Japanese Art & Culture
May 7, 1996
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Bonsai is the art
of growing trees in pots explicitly for their æsthetic value, especially
by pruning them so they resemble miniature, old trees. The practice of growing
trees in pots is ancient-- many ancient civilizations grew trees in pots, like
the Egyptians, who lined streets and cities with potted trees. Ancient
civilization in India also developed techniques for keeping trees in pots so
that their medicinal values could be transported to different lands. China has
had potted trees in its gardens since antiquity, but æsthetically
favoured dwarf trees seem to have appeared during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) in
China. The art of bonsai today is thought of as an especially Japanese art,
and it is thought to have come from China to Japan with Buddhism. It was there
in more or less the present form by the Kamakura period, as we see in a Saigyo
Monogatari Emaki of 1195 a monk tending a miniature potted tree. Bonsai in
Japan at this time departed from Chinese garden styles became much more
twisted, with trees trained into grotesque and unnatural shapes. Bonsai
enjoyed popularity in the Kamakura period, possibly as a relaxing alternative
to the constant warfare of that time. During the Muromachi period, potted
trees were often very large, more like the garden trees of China. In the Edo
period bonsai flourished in the new climate of affluence. What we know as modern bonsai basically started in 1800, when there was a lot of public support for the art. These early bonsai imitated mountain landscapes, and many of the trees were taken from the wild because of their character or appearance of age. With European contact, bonsai became commercialized, and there were a lot of trite mass-produced bonsai. In the late 19th and early 20th century, better horticultural techniques and exhibitions sponsored by bonsai enthusiasts helped repopularize the art and escape the influence of mass-produced trees. One development that helped the popularization of bonsai was the form of saikei, which includes miniature trees with rocks and other materials to create a small garden/landscape. Saikei allows a beginner to create a pleasing scene with character without having to wait many years for an individual tree to attain the right attributes. Today, bonsai is an international art, and not only Japanese trees, but native species from Europe, Australia and America are being trained into bonsai form. Bonsai is more than just growing a tree in a pot. It is different form ancient and modern forms of potted trees because it is practiced for æsthetic reasons and because the tree is specially trained to resemble a large, old tree. This training involves clipping the root mass to stunt the trees growth, clipping its leaves and branches to attain the desired shape and size, and using wire to train the branches and trunk to grow in the desired relationships. There are many different bonsai forms, but the goal of most is to grow a tree with the proportions of a real tree, and to bring out the natural essence of each tree by emphasizing part of its form. Thus different trees may be grown in a formal, upright style, a slanting style or a cascading style. It is common also to simulate the effects of a harsh environment, such as a windy mountainside. Bonsai is now a world-wide hobby and art, but its form is characteristically Japanese. The principles of wabi and sabi are obvious in the love of ancient, worn-looking trees in humble pots. The tradition of the Zen garden is important too, as bonsai trees are trained to suggest the essence of a tree or a forest just as gardens suggest the essence of a landscape. Bringing trees indoors also relates to the traditional lack of division between outside and inside in Japanese architecture. The Japanese love for different seasons is seen in bonsai, too, as the miniature trees are enjoyed in all seasons and the deciduous species display fall plumage, fruit, and bare branches according to the season. The Japanese art of ikebana, flower arranging, is a counterpart to bonsai because it emphasizes a transitory point in time rather than ancient timelessness. Flower arranging, like bonsai came to Japan from China with Buddhism in 554. Originally it was an extremely formal art practiced only by the nobility, clergy and samurai classes. This type of flower arranging was called rikka, and the different forms were originally designed to represent the Buddhist Mountain of Recognition. Later forms in the rikka school were meant to represent nature. With Zen Buddhism, however, a new style called seika developed. Seika arrangements express the trinity of heaven, man and earth through groupings and hierarchies of three elements. Modern forms of ikebana usually depart from the strictly dictated forms of rikka and seika, and are usually spontaneous expressions of a feeling, a season, or a philosophy. Where bonsai strives for the feeling of age, ikebana is closely related to the time and place where it is displayed. Through different materials, the ikebana artist brings the whole of outdoor nature into a small space by suggesting a tree branch, a rose garden, or the snow-covered ground. This transitory feeling is a vital component in Zen and in the Japanese tradition of mono no aware, the savoring of the present, whether it is joyful or bitter. Ikebana and bonsai share common Japanese æsthetic principles. Both art forms emphasize natural beauty and the essence of landscape. They both also emphasize asymmetrical, balanced forms because they suggest movement and life rather than stasis and death. They stress harmony, elegance, and simplicity. Because of their relationship with nature, Zen and traditional Japanese customs and ideas, ikebana and bonsai have a special place in Japanese art.
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