Page 27 - Tạp chí bonsai cây cảnh BCI 2013Q4

In the West, he perceives lime sulphur being used more of light and minimum shade even during periods of
for the satisfaction of the person who owns or created high temperatures.
the tree. Over the years, Mr. Kawabe has worked on Resting of trees:
various trees some of which have driftwood effects Bonsai require periods of rest, meaning little work is
which are not natural to the tree; the material has been carried out on them. In order for the tree to remain
sculptured in order to give an impression of age. a bonsai, such rest periods must be relatively short,
Mr. Kawabe’s preference is to allow the tree to express notably during the growing season.
its own natural deadwood. When creating or accen- A tree that is weak and needs to gain strength and
tuating already established deadwood, he prefers the vigor would obviously have longer rest periods.
use of hand tools as opposed to power tools.
Hand tools tend only to allow the stripping off of the After a major exhibition, it would be considered nor-
mal to allow the tree a rest period. An analogy would
softer wood, leaving the harder wood untouched. be the person wearing a suit at a formal function, later,
Driftwood effects: is glad to change into more comfortable clothing.
He does not do wrap-around techniques, that is, at- This very personalized view of an approach to bonsai
taching live material to dead wood sometimes called provided this small and select audience a fascinating
a Phoenix graft or tanuki. He does acknowledge that insight into the mind of one of Japan’s leading bonsai
this can be done when older material to carve is un- masters. It also highlighted the importance of allow-
available and views wrap-around more as something ing time when creating a bonsai and subsequently de-
to “play” with. veloping it further. This is perhaps made apparent by

Maintenance of driftwood—regularly remove any the fact that the West lacks a culture in which trees are
moss from the surface of the pot if it is showing signs handed on from generation to generation.
of growing upwards onto the driftwood. For many of us, the perception of bonsai is to see a tree
Minimise fungal growth—this can be achieved by develop from basic raw material and become a per-
minimizing levels of humidity during hot periods. fect specimen, a bonsai reflecting nature in miniature
within a limited period of time.
Jins: Time is therefore the essence to many Western minds.
In the Shinto religion, there is an emphasis on the Mr. Kawabe presents the opposite viewpoint—it is the
worship of nature. One belief that is held is that God tree that is of the essence, and it is the allowing of time, Below; Old junipers demon-
would descend through trees. The Shinto god is the beyond that of our own lifetimes, that will enable the strate a natural whiteness
equivalent of nature and in this instance, God enters tree to evolve to its full potential as a bonsai. following long periods of
exposure to the elements.
through the jin. The uppermost jins on a tree are re-
ferred to as Ten-jin.
Wiring:
Economical use of wire—too much wire is detrimen-
tal to the tree. There exists a tendency for some to wire
to the very tip of the branch. This does not allow the
natural beauty of the tree to show and can compress
the foliage at the end of the branch. When applying
wire, it is important to:
a) Place the branches so that they have full exposure
to the light;
b) Position branches such that they create an effect of
maturity;
c) Let wire begin to cut into branch (only on coni-
fers). When removed, the bark will begin to plate
over, again giving effect of age.
Watering regime:
There is always a risk of over-watering. The trees
should be “seen” to want water, rather than be wa-
tered regularly at set times, which during periods of
wet weather, could result in over-watering. It is essen-
tial the tree is planted in well drained soil.
It is safe to water during the hottest part of the day—
many trees benefit from being exposed to high levels

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