A little probing and I discovered that a large section of the trunk had died and was rotting under the bark
Further exploration shows that the entire side of the trunk is now dead and partly rotted. I've removed most of the soft wood and dead bark. It appears that the large branches I removed a few years ago had direct connections to the roots below and the tree was not able to make enough lateral connections to the live section so the roots below those branches and part of the trunk between has died. No point crying over something that cannot be undone so now I need to move forward with what's left.
I started with scraping any soft, rotted wood away. One good thing about naturally rotted trunk is that it actually looks natural because the wood rots at different rates leaving hollows and lumps that I have trouble replicating with normal carving.
3 large dead branches growing so close together was always a little overpowering but now that the trunk has been reduced in visual weight the large lump now looks quite overwhelming.
I've started to carve out the area to try to reduce the impact of that area. There is some improvement but because I have a 30 odd year history with this tree I am finding it hard to be objective and go further.
None of you have a vested interest in this tree so you are more likely to be able to give more objective opinions on where to go next.
Let me know what you think would restore visual balance to this tree.
All ideas are welcome.
)
Whether it actually adds to the overall bonsai is something I'll need to consider closely before removing it. Should never keep one great component when it doesn't complement the overall display, no matter how dramatic or wonderful that component is. More pondering on that one 
