Category fun stuff

May 10 2012

Yamadori hunting on the tree line high in the mountains

Matija was kind enough to take me to one of his happy yamadori hunting grounds. Fortunately we could drive a long way high into the mountains.

We still had to walk/climb for two hours but it sure was worth it! Larch, Spruce and Pine yamadori in abundance. Also the wild flowers at this time of year are spectacular.

We collected a couple of truly beautiful mugo pines with great movement and shari. Then it was on to simply one of the most impressive ‘Sumo’ Larch I have ever seen… and YES! Matija offered it to me… to collect NEXT YEAR! As it was a wee bit late in the season to collect.

So a European tour is in the planning for next year so that I can collect this rather handsome tree.

May 9 2012

A gentle walk up a Bonsai Hill to take a beer with Matija

It’s not actually as Bonsai Hill it’s just that it’s WAY smaller that the mountains that surround it! This is how the conversation went:

Matija: “you fancy a beer”

Me: “Yeh sure”

Matija: “we need to take a short walk… up that hill”

Me: “What’s wrong with the Spa store”

Matija: “the view is not as good”

So we set of as at a gentle pace. Matija is 1.83m tall and long legs run in his family so I was a bit slower…and older.

And he was right the view was amazing, definitely worth the walk/climb… and the beer was welcome too!

On the way down I wanted to take the Tractor… for some reason it would not start!

Apr 20 2012

Wonderful book about Japanese Shohin Trees & Antique Pots with English subtitles

I was quite excited this morning as I took receipt of a beautiful book from the Japan Shohin Bonsai Association. My teenage son thought it was something for him when he saw the package as all the stamps were Manga Cartoon Characters. Even my Cat wanted to get in on the action when I was photographing for the blog!

I buy about 10 books a year most are from Japan and a few exhibition books from European events. My knowledge of the Japanese language is limited, confined to Bonsai terms along with “Hello” and “Thank you” so this limits my enjoyment to browsing the photos. But this publication differs as it has ENGLISH subtitles!
This book is more than a celebration of Shohin Bonsai, it’s an encyclopaedia of Shohin Bonsai pots and a real addition to any personal bonsai book library. The high quality photography and print are up there with famous ‘Kokofu’ Exhibition Catalogues. Perhaps the most ‘fun’ part of the book is that most photos of trees and pots appear to be ‘life’ size which is great because you can see the work done with the trees and fine detail in the pots, especially those with ‘scenes’ painted on the sides (and sometimes inside).

The book is published in Japan by the All Japan Shohin Bonsai Association as a celebration of their 30th anniversary. There are 363 Shohin Bonsai and antique pots which were registered as master piece of “Yuuga Bonsai, Bonki” 12 years in a row by the All Japan Shohin Bonsai Association.

I believe that this is only book published in Japan which explains in detail Japanese Shohin trees and antique pots with English subtitles.

This is where my book was purchased and it arrived in less than a week from when it was ordered

Mar 13 2012

Bonsai Loud speakers

JVC recently unveiled a beautiful line of bonsai-laden Kirikabu speakers at this year’s Tokyo Designer’s Week. Created out of eco-friendly plastic, the conceptual series of speakers can be assembled into different shapes, and each contains a small compartment perfect for planting a tiny bonsai tree!

Each mini modular Kirikabu resembles a tree stump with three horizontal stubs – two of them hold speakers, while the third is a terminal. The fully featured speakers come complete with bass-reflex ports and a sub-woofer. Each stump is made out of “eco-plastic”, which is a bit of a vague term – I’m guessing it’s a plant-based plastic. The units can be connected with one another to create a larger speaker, and each module houses a small pot, where bonsai and other plants can be grown.