ten exhibition in early February.