The Journal of the Toronto Bonsai Society -Matsuyama Society

General

Rochester, 2007 - Shohin Bonsai

by Jean Charing

The symposium this fall was on Shohin Bonsai. There was some discussion on what is shohin bonsai, but the consensus seemed to be that it should generally be under 20 cm or about 8 inches, though some thought maybe 10 inches. A literati shohin bonsai could be considerably taller than that. The other requirement was that the shohin should fit in your hand.

As usual, much of the symposium was devoted to styling and working on trees and there were many tips to be picked up and new techniques to be learned, but this year a lot more emphasis was placed on display. Displaying shohin bonsai is somewhat more challenging due to its size.

Shohin bonsai are gaining in popularity, not only here in North America, but also in Japan and other areas of the world. Their smaller size means that even a person living in a small apartment can have a considerable collection. The rules for displaying shohin bonsai are still in development, but some have become more or less established and should not be broken.

Here are some of the basics.

If a shohin bonsai is displayed on its own, the rules are similar to those for larger bonsai, but the scroll and the accent plant should be kept in proportion; this can be quite a challenge. Accents or scrolls should help set the mood, season, or time of day. They should also provide flow, so that the eye goes harmoniously from the bonsai to the scroll to the accent or figurine. Also, you should be able to view the tree comfortably without having to bend over.

When selecting a scroll, for shohin bonsai, size and minimalism are very important. Too much detail in your scroll and you ruin your display. A falling pale yellow leaf would suggest autumn, but your tree should be a pine or evergreen, not a birch with yellow fall leaves which would already suggest autumn. Colours should not be repetitive. Similarly a twig with a single blossom could suggest spring for the same pine tree. Likewise, accent plants or figurines can suggest seasonality or place or mood. Ferns suggest woodsy places, a flowering alpine suggests a springtime mountain meadow, a small frog or fish could suggest a wet area beside a pond or stream. All of these things become very important in displaying shohin bonsai.

When shohin bonsai are being displayed as a group on a stand, there are a lot of other things to consider. The tree on the top shelf should be the dominant tree or have the most strength or presence. Generally, it is the largest or presents the most powerful image. It should also be a tree that grows high in the mountains, so more often than not it is a pine or juniper. As you work your way down the stand, the plants should follow in species as if you were walking down a mountain side. This means the deciduous tree(s) would be on the bottom shelf. The accent plant is generally also on the lower shelf. But the accent plant or final plant of the group can be outside the stand. In fact it could be a figurine or suiseki. Either - or; if it is outside the stand, it should be just slightly forward of the centre line of the main stand and to the right or left depending on the flow.

What is flow? Most trees have a flow to them, unless they are a formal upright. When looking at a tree, the eye generally follows the flow. Lean or longest branch or placement in the pot can create flow. In a group arrangement, the eye should flow naturally from the plant on the top of the stand down to the next shelf and the next highest tree and on to the tree or plant on the shelf beside it and then down to the bottom shelf. The last plant or object, should arrest the flow either by reversing direction or by being static or neutral in flow. As mentioned this could be outside the stand.

Also, in an ideal display, plant types or species should not be repeated, but if they are, there should be something very different in their style. Also, no two pots should be the same shape and size and all should be of a different colour.

As you can image, assembling a group on a stand can be a challenge and requires a selection of trees, otherwise, you may not be able to make an aesthetic grouping. Even with over 200 trees on display, some rules got broken.

There are other rules, some of which are not really established yet. But just trying to follow the above will be challenging enough for most shohin bonsai enthusiasts.

If you are interested in shohin bonsai, the symposium, will again be on this subject in 2009.

Images and text to accompany above article.

Image dscf1039 . The top tree is a pine and the bottom tree is deciduous. This arrangement shows good flow. The pine on the top shelf leads the eye to the large box on right which leads your eye to the small box on left shelf to middle the box in the middle which leads your eye down to the bottom shelf and to the right and the maple. The maple directs your eye to the left and the juniper in the middle of the bottom shelf which in turn directs your eye to the final item in the display, the erodium which stops your eye from going father by its directionality.

Image dscf 1164 Group display. The trees are from top to bottom and left to right:

American Larch 1165,

Koto Hime Maple1166,

Little Gem Spruce1167,

Adams Crabapple1168,

Japanese Hornbeam1169.

Note the Distant Mountain Viewing Stone (just the apex in visable in picture) and Boston Ivy in the lower right 1170. The viewing stone was just to the left of this plant and I apologize that it is not visible in this image.

These complete the display with the only partial visible suiseki or viewing stone serving the function of an accent plant. Also note that the flow or directionality is helped by the relative height of the trees to each other. See individual trees below.

Image 1025 Japanese tea house with a tokonoma. Note this bonsai, a trident maple, is only a couple of inches high including the stand it sits on. The tea house is about 12 inches high in total.