From my point of view, I feel that there are no Japanese styled bonsai. There are bonsai owned by Japanese and styled by Japanese, but the final look of the tree can no more be called Japanese than comparing cars. There are no Japanese cars that really say Japan. Just like WWII, the Japanese were secretly building their own Air Force, and the aircraft they produced were remarkably similar to all the aircraft of the Second World War.

So what is it that makes so many people say, " I want to have a collection of Japanese styled bonsai?".

First, we have to determine what it is that defines "Japanese bonsai". It’s many things together that help to convey this feeling.

They could be:

• Artistic line and form

• Healthy trees

• Superior wiring

• Heavy grooming

• Artistic display

Each of these bullet points could be applied to any number of trees grown in a half dozen countries around the world. The one determining factor that makes this group of points unique to Japanese trees is that they apply to most Japanese trees all the time. This is not to say that trees of lower quality do not exist in Japan. They do! The Japanese just have feelings about not exhibiting pictures of less-than-perfect trees. Here in America, we have no problem purchasing a small juniper at the nursery, pruning it to a semi bonsai shape, planting it into a bonsai pot and posting it to an international bonsai forum, and yet we are disappointed when it does not receive high praise. Is it any wonder why we find the heavily groomed masterpieces from Japan the ideal which all bonsai should look like? I agree!