JBP Shohin Progression

[bunce]

Hi Guys,

Ive been hard at work getting through all the trees on my benches trying to get them into good nick in prep for summer. For those of you who don't know me, my name is Matt, I go by Bunce (usually because its never taken as a user name). I have recently got back from my second term of 3 months studying at Taisho En, Shizuoka, Japan under Nobuichi Urushibata.

My passion is Shohin (and chuhin) and so upon my return on both accounts I worked hard on getting my collection smaller to fit the shoo-in regulations (naturally). I hope to post some progressions here for you to enjoy.

September 22, 2017


The tree as I had pretty much found it. the wiring was still that of Bonsai Sensation Nursery. I had decided to let it run, follow through on the decandling, and subsequent bud selection before styling this tree.

Bunce.

[bunce]

fast forward to September 18, 2018



Its the chopping block for this fella, I had a good look at all the options for this tree, I contemplated he future for each style I found within the tree.



I had decided in the end, that for the tree to be an amazing bonsai it's twist wasn't tight enough to make an informal upright, and thus the chop and styling was made:



bunce.

[bunce]

september 22, 2018



my light box arrived so I did some photos with the DSLR, enjoy

bunce.

[rodm]

Both posts are great. Did you trim the needles? Why
Cheers RodM

[bunce]

Both posts are great. Did you trim the needles? Why
Cheers RodM

I did trim some of the needles, this technique has two purposes, primarily its to let more light into the bud to give it as much strength as possible. the second is aesthetics.

bunce.

[MJL]

Hi Matt,
I just stumbled across this post - love your SLR photo and more importantly, your tree.

I then had to look up Chuhin. I looked up sizing more generally and found numerous references. Do you or anyone else have a sizing chart as a reference for Bonsai classifications? I found one but I did not want to post it here because I was not sure it was an accurate reference.

Cheers,

Mark


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[rodm]

It takes quite some time to get cut needles to be replaced. Letting the light in is done by thinning out needles which will encourage shorter needles next season. This is only my experience
Cheers RodM

[bunce]

It takes quite some time to get cut needles to be replaced. Letting the light in is done by thinning out needles which will encourage shorter needles next season. This is only my experience
Cheers RodM

only takes 6 months... not that long in bonsai.

[shibui]

It takes quite some time to get cut needles to be replaced. Letting the light in is done by thinning out needles which will encourage shorter needles next season. This is only my experience
Cheers RodM

When working with living organisms there are many ways to achieve the same end result. his appears to b yet another example of different strategies in bonsai achieving the same final, desirable outcome.

I then had to look up Chuhin. I looked up sizing more generally and found numerous references. Do you or anyone else have a sizing chart as a reference for Bonsai classifications? I found one but I did not want to post it here because I was not sure it was an accurate reference.

seems to me that that there is no real fixed sizing. The Japanese sizes seem to be more about the 'feel' than about measurements. Many English speaking sources seem to think they know more about Bonsai than the Japanese masters Maybe we should get used to the idea of 'tiny'; ' small'; 'medium'; 'large'; and 'extra large' without a set boundary between the classes?

[bunce]

seems to me that that there is no real fixed sizing. The Japanese sizes seem to be more about the 'feel' than about measurements. Many English speaking sources seem to think they know more about Bonsai than the Japanese masters Maybe we should get used to the idea of 'tiny'; ' small'; 'medium'; 'large'; and 'extra large' without a set boundary between the classes?

The Japanese do have fairly rigid size guidelines, a quick google search can give you a bit of an indication, however none of these seem to have any continuity, though there is some official guideline out there, probably not translated to English.

bunce.

[Ryceman3]

Nice tree, I like the direction you took in finding the smaller tree and as a result accentuating taper. It's got a nice base on it and with a bit of foliage development I think this will be a very nice pine with a lot of interest. It's a keeper!

[bunce]

Nice tree, I like the direction you took in finding the smaller tree and as a result accentuating taper. It's got a nice base on it and with a bit of foliage development I think this will be a very nice pine with a lot of interest. It's a keeper!

agreed