2011年09月30日
Bonsai in Takamatsu
The 11th Asia-Pacific Bonsai and Suiseki Convention & Exhibition (ASPAC), which will be held in Takamatsu, is fast approaching. The dates are November 18 to 21. The registration deadline is today! September 30 and most of the events are only open to registered participants, but don’t let that stop you from enjoying this horticultural art. Takamatsu, which produces 80 percent of all pine bonsai in Japan, is actually a great place for learning more. For one thing, bonsai growers and enthusiasts abound, which means that there are plenty of opportunities to view, buy or even make your own. I just dropped in on one such event yesterday in Tamamo Castle Park right by Takamatsu JR Station.
Tamamo Castle Park entrance.
Actually, this park is one of my secret getaways in Takamatsu. Perhaps it is some weird fetish of mine, but I find the stones and the stonework in the rampart walls gorgeous.
Stonework in ramparts
But more on the park another time. The event was an exhibition of miniature bonsai by a local chapter of a national bonsai club (Kokufu Shohin Bonsai). I paid just 200 yen to get into the park and the exhibition was free. The works were displayed in Hiunkaku, former residence of the 12th feudal lord of Takamatsu built in 1917. It's an elegant wooden structure that is still used for events, weddings and etc. Surrounded as it is by lovely Japanese gardens, it seemed a very fitting setting.
Entrance to Hiunkaku
Like most traditional Japanese architecture, Hiunikaku appears deceptively unprepossessing but it's very extensive inside with every room facing a garden or courtyard.
The miniature bonsai exhibition filled three rooms. The friendly club member on duty explained that some members raise their own bonsai from seedlings or seeds while others start with ones they buy and further develop them.
Club member explaining
He also explained that several works, from 2 to as many as 8, are placed together to create their own little universe.
The works are meant to appear as full-size trees seen from a distance and are placed to be viewed from face on.
I, however, couldn’t resist getting up close and looking at them from all angles, imagining myself shrinking down to ant size and getting right inside that universe.
I just wish I was a better photographer! In case I've tweaked your interest, here are a few more events and places to visit in Takamatsu to experience the amazing world of bonsai.
ASPAC Related
In conjunction with ASPAC, bonsai as well as calligraphy by famous calligraphers will be on display at Sun Port, Tamamo Castle Park and Ritsurin Garden during the convention. The Sunport Shimin Gallery (1F) will also be hosting demonstrations of local Japanese crafts including Kagawa lacquer ware and Aji stone cutting. General tickets for these events are 1,000 yen. The fee covers participation in multiple events but not the entrance fees for Tamamo Castle Park or Ritsurin Garden.
For more information go to: http://www.aspac-takamatsu.jp/ and click on English
Ritsurin Garden
Ritsurin Garden has regular bonsai events throughout the year. Coming up is a bonsai fair from October 8 through to November 28 and a bonsai exhibition and auction from December 27 to January 11. Check the following for information in English: http://www.pref.kagawa.lg.jp/ritsurin/e-schedule18_e.html
The 24th Green Festival in Kokubunji Oct. 21(Fri)-23(Sun) 9:00-16:00
A bonsai artist will give a demonstration from 10:00 AM on Oct. 22 and there will also be a Koke Dama (moss ball) class at 10:00 AM on the 23 (Sun). The classes require a reservation either by phone or at the reception desk on the day and there is a fee for materials (\1,000 for the moss ball class). There are English speaking staff so you can request an English-speaking guide at the reception desk. Call 087-874-1215 for reservations (Japanese only). In addition, a Japanese drum performance will be held on October 22 at 8:30AM, a children’s mikoshi (portable shrine) parade on the 22 and 23, and a children’s drumming performance, also on the 23rd.
Access:
The festival is held in: Tachibana no oka sogo undo koen (橘ノ丘総合運動公園). Take the JR Yosansen Line to JR Hashioka Sta (端岡駅). There is a community bus on Fri and Sat to Hakucho Hot Spring (はくちょう温泉; about 10 min. ride). Get off at Tachibana no oka sogo undo koen (橘ノ丘総合運動公園). If you go on Sunday, you will need to take a taxi from JR Hashioka Sta. Bus timetable (Japanese only):
http://www.city.takamatsu.kagawa.jp/file/10461_L16_kokubunjijikoku.pdf
The 29th Kinashi Bonsai Ueki Festival Oct. 28(Fri)-30(Sun) 9:00-16:30
This festival takes place at JA Kagawa Kinashi Ueki Bonsai Center. You can purchase a bonsai and take it to a class where the instructors will teach you for free how to care for it, tie the branches, etc. There are several English-speaking instructors..
Access:
Take the JR Yosansen Line from Takamatsu JR Station. Get off at JR Kinashi Sta (鬼無駅) and catch the private shuttle bus for the festival, which takes place right next to Takamatsu Nishi High School
*The above information on events is adapted from the Takamatsu International Association’s newsletter and used with permission.
Tamamo Castle Park entrance.
Actually, this park is one of my secret getaways in Takamatsu. Perhaps it is some weird fetish of mine, but I find the stones and the stonework in the rampart walls gorgeous.
Stonework in ramparts
But more on the park another time. The event was an exhibition of miniature bonsai by a local chapter of a national bonsai club (Kokufu Shohin Bonsai). I paid just 200 yen to get into the park and the exhibition was free. The works were displayed in Hiunkaku, former residence of the 12th feudal lord of Takamatsu built in 1917. It's an elegant wooden structure that is still used for events, weddings and etc. Surrounded as it is by lovely Japanese gardens, it seemed a very fitting setting.
Entrance to Hiunkaku
Like most traditional Japanese architecture, Hiunikaku appears deceptively unprepossessing but it's very extensive inside with every room facing a garden or courtyard.
The miniature bonsai exhibition filled three rooms. The friendly club member on duty explained that some members raise their own bonsai from seedlings or seeds while others start with ones they buy and further develop them.
Club member explaining
He also explained that several works, from 2 to as many as 8, are placed together to create their own little universe.
The works are meant to appear as full-size trees seen from a distance and are placed to be viewed from face on.
I, however, couldn’t resist getting up close and looking at them from all angles, imagining myself shrinking down to ant size and getting right inside that universe.
I just wish I was a better photographer! In case I've tweaked your interest, here are a few more events and places to visit in Takamatsu to experience the amazing world of bonsai.
ASPAC Related
In conjunction with ASPAC, bonsai as well as calligraphy by famous calligraphers will be on display at Sun Port, Tamamo Castle Park and Ritsurin Garden during the convention. The Sunport Shimin Gallery (1F) will also be hosting demonstrations of local Japanese crafts including Kagawa lacquer ware and Aji stone cutting. General tickets for these events are 1,000 yen. The fee covers participation in multiple events but not the entrance fees for Tamamo Castle Park or Ritsurin Garden.
For more information go to: http://www.aspac-takamatsu.jp/ and click on English
Ritsurin Garden
Ritsurin Garden has regular bonsai events throughout the year. Coming up is a bonsai fair from October 8 through to November 28 and a bonsai exhibition and auction from December 27 to January 11. Check the following for information in English: http://www.pref.kagawa.lg.jp/ritsurin/e-schedule18_e.html
The 24th Green Festival in Kokubunji Oct. 21(Fri)-23(Sun) 9:00-16:00
A bonsai artist will give a demonstration from 10:00 AM on Oct. 22 and there will also be a Koke Dama (moss ball) class at 10:00 AM on the 23 (Sun). The classes require a reservation either by phone or at the reception desk on the day and there is a fee for materials (\1,000 for the moss ball class). There are English speaking staff so you can request an English-speaking guide at the reception desk. Call 087-874-1215 for reservations (Japanese only). In addition, a Japanese drum performance will be held on October 22 at 8:30AM, a children’s mikoshi (portable shrine) parade on the 22 and 23, and a children’s drumming performance, also on the 23rd.
Access:
The festival is held in: Tachibana no oka sogo undo koen (橘ノ丘総合運動公園). Take the JR Yosansen Line to JR Hashioka Sta (端岡駅). There is a community bus on Fri and Sat to Hakucho Hot Spring (はくちょう温泉; about 10 min. ride). Get off at Tachibana no oka sogo undo koen (橘ノ丘総合運動公園). If you go on Sunday, you will need to take a taxi from JR Hashioka Sta. Bus timetable (Japanese only):
http://www.city.takamatsu.kagawa.jp/file/10461_L16_kokubunjijikoku.pdf
The 29th Kinashi Bonsai Ueki Festival Oct. 28(Fri)-30(Sun) 9:00-16:30
This festival takes place at JA Kagawa Kinashi Ueki Bonsai Center. You can purchase a bonsai and take it to a class where the instructors will teach you for free how to care for it, tie the branches, etc. There are several English-speaking instructors..
Access:
Take the JR Yosansen Line from Takamatsu JR Station. Get off at JR Kinashi Sta (鬼無駅) and catch the private shuttle bus for the festival, which takes place right next to Takamatsu Nishi High School
*The above information on events is adapted from the Takamatsu International Association’s newsletter and used with permission.
2010年01月18日
Bonsai and Suiseki Convention
The 11th Asia-Pacific Bonsai and Suiseki Convention & Exhibition (ASPAC) will be held in Takamatsu in the fall of 2011. The biannual convention seeks to increase appreciation for the international arts of bonsai and suiseki, to foster friendships and exchange, and to encourage greater appreciation for the natural environment. The organizers expect about 3,000 participants from over 20 nations to gather. This is the first time ASPAC will be held in Japan, which is surprising considering the long history and popularity of both bonsai cultivation and suiseki here. It is, however, indicative of their international popularity.
The 10th Asia-Pacific Bonsai and Suiseki Convention & Exhibition (ASPAC)
Suiseki is the collection and appreciation of naturally formed stones that suggest a scene or object in nature. Stones are collected in their natural state, displayed and admired for their beauty. Bonsai literally means “tray planting” and it is the art of growing, pruning and training trees or other plants in containers. Bonsai, like suiseki, represent nature and the universe in miniature.
Bonsai cultivation is a well-established industry in Kagawa. Introduced from China over a thousand years ago, the art began to develop and evolve in Japan during the Kamakura period (1185-1333) along with Zen Buddhism. The careful pruning and training of the trees and the admiration of their beauty were a form of meditation. At first, bonsai cultivation was limited to Buddhist priests but gradually the art spread. It was over 200 years ago that their cultivation took root in Kagawa.
According to local legend, bonsai cultivation began when local people dug up pine saplings on the inland sea coast and replanted them in pots. Kinashi and Kokubunji, small communities on the west side of Takamatsu, now produce over 80 percent of the pine bonsai sold in Japan and they also export a significant amount overseas. Both areas have regular monthly events to allow visitors to admire or purchase bonsai and to learn how they are made. Walking through a bonsai nursery is to experience living art. They are well worth a visit.
Ritsurin Garden
The 10th Asia-Pacific Bonsai and Suiseki Convention & Exhibition (ASPAC)
Suiseki is the collection and appreciation of naturally formed stones that suggest a scene or object in nature. Stones are collected in their natural state, displayed and admired for their beauty. Bonsai literally means “tray planting” and it is the art of growing, pruning and training trees or other plants in containers. Bonsai, like suiseki, represent nature and the universe in miniature.
Bonsai cultivation is a well-established industry in Kagawa. Introduced from China over a thousand years ago, the art began to develop and evolve in Japan during the Kamakura period (1185-1333) along with Zen Buddhism. The careful pruning and training of the trees and the admiration of their beauty were a form of meditation. At first, bonsai cultivation was limited to Buddhist priests but gradually the art spread. It was over 200 years ago that their cultivation took root in Kagawa.
According to local legend, bonsai cultivation began when local people dug up pine saplings on the inland sea coast and replanted them in pots. Kinashi and Kokubunji, small communities on the west side of Takamatsu, now produce over 80 percent of the pine bonsai sold in Japan and they also export a significant amount overseas. Both areas have regular monthly events to allow visitors to admire or purchase bonsai and to learn how they are made. Walking through a bonsai nursery is to experience living art. They are well worth a visit.
Ritsurin Garden
