Page 51 - Tạp chí bonsai cây cảnh BCI 2014Q1

Photo, Tom Elias Photo, Tom Elias
the best containers, suiseki, and stands in the ven-
dor area went to Europe, western Asia, and America.
This trend is both encouraging and discouraging:
International popularity continues to rise as Japan’s
client base deflates. The Taikan-ten vendor area is
completely indoors which makes this apprentice very
happy as our Kokufu-ten vendor area, at the Ueno
Green Club, is outside in the dead of Winter. Gener-
ally the same businesses have sales areas each year in
Kyoto so long-term relationships are honored with
repeated visits from abroad. My container addiction
is not helped by the selection of older Chinese and
Japanese ceramics available.
I would be remiss to leave out the importance of the
after-hours events. On the second evening of the
event, every display at the exhibition is profession-
ally photographed by the Kinbon team along with
about 25 bonsai professionals and apprentices. The Photo, Tom Elias
two times I’ve participated were really eye-opening
as the process is so fluid. About four hours are needed
after the exhibition closes for the day. It can be re-
ally tense at times when carrying ancient bonsai and
stands or moving a tree covered in mature fruit. Any
exhibition entries submitted to the prime aisles are
photographed with their corresponding scrolls and
supporting elements which really makes the exhibi-
tion books worth having. The displays featuring fall
color and fruit are really wonderful as the seasonal
themes are so striking. In some cases, you can see the
same deciduous trees in full fall color then completely
leafless later in the exhibition.
Another really important activity is the after-the-
show reunions of many bonsai professionals. This
bond between professionals here translates in some
cases, to continued cooperation and in others, re- Photo, Tom Elias
quests for specialized services like sand-blasting Top left; Fukuda Jiro was elected as President of the Nippon Bonsai Association in May, 2013.
and refinement work. In one instance, I was grilled Top right; A special exhibit of several antique pots from the collection of Keiun-an owned by Saito
about the American bonsai scene and the potential Akihisa. This pot is a Chinese mid Qing dynasty piece.
for growth there by the Japanese Bonsai Association Middle; Many excellent stones such as this one are exhibited each year at the Taikan-ten.
President. One statement Ryan Neil made to me just Bottom; A beautiful Sajigawa stone owned by Fujikawa Hiroo.
before I started my apprenticeship was “Remember,

January/February/March 2014 | BCI | 49