The origin of Bonsai, of course, is China. It is said that all the cultures of East Asia (China, Korea, Vietnam and Japan) originated in this country, just as Rome is said to be the origin of Europe. Chinese people appreciated potted plants and trees since the old times. In the Tang Dynasty (618-907), Chinese people enjoyed potted plants as a miniature landscape called Penjing (landscape on a tray).

In those days (the Nara Period in Japan), the Japanese government often sent envoys to China and it is said that those envoys brought the hobby back to Japan for the first time. In the Kamakura Period (1192-1333), Zen Buddhism was brought from China. Apparently, Chinese Zen masters brought many practices, including the hobby of potting trees, to Japan. This hobby became popular for the Japanese in the Kamakura Period. The oldest record on Bonsai has been recorded in the painting "IPPEN SHONIN HIJIRIE" (painted in 1299, the Kamakura Period), with potted trees appearing in this painting. In the Edo Period (1603-1967), Japan was not open to foreign countries and so it remained in peace and people developed the economy only internally. . A wealthy class of people then appeared, including merchants and SAMURAI people, and they came to enjoy gardening on their properties. Nowadays, Bonsai mainly indicates potted trees for the Japanese. However, potted plants and trees were called HACHIUE (planting in a pot) in those days and there were no differences between potted plants and Bonsai.


The third SHOGUN (ruler of Japan) IEMITSU TOKUGAWA (life: 1604~1651; reign: 1623~51) was very fond of potted trees, and his favorite Bonsai tree is still kept at the royal palace of Japan. During the Edo Period, enthusiasts developed the potting and trimming styles of Bonsai. Their purposes were to recreate a miniature form of nature in a pot. It seems that people came to use the word Bonsai (planting on a tray) after the Meiji Period. Nowadays, plants potted in the Bonsai style are called KUSAMONO Bonsai and are appreciated by Bonsai enthusiasts too.


There are many Bonsai enthusiast groups in Japan. The biggest organization for Bonsai is NIHON BONSAI KYOOKAI (Nippon Bonsai Association). Several companies publish Bonsai magazines like "KINDAI BONSAI" and "BONSAI SEKAI" in Japan. We wonder if anyone thinks that trimming and shaping trees is cruel for them. It is heard that once some western person posed this question to a Japanese Bonsai enthusiast, and the answer was as follows: " we just trim trees to make the shape that they would like to be, as sculptors see perfect figures implicit in a block of stone". What do you think?