KOKUFU BONSAI EXHIBITION and PRIVATE BONSAI GARDENS
Dunsmuir, CA-- February 2008 Redding Bonsai Club members Diane Twitchell, President, and Cheryl Petty, owner Window Box Bonsai Accents & Art Gallery in Dunsmuir, went on a Bonsai Tour to Japan with Kora Dalager and others from the Bay Area and around the country to view the 82nd National Bonsai Exhibition, the finest and most prestigious bonsai exhibition in the world with the longest history. Numerous spectacular private bonsai gardens were also visited.
KOKUFU BONSAI EXHIBITION February 2008
There were 269 exceptional entries in the 82nd Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition. Exhibits covered three floors of a large hall in the Ueno Park. Several were national treasures and six awards were given. Worth mentioning was the most popular of the show, a blooming tropical Brunfelsia latifolia, which attracted a lot of buzz. The Imperial Household submitted a fine Pinus thunbergii, displayed on a purple cloth. This year many Satsuki azaleas were shown and one Rhododendron indicum ‘Kinsai’ received a prize. Miniature bonsai were displayed on exquisite étagère stands with six or seven small specimens and one of these also received an award.
Many trees, about 200, were exhibited singly. The other entries were arrangements of two or three together, one main subject with a smaller accent plant or an even tinier accent. It was of great interest to notice that many trees shown were original designs which did not conform to traditional placement of the branches. One out of ten trees showed the conventional branch arrangement.
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TID BITS
In addition to the big national show, they visited smaller bonsai collections of living bonsai masters, or sensei. After the war, the bonsai nurseries that remained all moved to an area called Omiya. They were able to visit several in one day and appreciate the individuality of these gardens. Everyone was busy getting ready for the big show, transporting these trees is a major undertaking, but not too busy to stop and set up tea and refreshments in the freezing cold and snow.
"Over the past few years the Window Box has been experimenting with Bonsai and Art. lsquo;J’ne sai quois’ I can’t explain why, but I have been drawn in to a deepening love of and involvement with these arts," says Cheryl Petty. A small but growing inventory of Bonsai will be available for viewing and sale this year.
Flying Dragon Bonsai seen at private bonsai garden of Masahiko Kimura.
February 2008 Redding Bonsai Club members Diane Twitchell, President, and Cheryl Petty, owner Window Box Bonsai Accents & Art Gallery in Dunsmuir, went on a Bonsai Tour to Japan with Kora Dalager and others from the Bay Area and around the country to view the 82nd National Bonsai Exhibition, the finest and most prestigious bonsai exhibition in the world with the longest history. Numerous spectacular private bonsai gardens were also visited. |
