Don't forget that the twin trunk juniper is also a rigida, which are near impossible to wire unless you want to have bandages all over your hands. Most other rigida I've seen are also styled in a similar style for this exact reason. So I think he can be forgiven for the very manicured design.Jow wrote:I don't think that it was styling to win a prize so much. More likely: a crazily famous historic tree, the right owners name attached to it and the right year for prizes to be awarded to certain people.treeman wrote:But that prize winning twin trunk needle juniper of his is (or was) really awful in my opinion. Looked like it belonged in a manicured Japanese garden rather than a wild mountain side. Not a single needle out of place! A good example of styling to win the prize (which he did)Jow wrote:Great and interesting thread.
I'm not really a fan of either tree in their current shapes. (But let's face it I'd kill to have them both)
No 1 has a boring lower trunk, and poorly placed branches. It looks like a European styling and has a somewhat clinical restricted feel to it. It would be a good candidate for an air layer, root graft or kimura's root shortening to make a powerful twisty little tree. The foliage masses don't really add much dynamism to it.
No 2 looks like it's been let go. And the recent pic of it the foliage is more uniform but it has lost the dynamic movement it had.
I think the happy medium is somewhere between the two approaches of manicured and totally un-tamed.
I also think that to get there you first need a structured neat wiring job that can be grown out somewhat into more free looking clouds vs manicured pads.
The below tree is by shinji Suzuki who toes this line really well in modern Japanese bonsai.
Thoughts?
Have a look through most kokufu albums. The first few pages are usually the prize winning trees and while many are manicured many are also not and are more in keeping with the above juniper.
But yes Suzuki and most other Japanese growers have a mix of styles of trees. I guess they have to appeal to a wide customer base.
To expand about winning prizes, there are other things apart from what Jow listed that determine prize winners. I don't really want to say exactly what (some insider information I was told), for fear of changing opinions of shows (I'll never tell
)Also definitely agree with what Jow said about Suzuki's style being that happy medium between the two. I've seen some very famous Japanese trees that look like this (tree 2) due to neglect rather than thoughtful styling. Good example is at the Omiya Bonsai Museum, where most of their trees don't seem to get any sort of regular styling. Shinji Suzuki on the other hand is very masterful in "artificially" (by human hands) creating this sense of the natural. If you haven't seen the documentary where Shinji Suzuki styles a white pine for Safuku-ten (the professional's show), definitely try and find a copy. It's incredibly enlightening as to how the mind of a true artist works.
And after seeing the Noelanders Trophy recently, have to agree that Tree 1 is very European. I can only think of one Japanese artist who styles like this, but around 6 Europeans (mainly from Spain and Italy).
wow, that 3rd one is fascinating.
