By Cathy Hirano

Just one more post on bonsai, and then, I promise, I’ll move on!

The "uninitiated" in this case is me so if you're interested, be sure to do your own research, too. Fortunately I have a friend, who is initiated. According to her, "Bonsai captures the cosmos, the world of nature within a pot. A good bonsai evokes a natural landscape ― an old pine tree clinging to a cliff or an ancient tree, gnarled and whitened with age. Look closely and you will discover an entire ecosystem."

Perhaps something like this.


Or this:


The white effect, by the way, is achieved by peeling off the bark.

At any rate, I'm learning that there's a lot more to explore on this topic. Masterpieces in this horticultural art take decades and even centuries to create, and the best ones are often passed down from generation to generation. Even the miniature ones I saw at the exhibition had taken 20 to 30 years to create such as this pine bonsai


They must be watered faithfully, given just the right amount of sunlight and trimmed frequently.

According to my friend, however, there is a style that’s more accessible to the uninitiated: 草物 Kusamono, or grass bonsai. Grass bonsai were originally developed as accents for the base of bonsai trees. Whereas the shapes of bonsai trees are more artificial, grass bonsai appear very natural – a cluster of plants and moss in a small pot. Here are some examples from the exhibition in Tamamo Castle Park.






Of course, those displayed in exhibitions like this are also developed with painstaking care, but my friend assures me that if you’re just growing them for personal enjoyment, you can experience the bonsai world with no more than a handful of soil, a small pot and some grass.

Here's a beautiful one she made with Japanese violets, Japanese wild anemones, hair moss, wood sorrels, a kind of saxifrage and wild strawberries, all of which, excluding the strawberry, are indigenous to Japan.


Because the natural look is so important, grass bonsai don’t need much trimming or weeding. You can just water it and let nature play with it. Perhaps an ant will leave a violet seed or the wind will add some grains that sprout into wild grasses. Japan’s high humidity will encourage moss to cover the soil.


Tiny moss bonsai by my friend. One pot is small enough to fit in the palm of a child’s hand.

And so, with very little effort, your grass bonsai can evolve its own tiny ecosystem.

One ecosystem close up.

OK, I'm done! I hope this mini series on yet another traditional art that thrives in this city has given you one more reason to explore Takamatsu and the world of bonsai.

Many thanks to Satoko Nitta for the photos and information on grass bonsai and bonsai in general.