Fostering the art of bonsai, and fostering bonsai artists.

In Saitama, Saitama Prefecture, there is a village called ”Bonsai Village”, indicating the deep relationship of Saitama Prefecture with ”bonsai”. Masahiko Kimura is a world famous ”bonsai” artist, making ”bonsai” in Saitama. He has received many glorious awards such as the Prime Minister’s Award, and he has been invited many times to give lectures about ”bonsai”, not only in Japan but throughout the world. There are many people who learned about ”bonsai” from him, and are now active as individual artists.
Kimura’s first impression is that of a serious and typical artisan. However the ”bonsai” he makes are very artistic, and therefore he is often introduced as an artist. Nakata was very impressed when he looked at his works and said, ”It looks as if the grandeur of natural landscape is concentrated in the pot.”

Where did “bonsai” come from?

So, where lies the origin of bonsai? When we come to think of it, we really don’t know. So, Nakata asked the question straight to Kimura. ”There was a culture called ”bonkei” in China.”, that is making a miniature landscape on a tray.”
”I suppose it began when people went to mountains and brought back trees they liked in vessels. It is said that it dates back some several thousand years. Then it came via Korean Peninsula to Japan some 5 to 600 years ago. Since then, it was developed by Japanese until today, and is now established as a culture unique to Japan.”

Nakata had more questions to ask. ”Are the trees taken from nature?”

”Yes, that’s right. The trees are taken from mountains, the kind of trees that would grow naturally on the precipitous cliffs. The trees originally grew in a very harsh environment without any water or nutrition, so they are special species that don’t grow very much.”
Nakata was very surprised to hear it. He thought that the trees are dwarfed by human hands, but they were special species that were planted as bonsai.

The works grow with age.

When a tree is taken from nature and planted in a pot, it can already be defined as a ”bonsai”. However, that does not make a work of art. It has to be shaped, pruned, and grown to become an art piece. An example of the change over the years was shown to Nakata and his staff, and they were very impressed by it.

They could understand very well that ”richness” of nature is growing within the pot. Kimura said that the Imperial Household Agency has a ”bonsai” that was loved by Iemitsu Tokugawa. That means it is about 400 years old. That may be exceptional, but there are bonsai that have lived for a few hundred years. Bonsai is something that changes and grows with time.

Kimura not only plant trees, but shave and shape the tree trunks, place stones to make trees grow from them. He created a ”world” within a ”bonsai”. In that artificial world, there exists nature that grows. Artificial world and nature; the charm of ”bonsai” may lie in the combination of the two.

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Cycle of the Ecosystem

The air is clear and fresh in the quiet valley, and in summer, fireflies dance in the air. Mondo farm is surrounded by mountains in Fukutomicho, Kamo-gun. ”Without live soil, vibrant plants will not grow…”
This is the philosophy of Mondo Farm, and their role model are the rivers and forests. In the wild, plants grow dense in forests and rivers without relying on chemical fertilizers or pesticides. With this in mind, they believed that perhaps agriculture could also succeed by abiding the laws of nature.
In the completely natural rice fields of Mondo Farm, everything made in the rice field: rice hull, straw, rice bran, are all returned to the soil. Shortage of nutrients is covered by organic fertilizers (MOA certified). Weeding relies on ducks and paper mulch. They create rice in a natural environment, without the use of soil conditioners.

To Challenge and Interact

Besides making rice, they sell ”junmai ginjo sake” and ”miso” made from their cultivated rice, popular among their customers.
Mondo Farm also is a civic interactive farm. They conduct annual events such as ”summer rice field experiencing events” ”autumn rice field experiencing events” and allot citizens with farmland where they can experience farming on their own.
For those who think, ”I want to try but have no knowledge of farming..”, they offer farming classes at ”Sharano Kigakusha” and offer a year’s schooling about farming. Try their farm tours and farming experiences and just enjoy yourselves. If you are interested, we recommend you try challenging something new.

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Learning about various ecosystem

”Mangrove” is a generic word for plants that grow in clusters at the mouth of rivers in subtropical and tropical regions like Okinawa.
In Iriomotejima, which is also referred to as the ”Galapagos of the Orient”, there exists Japan’s largest forest of mangroves. They are important in that they provide a place to live and grow to many organisms like young fish, shrimp, and crabs. They also protect the land from ocean waves and high tides.
However, in recent years, many mangroves are dying out because of debris drifting from the continent, and the situation is critical. Many tour companies offer tour plans such as cruises, sea kayaks, canoes, and so on, and guests can learn about the mangroves and the ecosystem around them.
It is a great way to think once again about our future co-existing with nature.

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