Classic Bonsai of Japan


Book Description

This title introduces a collection of the finest bonsai pieces to be found in Japan today. Over 180 plates of priceless specimens with informative commentary provide a definitive tour of the bonsai world. The notes for each piece offer insights into the balance, style, harmony and aesthetic as well as history of the bonsai. The Nippon Bonsai Association, Japan's pre-eminent voice of the bonsai tradition, introduces a collection of the finest bonsai pieces to be found in Japan today - some of them presented to a Western audience for the first time. Over 130 full-colour and 71




Art of Bonsai


Book Description

Learn the ins and outs of proper bonsai design and care with this comprehensive Japanese gardening book. Japanese bonsai have long been admired throughout the world while their care and preservation have seemed shrouded in mystery. The Art of Bonsai is, however, a comparatively simple art to learn. Anyone with a love a plants, a little patience and this eminently practical book can create bonsai and keep a finished plant healthy and vigorous for generations. Included in this definitive volume are: Detailed, illustrated instructions on propagation and training Hints for those growing bonsai in a hurry and apartment dwellers Daily and seasonal bonsai care practices Dealing with pests and bonsai troubleshooting How to judge, select and exhibit bonsai Detailed appendices on tools, equipment, soil analyses Data on more than 300 species of plants used in making bonsai This classic work remains an eminently practical book and is the classic guide to bonsai care. It contains the essentials of an art that is one of Japan's most treasured traditions--sculpting beauty in living wood.




Bonsai with Japanese Maples


Book Description

With their delicate foliage, seasonal color changes, and intricate pattern of branching, Japanese maples are among the most popular and suitable plants for bonsai design. Much more than a mere how-to book, Bonsai with Japanese Maples is a forthright attempt to look at bonsai as art objects and to critique and assess them from an artist s perspective."




Japanese Art of Stone Appreciation


Book Description

The Japanese Art of Stone Appreciation is an exploration into the art of suiseki—small, naturally formed stones selected for their shape, balance, simplicity and tranquility. Written by two leading experts in the field of Japanese gardening and art, this concise introduction offers aesthetic guidance and direct practical advice that is a window into traditional Japanese culture. It details the essential characteristics of a high-quality suiseki, describing the various systems of stone classification in this Japanese art form and explaining how to display a suiseki to its best advantage. There is also a section on incorporating suiseki alongside a bonsai tree, the most popular and rewarding complement to peaceful suiseki miniature landscape gardens. Sections include: Historical Background Characteristics and Aesthetic Qualities Classification of Suiseki Displaying a Stone Suiseki with Bonsai and Other Related Arts Collecting Suiseki How to Make a Carved Wooden Base Suiseki Classification Systems




Be More Japan


Book Description

Whether you're dreaming about your first journey, revisiting the trip of a lifetime or simply in love with all things Japan, Be More Japan will transport you to this fascinating country. Dive into the thrilling and serene world of Shinto monks, street food vendors, anime characters, Okinawan centenarians, technological innovators, J-Pop megastars, ancient philosophers, onsen dwellers and so many more. There are so many ways to fall in love with Japan. It's home to one of the world's most unique cultures: a perfectly balanced celebration of past traditions; the vibrancy of now and the need to look fearlessly into the future. From architecture to martial arts; from ramen to robots; kawaii to Kusama; ikigai to ikebana; towering skyscrapers to shrines - Be More Japan uncovers the art and creativity behind modern Japanese living through its kaleidoscope of contrasting places, people and practices. With beautiful design throughout and with each page alive with facts, history and inspiration, Be More Japan invites you to absorb a little Japanese wisdom into your daily life.




The Beauty of Bonsai


Book Description

Patiently nurturing a bonsai and watching it come to resemble a venerable old tree is what bonsai growers love best. Most bonsai hobbyists will be content simply to raise such a tree, but bonsai's greatest satisfaction actually lies one step beyond: in displaying the tree indoors to be viewed and appreciated. Patiently nurturing a bonsai and watching it come to resemble a venerable old tree is what bonsai growers love best. Most bonsai hobbyists will be content simply to raise such a tree, but bonsai's greatest satisfaction actually lies one step beyond: in




Post-Dated


Book Description

Beyond Bonsai . . . A whimsical exposé of aJapanese apprenticeshipA restless 36-year-old American travels to Japan to begin a new life as an apprentice in the traditional art of bonsai. This is the setting of Post-Dated, a chronicle of one man¿s erratic education far from home . . . linguistic blunders, broken branches, mischievous coworkers, eccentric clients, a strict (but hilarious) master . . . adventures that he realizes are just the beginning of a nonstop emotional roller coaster.But then again . . .. . . there are lessons to be learned even in the most irregular of circumstances.




Peace Tree from Hiroshima


Book Description

**Winner of the 2015 Gelett Burgess Award for Best Intercultural Book** **Winner of the 2015 Silver Evergreen Medal for World Peace** This true children's story is told by a little bonsai tree, called Miyajima, that lived with the same family in the Japanese city of Hiroshima for more than 300 years before being donated to the National Arboretum in Washington DC in 1976 as a gesture of friendship between America and Japan to celebrate the American Bicentennial. From the Book: "In 1625, when Japan was a land of samurai and castles, I was a tiny pine seedling. A man called Itaro Yamaki picked me from the forest where I grew and took me home with him. For more than three hundred years, generations of the Yamaki family trimmed and pruned me into a beautiful bonsai tree. In 1945, our household survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. In 1976, I was donated to the National Arboretum in Washington D.C., where I still live today--the oldest and perhaps the wisest tree in the bonsai museum."




Once Upon a Time in Japan


Book Description

**Winner of the 2016 Creative Child Magazine Book of the Year Award** **Winner of the 2015 Gelett Burgess Award for Best Multicultural Book** When wily animals, everyday people and magical beings come together in a collection of Japanese fairy tales, wonderful things are bound to happen! Each story is brilliantly illustrated by a different talented Japanese artist. The tales recounted here are among Japan's oldest and most beloved stories. Entertaining and filled with subtle folk wisdom, these retold stories have been shared countless times in Japanese homes and schools for generations. Like good stories from every time and place, they never grow old. Kids (and their parents!) will enjoy hearing these stories read aloud on the accompanying downloadable audio. The fairy tales and classic stories in this collection include: The Wife Who Never Eats--the story of a man who learns the hard way the evils of stinginess. The Mill of the Sea--the story of how a greedy man was responsible for the saltiness of seawater. The Monkey and the Crab--the crabs teach a tricky monkey a lesson in fairness and honesty. The Magical Hood--an act of kindness reaps great rewards. Sleepyhead Taro and the Children--a story about what can be accomplished at the right time, and with the right help and the right spirit. The Fox and the Otter--how a fox pays the price of deceit and selfishness. The Gratitude of the Crane--a story about the rewards of kindness and the danger of curiosity. The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter--a girl who starts life very tiny turns out to be big in many ways.




Happy Bonsai


Book Description

Begin your lifelong love affair with the mindful art of bonsai. Do you know your shari from your nebari? Can you tell literati styling from informal upright? Want to know how to create that gnarled and twisted look? Let Happy Bonsai guide you along the path to enlightenment, with care and display profiles for 40 top trees and fully illustrated step-by-steps of more than 20 bonsai techniques and styles. Find your perfect tree and discover how to prune, shape, and tend to its needs to create a beautiful living sculpture. Fall in love with this most meditative of garden crafts.




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